Rice Crispy Treat and Wine

Rice Krispy Treat with Wine

It's a miracle I even graduated high school.  The problem wasn't doing the school work.  It was actually showing up for class to do it.  My freshman year of high school was spent mostly at ditching parties, hanging out with friends.  I wish I would have known what the consequences were for these actions.  At fourteen you don't think about becoming an adult or attending college.  At least, I didn't.  Many teachers reached out to me and asked why I was missing school.  I remember one particular teacher saying, "Courtney, if you only applied yourself more you could go far."  When my report card arrived in the mail, my grandmother was furious.  "Where are you going everyday if you're not showing up for school?"  she demanded.   I was more afraid of her than any teacher.  I got my act together during sophomore and junior year, but had no idea what was in-store once I became a senior.  I met with my counselor and couldn't believe how many credits I was missing from my freshman year.  Many of my classmates had just one or two periods as a senior, but I was stuck going to alternative school both before and after regular classes.  This was my only choice if I wanted to graduate on time.  Instead of football games or movies with friends, I was driving to alternative Ed with many hours still ahead of me.  Since I was usually starving by then, I would walk to the vending machine and put in fifty cents for a Rice Krispy Treat.  For a moment I'd forget all my worries about graduating and enjoy the snack.  Then, it was off to the next class, which lasted until seven in the evening.  I eventually earned all my credits and walked with my class.  While most people hang their college degrees with pride, I bask in the glory of my high school diploma.  It's a visible reminder of a time when I knew nothing about the world, but learned the very powerful lesson that nothing in life comes without hard-work and sheer determination.

What's the best thing about a Rice Krispy Treat?  They can be molded into anything.  During those twenty minutes I had between classes to eat, I'd turn my Rice Krispy Treat into lips or a heart.  Today however, I'm using it to make my very own "pimp cup" or for the more sophisticated drinkers, wine glass.  And no pimp is complete without something in his cup so I pour a glass of Blanquette de Limoux Methode Ancestrale.  Many of you might be wondering what the heck this is.  Blanquette de Limoux Methode Ancestrale is a sparkling wine from France.  Blanquette actually means "white" in French and Limoux is the region in France where its produced.  It's made from the local Mauzac grape.  As the name suggests, the wine is produced using the ancestrale method.  It's an old fashioned way of making sparkling wine that gives it a slightly cloudy appearance with residual sugar left in the wine.  After a bite of the food and then a sip of the wine, I immediately love the similarities in sugar levels, as well as the similar creamy texture of both the food and wine.  A Rice Krispy Treat isn't generally over-the-top sweet and neither is the wine.  The vanilla and marshmallow flavor spring forth and taste like a piece of white cake with frosting.  Finally, the sparkle from the bubbles mimic the "snap, crackle, pop" theme of the treat and help to wash the creamy film off the tongue.  A very fun and delicious pairing! Cheers!

Wine featured in this post: Toad Hollow Amplexus Sparkling