Friday Happy Hour: Sangria!

TGIF--The weekend is only hours away, and it's time to celebrate with a homemade cocktail!

I love sangria.


My first experience with sangria was at a tiny Irish pub on the beach in Malaga, Spain. Go figure. But it was the BEST sangria EVER. And it was even better because they served it in over-sized beer mugs. Sangria is easy to make, and super cheap, even if large quantities. It tastes delicious, and you can make it with almost anything you have in your kitchen right now.

There is no "recipe" per se, although you can find recipes online and in cook books for different kinds--red, white, blackberry, etc. Nordstrom has a delicious recipe for sangria in their cookbook. I just use whatever I have. Today, I was able to get everything I needed from 7-11--the glory of living in America!!

First, find a really nice bowl. I love serving punches and premixed cocktails in a trifle bowl. I bought mine at Walmart for $10. Having a pretty presentation doesn't have to cost a fortune! And, even though I'm not having guests over tonight, it's still nice to dress up your cocktail time up a little. It makes everything feel a little more special.

Start with some lemons, limes, and oranges, cut up into wedges. For one bottle of wine, half of each fruit was more than enough. I used one small apple as well.

Add those, and the wine to the bowl. I also had an extra mango, so I cut that up and added it in. Any fruits you have on hand go ahead and add--grapes, blueberries, strawberries, whatever! I also added some triple sec, but you can add a fruity rum or orange juice too. If you like a sweet sangria, warm the juice on the stove and dissolve some sugar in it before adding it to the wine.

Sangria is better when you let it sit for a few hours, so put it in the fridge and let everything simmer before you dig in. I like my sangria to have a little fizz in it, so you can add some sprite or soda water if you'd like. If you're going to be serving a lot of people at once, just add the sprite to the serving bowl. If you're going to be serving it one-by-one, just top off each drink with the sprite. Add a straw, don't forget to eat the fruit, and enjoy!

For those of you who prefer a more structured recipe, check out Emeril's traditional sangria recipe:)