Thirsty Thursdays

We're switching the lineup already here...I'm taking you all back to the college days. 

 

Thursdays were all about not having class on Fridays and getting to spend Thursday nights with your friends at a party or a happy hour somewhere.  For today's Thirsty Thursday, I want you to prepare yourself for an excellent drink (and it's definitely one to share with friends and family!). 

 

This recipe is so simple, I can remember it in my head!  No note cards.  No fancy recipe books.  Just me and a little list of ingredients.  Are you ready?  Let's make a pitcher of sangria!!!!!!!!!

 

The great thing about this particular recipe is that you can make it with red or white wine, depending on your own preference. 

 

Summer Sangria
One pitcher

• 750mL bottle of inexpensive wine
• 3/4 c. triple sec
• 3/4 c. rum
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 2 limes
• 2 lemons
• 2 oranges
• 1 apple
• ice

That's it folks.  That's all the stuff you'll need.  I'm pretty sure you can pick up everything for around $20, and if you have triple sec and rum in your liquor cabinet already then you're all set to go! 

 

First things first, juice 1 of each of the limes, lemons, and oranges into the pitcher. 

 

Stirr in the triple sec, rum, and sugar.  That's the base.  I like to let this sit for a minute to try to break up some of the sugar and get it into a nice syrup-y concoction. 

 

From here, all you have to do is dump in the wine of your choice.  It doesn't need to be sweet, because you've got sugar.  It doesn't need to be great, because you've got fruit and liquor to spice things up.  For me, I chose the $1.99 bottles of wine from Fresh and Easy.  There were two brands to choose from and five types total.  That's right, I bought 6 bottles of wine from Fresh and Easy for what was going to be $11.94.  Did I mention that if you buy 6 bottles or more, you get a 10% discount?  So it was only $10.75 plus tax.  Come on, this is a total steal! 

 

I'm sure they're aren't "impressive" or "spectacular", but that's not what I need them to be.  I just need wine.  Wine flavor.  Wine-like.  For these particular recipes, I used one bottle of the white "Saludas" and one bottle of the red "Saludas" wines. 

 

So pour that wine into the pitcher and slice up the remaining lemon, lime, and orange.  Toss everything into the pitcher and give it a good healthy stir.  Now throw it into the fridge and (this is my favorite part) walk away. 

 

I went off and cleaned, made lunch, did some laundry, put on my bathing suit, and came back to the fride an hour or two later.  I stirred it up again and discovered that the sugar had disolved and the fruit was soaking in some of that wine goodness. 

 

I put some ice into a glass and poured myself a nice healthy amount.  From there I headed out to the pool and spent the afternoon sipping on sangria and munching on orange slices.  It was delightful! 

 

I have to warn you though, this stuff will sneak up on you.  It will whack you over the head and say "Too much silly juice!" before you know what hit you!  Think about it: wine, triple sec, and rum.  That's a whole lotta alchohol.  So sip slowly.  And drink water.  And take aspirin before you go to bed.  Throw in a vitamnin too, just to be safe.

 

Eat (and drink) happy,

 

Kipp