Hors d'Oeuvres for Champagne

In honor of my third wedding anniversary TODAY, I'm posting some fantastic hors d'oeuvres recipes I tried out recently. Any or all of these would be lovely with a bottle of this:

Or any variety of bubbly you want to drink. I'm all for the real thing (a wine can only be labeled "champagne" if it's from the French region of Champagne), but I also love Prosecco, Cava (you can't beat Freixenet brut in the black bottle for about $10) and California sparklers too (Chandon's "brut classic" has a great balance of fruity and toasty flavors, and retails at around $17).

But now on to food. I love doing 3 or 4 hors d'oeuvres and appetizers instead of a traditional meal. The picture at the top of the post is a beef fillet rubbed with jerk seasoning, thinly sliced and served on plantain chips (from the supermarket--no deep frying necessary!) with a little cilantro and onion. Really cute, right? And so simple. Here's the recipe.

The little bites on my lovely leaf platter above are a bit hard to see; they're miso-glazed eggplant bites with shiitake mushrooms (also from my fave recipe source of late, Gourmet magazine). Again, these are easy but they make a big impact on your tastebuds. One hint: You can substitute dry Sherry for the mirin. I love Asian flavors with champagne. Especially if your dish has chiles for heat, you'll love the crisp, effervescent scrape of sparkling wine on your palate. Champagne also works well with vegetables, which are often challenging to pair with wine.


And finally, an oldie but goodie. Champagne and caviar is not a cliche/classic because it sucks. Of course, there's no need to buy expensive imported caviar for these potato canapes. I think the clean salty-sweet little eggs in the photo above are simply salmon roe. Very affordable. I served it on blanched sliced potatoes with sour cream and dill. No recipe for this one...just assemble!

So if these hors d'oeuvres strike your fancy, pop a cork and celebrate with us! Here are a few more recipes from past posts that are very nice with a bottle of bubbly. Happy Anniversary, Sweetie!!!

More Hors d'Oeuvres that love Champagne:

Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms
Stuffed Mushrooms with Arugula and Prosciutto
Gruyère Gougères
Mike's Skewered Shrimp Egg Rolls
Thai Fried Hard-Boiled Eggs
Chicken Liver Mousse with Apples and Thyme
Goat Cheese-Stuffed Grape Leaves with Tomato Jam