When life gives you flat Champagne, poach something.

You wake up after a party to find half a bottle of flat Champagne (or Prosecco or Cava) sitting in the fridge. You’re head is pounding and you’re resolutions forbid alcohol for the foreseeable future. What do you do with that leftover sparkling wine? If your first thought is to dump it down the sink, get hold of yourself and take a deep breath. There are uses for the once sparkling stuff.

While researching recipes for the Mimosa post a few days ago Jason came across a recipe for poached eggs in Champagne. It looked interesting enough but when would we ever have left over sparkling wine? It just happens that on New Year’s Day we awoke to a half bottle of Prosecco in our fridge. We had already planned to make Black Eyed Peas and thought the eggs might make a nice accompaniment, but after looking in our fridge a bit more we discovered the makings for an Eggs Benedict sans Hollandaise with the Champagne-Poached Eggs. We had the fixings for Sunday brunch and since the Champagne was already flat it could wait another day.

For the semi-Eggs Benedict we used prosciutto and goat’s milk brie along with rustic potato rosemary bread instead of the traditional English muffin. It’s not that making hollandaise is a difficult process, but sometimes you want it to be as easy as making a toasted sandwich, which I think most of us can handle even on the most difficult of mornings.

The taste of the Champagne infuses with the egg whites and the little bit of butter in the poaching liquid adds a nice richness to them. This is definitely something we’ll make again. We give up alcohol at the beginning of every year for 4-6 months so it will be a while before we prepare it next, maybe next New Year’s Day!

Boil. Toast. Poach. Broil.

Eggs Benedict sans Hollandaise with Champagne-Poached Eggs

4 slices thick rustic bread (we used potato rosemary in our version)
Leftover Champagne (at least two cups)
2 tablespoons butter
4 eggs
4 slices prosciutto
4 slices brie

Lightly toast the bread. Heat the sparking wine with the butter in a sauté pan until it’s a gentle simmer. Boil a pan of water and add the eggs in their shells for 30 seconds. This is a great trick to keep the whites together. Crack each egg into a ramekin and gently pour into the sparkling wine and butter. Poach for 3-5 minutes. Meanwhile, under a broiler, place the a lightly toasted piece of bread, with a slice of prosciutto, and a slice brie and broil for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is melting.

Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon from the poaching liquid, gently bloating the bottom on a towel. Place each egg on top of the brie and prosciutto toast. Serve immediately.

This is best served with a glass of Champagne or mimosa, but if you happen to be on the wagon, like us, enjoy with a glass of sparkling water and oj.

Cheers!