By CowTown Chow | May 20, 2011 at 9:09 am | No comments | Drink Recipes, Eat, Seasonal Food | Tags: Drink Recipes
Warm Weather Brings out the Sangria
Last Friday, following an afternoon of storms, the sun came out and it ended up as a perfect spring evening. Headed out on a date night with the future Mrs. Row-Boat, we decided to stop by La Bodega in Leawood for some Sangria on the patio before dinner. On a warm spring evening the taste of their famous Sangria Rosa was the perfect way to end a long work week and kick off the weekend. After leaving there and being told we should make Sangria more at home, I went about compiling a few great recipes for this wonderful warm weather beverage.
Some of the recipes I came across are complex and a little time consuming, but worth the effort. Others are just a waste of time. So I wanted a little bit of the simple and easy of some along with the complex sophistication of others. Here is what I found:
Sangria! Sangria!
By AllRecipes.com (Ranked 5 Stars, Rated by 675 people and saved by 41,500+ people)
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup brandy
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/3 cup frozen lemonade concentrate
- 1/3 cup orange juice
- 1 (750 milliliter) bottle dry red wine
- 1/2 cup triple sec
- 1 lemon, sliced into rounds
- 1 orange, sliced into rounds
- 1 lime, sliced into rounds
- 1/4 cup white sugar (optional)
- 8 maraschino cherries
- 2 cups carbonated water (optional)
Preparation:
In a large pitcher or bowl, mix together the brandy, lemon juice, lemonade concentrate, orange juice, red wine, triple sec, and sugar. Float slices of lemon, orange and lime, and maraschino cherries in the mixture. Refrigerate overnight for best flavor. For a fizzy sangria, add club soda just before serving.
Green Grape Sangria
By Gourmet Magazine
Ingredients:
- 1 pound green grapes
- 2 small Granny Smith apples, coarsely chopped
- 1/4 cup packed mint leaves
- 3/4 to 1 cup sugar (to taste)
- 1 (500-mg) vitamin C tablet, crushed to a powder with back of
- a spoon (see cooks’ note, below)
- 2 bottles dry white wine (preferably Albariño or Pinot Grigio)
Preparation:
Purée grapes, apples, mint, sugar, vitamin C, and 2 cups wine in 2 batches in a blender until smooth, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing on solids. Transfer pureé to a pitcher and stir in remaining wine. Chill, covered, at least 2 hours. Serve over ice.
Classic Spanish Sangria
By Lisa K.
Ingredients:
- 1 lemon
- 1 lime
- 1 orange
- 1 1/2 cups rum
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 (750 milliliter) bottle dry red wine
- 1 cup orange juice
Preparation:
Have the fruit, rum, wine, and orange juice well chilled. Slice the lemon, lime and orange into thin rounds and place in a large glass pitcher. Pour in the rum and sugar. Chill in refrigerator for 2 hours to develop the flavors.
When ready to serve, crush the fruit lightly with a wooden spoon and stir in the wine and orange juice. Adjust sweetness to taste.
Sangria Blanco
By Epicurious via Bobo Restaurant NYC
Ingredients:
- 6 to 8 ice cubes
- 4 1/2 teaspoons (3/4 ounce) cachaca
- 4 1/2 teaspoons (3/4 ounce) Pisco
- 4 1/2 teaspoons (3/4 ounce) St Germain (elderflower liqueur)
- 1/4 cup (2 ounces) semisweet white wine such as a Riesling or Gewürztraminer
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice plus 2 thin slices lime
- 1/4 cup (2 ounces) soda water
- 3 thin slices kiwi
- 3 thin slices apple
- 3 thin slices cucumber
- 3 green grapes, cut in half
- 2 fresh sage leaves
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
Preparation:
Fill large wine glass with ice. Add cachaca, Pisco, St Germain, wine, and lime juice. Top with soda water and stir briefly. Add lime, kiwi, apple, cucumber, grapes, sage, and thyme to drink and serve immediately.
Try out one, two or all of these recipes and let me know what you think. Or if you have your own great way of making Sangria, share it with us and I’ll be sure to give it a whirl. Good luck and enjoy!
