Giant in the Kitchen: Cool Summer Sangria
I forgot to mention the sangria! We made some awesome sangria to go with the sushi…because Spain is kind of close to Japan, right?
Sangria is a great way to have a classy summer drink when you have no money. You can make it as extravagant as you like, but basic sangria is just cheap wine, and some citrus fruit. The wine can be cheap because the fruit flavors overpower any subtleties in the wine. I used a bottle of cheap shiraz that I got off of a clearance shelf at Target. (I’m talking 3$ here)
Here is a simple sangria recipe:
Wash two oranges and a lemon. Cut into bite size pieces and place all of the lemon and 2/3rds of the orange into a large pitcher. Press the pitchered fruit with a wooden spoon to release some of the juices. Pour in a single 750 ml bottle of wine and stir together. Put this concoction in the fridge for a couple of hours, garnish with the remaining orange slices and you have basic sangria. I like to mix in about 6 ounces of frozen limeade concentrate. This makes it a bit sweeter and really gives it a punch of citrus.
Try some of these variations:
- Mix in a cup of dark rum with the wine.
- Make it a fizzy drink by filling a glass 1/3 with seltzer and 2/3 sangria.
- Use a white wine and substitute peaches, apples and grapes for the citrus fruits. Sprigs of crushed mint can be delicious here as well.
- Withhold the limeade concentrate and use a cup of simple syrup instead. For simple syrup, mix 1 cup sugar with 1 cup water in a sauce pan over medium-low heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Let cool before mixing into the sangria.
- Grate 2 tablespoons of fresh ginger into the sangria.
- Use a cup of orange or apple juice as a sweetener.
Sangria Wine???
I was at Target today, 'cause, you know, I like to hang out there. They have these wine cubes (read: boxed wine) which I really like. I have a pretty good palate for beer, but I have no idea when it comes to wine. I can drink just about any wine (as long as it's red) and enjoy it. What's great about boxed wine is that it's cheap and it doesn't go bad too quickly. The Target cubes are about 16 dollars and carry the equivalent of 4 standard wine bottles. It's no 2 buck chuck, but it does the job. Another added bonus is that boxed wine is really a bag of wine in a box, i.e. instant Bota Bag, handy for parties and dreary family gatherings!
Here's a picture of a cube in action on my fridge...
Anyway, I was at Target today walking past the wine section when what do I see? A big display at the end of the row of red and white sangria wine cubes. Does this seem kind of silly? Sangria is a cinch to make and there's no such thing as sangria wine - it's just whatever cheap wine you have around. Granted, boxed wine is the perfect low end stuff to make sangria, but at least when you make sangria with boxed Merlot, you know you're drinking Merlot...
On a side note, Target is marketing wine juice boxes under the same wine cube label. Amazing, right? I think I want to take this to work when I brown bag it. It'd be the best lunch ever....
Check it: