Monday, May 25, 2009

Have A Sip Of: Sangria


Nothing cools down your Memorial Day Weekend cookout better than a glass of liquid delice'. And because I will be spending today enveloped in tasty Sangria and sandy Mexican beaches, it seems only fitting Sangria is the guest star of Cocktail of the Month.
Make it this morning and your mouth will be ready for a Sangria rinse by this afternoon. You may remember one of my specialities is the Sangria Cha Cha Cha but there are so many sangria recipes. Which one is the best? Today, I am giving you a multiple choice quiz in which all of the answers are correct. Here are several Sangria recipes so you can Cha Cha Cha your own. Feel refreshed already, don't you?


JENNY MAC'S SANGRIA CHA CHA CHA
Ingredients:
1 orange cut into slices
1 lemon
1 c sugar
1 bottle white wine ( I recommend pinot grigio, sav blanc, or viognier)
1 bottle red wine (pinot noirs, sangiovese, or young merlots)
Sliced peaches, apples, strawberries, raspberries
Grand Marnier to taste
Directions:
Combine the orange, lemon, sugar, and wines in a large glass bowl and stir. Cover in fridge for 4 - 8 hours. Add the fruit and spirits and let soak for at least 30 minutes. Serve over ice.


Kim Wray Perdue's Famous White Sangria
Ingredients:
1 bottle dry red or white wine
1.5 cups of Spanish brandy (do not use regular brandy. Or do and it won't be as good.)
Juice from 4 oranges
Juice from 4 lemons
Juice from 4 limes
2 T. cinnamon
1 c. sugar
Directions:
Combine in a 1 gallon beverage container and shake it, shake it, shake it. Add more sugar if you like, and warn people...this one packs a punch.



CHAMPAGNE SANGRIA
Ingredients
1 (750-ml) bottle Prosecco or French Champagne, chilled
1/2 cup orange juice
2 cups Mint Simple Syrup, recipe follows
1 lemon, zested and thinly sliced
1 lime, zested and thinly sliced
1/2 cup sliced strawberries
5 fresh mint sprigs
Crushed ice
Directions
In a large pitcher, combine the Prosecco, orange juice, Mint Simple Syrup, lemon zest, and lime zest. Add the sliced strawberries, lemon slices, lime slices, and mint sprigs.
Fill glasses with crushed ice and pour the sangria over the top. Serve immediately.
Mint Simple Syrup:
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
1 cup packed fresh mint leaves
In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, water, and mint over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the syrup to cool for 20 minutes. Strain before using


RED WINE SANGRIA
Ingredients
1 orange, sliced
1 lime, sliced
1 apple, cored and sliced
1 bottle red wine
3 cups white rum
1/2 cup orange flavored liqueur, recommended: Cointreau
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup pomegranate juice
3 tablespoons sugar
1 quart club soda, to taste
Directions
To a pitcher add orange, lime, apple and cover with red wine, rum, orange liqueur, orange juice, pomegranate juice and stir in sugar. Chill in the refrigerator. When ready to serve top off with club soda, to taste.


SANGRIA PEREA
Ingredients
3 cups ice cubes
1/4 cup lemon slices
1/4 cup lime slices
1/4 cup orange, slices
1/4 cup pineapple chunks
1/4 cup seedless grapes
2 cups red wine
1/2 cup peach brandy
1 cup orange juice
1 cup lemon/lime soda
Directions
In a pitcher, add all the ingredients and stir to combine. Ideally, you want to wait about 1 hour for the fruit and the wine to infuse each other, but you can drink it right away.

1 comment:

MommyLisa said...

Okay - ONE of these (or all) will be made over our New Year's trip up to a cabin...