I am a Honey Bee

All about my adventures with cooking, crafts, and travel

Freixenet

Pom Vivant Cocktail {And a Giveaway}

Ah, Friday. How do I love thee? Making this cocktail for this ‘Freixenet Friday’ post really happy. As I layered the drink in the flute the dark ruby hue changed to a light vibrant pink cheering me up from a dreary week in Boston. My mood changed like the color changing as I finished my cocktail.

 

I picked the Pom Vivant cocktail on the Freixenet website from their cocktail recipe options. The cocktail features pomegranate juice, which of course is available year round, but the fruit is in season from  September through February. I love when I can enjoy something that goes with the season.

Their Pom Vivant recipe makes 6 cocktails with an entire bottle. While Price and I can easily split a bottle, or I can have it all myself, I decided to scale the recipe down to make 1 drink.

 

The Pom Vivant

makes 1 cocktail

Ingredients

  • 2 oz unsweetened pomegranate juice
  • 1 teaspoon simple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon orange juice
  • 1 bottle (750ml) Freixenet Cordon Negro Extra Dry
  • Orange zest (optional)

Process

  1. Layer the pomegranate juice, simple syrup and orange juice in a flute glass.
  2. Fill the rest of the champagne flute with Freixenet.
  3. Add orange zest, to garnish.

__________________________

And now the good stuff… the GIVEAWAY!

The “Freixenet Friday” package includes six elegant Freixenet fluted glasses as well as The Freixenet Social Survival Guide, a pocket reference guide for social situations. This savvy little red book is filled with common sense advice including: Ten Commandments the perfect guest or host should live by, the sophisticate’s guide to tipping, ordering wine with confidence, quick fix-its on the fly: stains, fallen hems and broken heels, from work to play: 18 hours of style for those working from “nine to wine”.

To Enter: Leave a comment telling me if you prefer bloody mary’s or mimosas for brunch. Or do you like something else?

Extra Entries: 

Spread the word- Tweet: “I want to win a @freixenetusa Friday Package that includes fluted glasses from @iamahoneybee http://wp.me/pzEAP-1C” OR share on Facebook. Come back here and leave me a comment telling me what you did.

Follow Freixenet- you can follow the Freixenet truck as it hops around the country @FreixentUSA OR like them on Facebook. Come back here and leave me a comment telling me what you did.

Contest Ends Monday night at Midnight EST. Good luck!

_________________________

In Addition to that Giveaway…

Discover & Share Segura Sweepstakes Enter to Win a Weekend Getaway for Two to Sonoma, California

Segura Viudas, Spain’s artisan cava and the sparkling wine world’s best kept secret, is announcing its Discover & Share Sweepstakes. An engaging way to learn more about Segura sparkling wine and share the discovery with friends, the online contest offers several opportunities for entry and the chance to win a wine tasting weekend for two to Sonoma Valley, California. To enter the contest, visit the Discover & Share Sweepstakes link on theSegura website or their Facebook page and complete any of the Discover & Share challenges, such as answering questions about cava, uploading photos of toasting with friends, “liking” the Segura fan page, or sharing the sweepstakes. Complete all the challenges and earn up to 10 entries to increase your chances of winning. A random drawing from all entries on December 18, 2011 will decide the winner, who will receive a weekend getaway for two to Sonoma valued at $2,500, including round trip airfare, hotel accommodations, a $250 AmEx gift card, and a VIP tour and tasting at Gloria Ferrer Sparkling Caves & Vineyards, a Segura sister winery. Read theOfficial Rules for complete details. Segura Viudas (seh GOO rah vee YOU das) is the sophisticated go-to bubbly for those in the know. Made in the méthode champenoise (the same process used to make champagne) and handcrafted with modern winemaking techniques, these artisan Spanish cavas are polished yet approachable and just waiting to be discovered and shared. To find Segura sparkling wines in your area, visit the Segura Viudas Wine Locator. Imported by Freixenet USA of Sonoma, California.

Agua de Valencia {and a Giveaway!}

To follow up the starter that I featured for last week’s “Freixenet Friday”, I have made a cocktail for you to enjoy. Freixenet sent me a bottle of their cordon Negro so I eagerly looked through their recipes that included it and ‘got to work’.

 

Playing off the citrus notes in the Scallop Salad, I decided to make the Agua de Valencia. I loved this cocktail! It is like a mimosa but more refreshing because of the triple sec and simple syrup. The simple syrup adds an extra kick of sweetness but the triple sec is what really elevates this from just a simple mimosa. The extra layer of orange flavor adds to the fresh juice of the orange. Using the Cordon Negro Brut for this cocktail adds more fruit notes as it has “fine, delicate aromas, combining tones of green apple and pear, with light resonances of Mediterranean fruits- peach, melon, and pineapple – over a base of citrus”.

You can check out other Freixenet recipes by checking out their website. I love the holiday ones… I think I’ll be making one of those next!

Agua de Valencia

Single Serving:

Ingredients:

  • 4 parts Freixenet Cordon Negro Brut
  • 1 part fresh orange juice
  • 3/4 oz. Cointreau (or substitute with triple sec)
  • 3/4 oz. simple syrup

Process:

  1. Combine the juice, Cointreau, and simple syrup in a shaker glass.
  2. Shake and pour into a chilled flute.
  3. Top with chilled cava and then you can garnish with an orange twist.

Large Pitcher:

Ingredients:

  • 1 bottle Freixenet Cordon Negro Brut
  • 32 oz. fresh orange juice
  • 2 jiggers Cointreau
  • 2 jiggers simple syrup

Process:

  1. Combine the juice, Cointreau, and syrup in a large pitcher  that is 1/3 full with ice.
  2. Then fill with the bottle of cava, stir gently, and keep chilled until ready to serve.
  3. Pour into highball glasses with orange slices for garnish.

And now the good stuff… the GIVEAWAY!

The “Freixenet Friday” package includes six elegant Freixenet fluted glasses as well as The Freixenet Social Survival Guide, a pocket reference guide for social situations. This savvy little red book is filled with common sense advice including: Ten Commandments the perfect guest or host should live by, the sophisticate’s guide to tipping, ordering wine with confidence, quick fix-its on the fly: stains, fallen hems and broken heels, from work to play: 18 hours of style for those working from “nine to wine”.

To Enter:

Leave a comment telling me what you are thankful for right now.

Extra Entries: 

Spread the word- Tweet: “I want to win a @freixenetusa Friday Package that includes fluted glasses from @iamahoneybee http://wp.me/pzEAP-1C” ORshare on Facebook. Come back here and leave me a comment telling me what you did.

Follow Freixenet- you can follow the Freixenet truck as it hops around the country @FreixentUSA OR like them on Facebook. Come back here and leave me a comment telling me what you did.

Contest Ends Monday night at Midnight EST. Good luck!

_________________________

In Addition to that Giveaway…

Discover & Share Segura Sweepstakes
Enter to Win a Weekend Getaway for Two to Sonoma, California

Segura Viudas, Spain’s artisan cava and the sparkling wine world’s best kept secret, is announcing its Discover & Share Sweepstakes. An engaging way to learn more about Segura sparkling wine and share the discovery with friends, the online contest offers several opportunities for entry and the chance to win a wine tasting weekend for two to Sonoma Valley, California.

To enter the contest, visit the Discover & Share Sweepstakes link on the Segura website or their Facebook page and complete any of the Discover & Share challenges, such as answering questions about cava, uploading photos of toasting with friends, “liking” the Segura fan page, or sharing the sweepstakes. Complete all the challenges and earn up to 10 entries to increase your chances of winning. A random drawing from all entries on December 18, 2011 will decide the winner, who will receive a weekend getaway for two to Sonoma valued at $2,500, including round trip airfare, hotel accommodations, a $250 AmEx gift card, and a VIP tour and tasting at Gloria Ferrer Sparkling Caves & Vineyards, a Segura sister winery. Read the Official Rules for complete details.

Segura Viudas (seh GOO rah vee YOU das) is the sophisticated go-to bubbly for those in the know. Made in the méthode champenoise (the same process used to make champagne) and handcrafted with modern winemaking techniques, these artisan Spanish cavas are polished yet approachable and just waiting to be discovered and shared. To find Segura sparkling wines in your area, visit the Segura Viudas Wine Locator. Imported by Freixenet USA of Sonoma, California.

 

WINNER UPDATE…. Congrats to Cindy!!

Scallop Salad {and a Giveaway!}

Today was one of those days that could not have ended fast enough. It really was TGIF. Everything that was going wrong was happening. I woke up on the wrong side of the bed because middle of the night construction down the road woke us up so I had no patience from the start. So from there things spiraled out of control. I could not wait to get home, hop in our fixed car ($500 later) and go to the grocery store. Such an exciting Friday night, no?

 

I was so excited to get to the grocery store to get everything I needed to make scallop salad. Why scallop salad? Well, during the summer I attended a Freixenet tasting giving me the opportunity to try many great cocktails using the Freixnet Cava. Recently, I was contacted by their PR group wondering if I would like to host “Freixenet Friday” so I could share Feixenet love with you guys. During these weekly Friday posts, I will be posting recipes from the Freixnet site. I decided to start with some food since we never should start to drink on an empty stomach.

 

I adapted the scallop salad recipe on the Freixenet website to that I had a slight change in getting Price to eat it. Price is not a huge seafood fan so I figured the tender, smaller bay scallops would be an easier sell than the bigger ones. I was slightly right, at least he tried it. Progress… Additionally, the bay scallops are less expensive than the large sea scallops. This was an easy starter salad to whip up so it could easily be increased and made for a dinner party. You would really impress you guests if you brought this salad out with the paired Brut Reserva.

Scallop Salad 

*Serves 2*

Ingredients

  • 1/4 lb of bay scallops
  • 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
  • 1 orange
  • 1 lime
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • lettuce for two people,
  • 1-2 green onion, sliced
  • 2 tablespoons cream
  • white pepper
  • salt

Process

  1. Zest half an orange, set aside zest. Supreme the orange by peeling it and removing the white pith. Then use a sharp knife to remove the skin from each slice of orange. Dice the segments, set aside.
  2.  Chiffonade the lettuce.
  3. In a saucepan over high heat, add the butter, tomatoes, and lime juice, cooking for 2 minutes. Add the orange zest and scallops, cook until they become white, about a 1 1/2 – 2 minutes.
  4. Using a slotted spoon, remove the tomatoes and scallops from the pan into a small bowl. Add the sliced green onion and orange segment pieces.
  5.  Add the cream and white pepper to the sauce in the pan to thicken. Turn off the heat once the sauce is thicker, add the tomatoes and scallop mixture back to the pan. Toss to coat and then serve.
  6. To serve the salad, layer 1/2 the lettuce in a martini glass. Divide the salad between the glasses. Sprinkle with salt.

WINE PAIRING: BRUT RESERVA 2007

______________________________

And now the good stuff… the GIVEAWAY!

The “Freixenet Friday” package includes six elegant Freixenet fluted glasses as well as The Freixenet Social Survival Guide, a pocket reference guide for social situations. This savvy little red book is filled with common sense advice including: Ten Commandments the perfect guest or host should live by, the sophisticate’s guide to tipping, ordering wine with confidence, quick fix-its on the fly: stains, fallen hems and broken heels, from work to play: 18 hours of style for those working from “nine to wine”.

To Enter:

Leave a comment telling me what you are looking forward to about holiday parties.

Extra Entries: 

Spread the word- Tweet: “I want to win a @freixenetusa Friday Package that includes fluted glasses from @iamahoneybee http://wp.me/pzEAP-1C” OR share on Facebook. Come back here and leave me a comment telling me what you did.

Follow Freixenet- you can follow the Freixenet truck as it hops around the country @FreixentUSA OR like them on Facebook. Come back here and leave me a comment telling me what you did.

Contest Ends Monday night at Midnight EST. Good luck!