Rule for Champagne Punch for a Wedding

Erma, you and your Ham Biscuits! You think that Ham Biscuits are food for every occasion. You would probably say, “They are perfect for an Irish Wake. Nothing goes so well with Irish Whiskey as a good old southern Ham Biscuit.”

I suppose you heard the latest on Paris Hilton. The spoiled one is out of jail and is now on probation until 2009 or some such date; however, she can take a year off her probation by doing 40 hours of community service, such as making a public service announcement. So, now we are to be subjected to Paris saying, “Please don’t litter. It messes up the highways.” Or better yet, “Let’s do all we can to save the environment. Recycle.” Someway I don’t see her as a dedicated recycler. “I always separate my beer cans from my rum bottles before I set them out in my pink recycling container.”

Great punishment. She does a 20 second commercial (which gets her name and face out in the public even more), and a year is cut off her probation. Is there something wrong with the justice system, or what?

I was going to send you an old formula for a standard Wedding Reception Punch, but perhaps we should sent it on to Paris and she can whip this up as a Get Out of Jail Celebration Punch.

Rule for Champagne Punch for a Wedding. Plan on 3 servings of punch per guest, 3 ounces to a punch cup.

1 bottle champagne
1 ounce cognac
1/2 ounce curacao

Mix the cognac and curacao several hours before serving. Mark a measuring cup so the server knows how much of the cognac/curacao to pour in for each bottle of champagne. Chill the bottles of champagne. (You can substitute one bottle of a good dry white wine, for every third bottle of champagne).

Chill the punch bowl and place a block of ice in the bottom. Add the cognac/curacao mix and champagne to fill the bowl. Replenish as needed. Stir and serve at once, but do not ladle back and forth over the ice as this eliminates the bubbles.

This is a really old recipe from a Charleston, South Carolina Depression Era cookbook that you sent me years ago as a present. Recipes then were not as detailed as today. There is actually a lot of math involved, but the results are worth it.

Can’t you see Paris and friends trying to figure this one out? “3 servings per guest (we probably ought to double that) times 3 ounces a cup equals 9, or 18 so some such number of ounces. Wonder how many ounces are in a bottle of champagne? Oh, forget the recipe. Take a bottle of cognac and half a bottle of curacao, and pour over as much champagne as the punch bowl will hold.