Apple Cider Sangria

I saw this recipe a few times, before it really clicked that it was something I really wanted to make.

While I enjoy white sangrias, I really prefer red. So, that probably accounts for my hesitation.

I decided it would be great for Thanksgiving. Mum usually serves wine, but I really don't like wine... well... unless it's in sangria form!

Anyway... I was perusing the interwebs and stumbled upon this recipe at how sweet it is... and I tweaked it a little.



Apple Cider Sangria
1 bottle (750ml) pinot grigio
2 1/2 C apple cider
1/2 C ginger liqueur (I used Domaine de Canton)
1 C ginger ale or ginger beer
3 honey crisp apples, cubed
3 pears, cubed

Combine all ingredients and stir. Refrigerate at least one hour, preferably several.

Enjoy!!

I made a single batch of this and instantly decided to add half a batch more, then decided to just double it. We didn't have any more pinot grigio or we would have doubled it again!

This is wicked good!!! Everyone totally LOVED it!



I only used the apples & pears for one recipe. I think if we'd quadrupled it, just 3 pears and 3 apples would have still been fine.

This can sit in the fridge for days (if it lasts that long!!) You don't get any bitterness like you do from citrus fruit in sangria. The apples and pears just keep adding more appley peary goodness!



From this day forward Apple Cider Sangria will forever be served on Thanksgiving!! And probably many of the other days that apple cider is available! I can't wait to make it again!

I really suggest you make this today.... don't dawdle like I did!!! And make it at least a double!!

Creamsicle

August 14th is National Creamsicle Day!

This is a grown up version of the ice cream pop you used to get from the Ice-Cream Man when you were a kid. If you're in Bartlesville, OK, I bet you can get one from my Uncle David's ice cream truck!

I think this is one of my sister Jeannie's favorites. As soon as I heard National Creamsicle Day was coming up I thought of her and asked her to make one for the blog. Being the awesome sister that she is, she agreed.



Creamsicle
Licor 43
Vanilla Vodka
Orange Juice
Cream
Ice
16 oz Tupperware Shaker

Use any 16 ounce shaker.  Jeannie said any shaker, but I'd go with a Tupperware one, that has the measurements on it.
Start by filling it completely full of ice.
Then fill 1/3 full with Licor 43 To the 6oz marker
Next add Vanilla Vodka (about half the amount of the Licor 42) To the 10oz marker
Then add Orange Juice (the same amount as the Vanilla Vodka) To the 14oz marker
Last add a splash of cream (roughly an ounce - I use Fat Free half & half and pretend that makes it Weight Watcher friendly) To the 15oz marker with whatever milky product you choose
Strain into the glass of your choice (makes roughly a 9 oz drink... can be served over ice too)

I'll actually be up at her house tomorrow... I'll have her make me one!

You should try one too!

Cranberry Lime Margarita

July 24 is National Tequila Day!!

Why not celebrate with a Cranberry Lime Margarita?

It was a Saturday morning. I left to go out for coffee and shopping with Ericka (who would be returning with her hubby later that evening for dinner at our house)

I told Jon I wanted some kinda tequila cocktails for our dinner party that night and I wanted them to be pink!

My awesome hubby came up with this!



Cranberry Lime Margaritas
2 oz reposado tequila
3 oz cranberry juice
1 oz lime juice, fresh squeezed
2 oz triple sec
lime slice for garnish

Shake tequila, cramberry juice, lime juice and triple sec in a shaker with ice.
Pour into glasses and garnish with lime.

Ericka and I decided this would be nice rimmed with sugar (for Ericka) or salt (for me). Also we both would have preferred it on the rocks... still shaken... but on the rocks.

These were so good! Exactly what I was looking for!

Great job!! Thanks Baby!!

Looking for more tequila recipes?

How about a Rested Rosemary


or a POM-a-RITA


Happy National Tequila Day!! It's 5 o'clock somewhere, right?

Porch Sangria

Hi! Happy Summer!

Summertime at Spryte's Place equals Sangria!

This one is simply called Porch Sangria because I just made it to enjoy with a friend, on the porch on a sunny, lazy, summer afternoon!

Sangrias are easy and this is no exception.

 

Porch Sangria
1 bottle dry red wine
1/2 C brandy
1/4 C triple sec
1 1/2 C orange juice
2 nectarines, sliced
2 oranges, sliced
1 lime, sliced
gingerale

Combine wine, brandy, triple sec and orange juice in a large pitcher. Add sliced nectarines & oranges. Refrigerate several hours to overnight. When getting ready to serve add sliced lime to the pitcher. Pour over ice and top off with cold gingerale as desired.

Enjoy with friends!!
 

Pumpkin Mudslide

It's finally fall! My favorite season! Hmmm... maybe my favorite season is winter... I'm not sure, I just know that I love fall! Gone are the hot humid sweaty sticky days of summer and they're replaced with cool days, cooler nights, leaves changing color and the smell of fireplaces burning in the evening.

It just makes me want to inhale deeply, close my eyes and say "ahhhhhhh".

My sister, Jeannie has a cocktail for every occasion. She made Pumpkin Mudslides this weekend... what sounds more perfect for fall than a Pumpkin Mudslide?

Pumpkin Mudslide
Equal parts
Pumpkin Spice Schnapps or Fulton's Harvest Pumpkin Pie Cream Liqueur
Kaluha
Vanilla Vodka
Splash of milk (however much or little as you like)

Shake with ice and enjoy!!

The first one I tried had Pumpkin Spice Schnapps.



The second one had Fulton's Harvest Pumpkin Pie Cream Liqueur.



These are both wicked good!! But if you make it with Fulton's Harvest Pumpkin Pie Cream Liqueur, it really does taste just like pumpkin pie!

I highly recommend you give this a try in the very near future!!

Happy Fall!!

Brandy Alexander

Today is National Brandy Alexander Day!

Who proclaims these days? I have no idea! But I was checking out the upcoming food holidays yesterday and thought... "What's a Brandy Alexander?"

I knew it was a cocktail. I knew I had some brandy. Maybe I could make one!



Brandy Alexander
1 1/2 oz brandy
1 oz creme de cocoa
1 oz half & half

Fill shaker half way with ice. Pour all ingredients into shaker. Shake well and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.
Enjoy!

I even made this myself! Typically Jon is the bar master our house. But I read about it, checked to see if we had everything, then just set out to make it!

It's pretty tasty! Happy National Brandy Alexander Day!

Narcisi Sangria

Ok, this is kind of a cheater sangria, since it's already sangria ready to drink from the bottle.

I started with a bottle of Narcisi Sangria.


I found that in my wine cabinet. My mom bought it for me when we went out to Narcisi Winery for a little wine tasting.

I added some Brandy & Fruit.


A couple of nectarines, some raspberries, an orange and an apple.
(I LOVE nectarines!)

Mix it all up and let it rest overnight in the fridge.


Add some nice cold gingerale... and it's cocktail time!


The Narcisi Sangria is really delicious right out of the bottle... but if you can add more spirits & fruit, why not right? Cheers!

Bubble Gum Bomber

This is a wicked fun little cocktail that tastes just like Bubble Gum!

Jon & I found the recipe on one of those liquor gift sets. It had 99 Bananas, Mr Boston Triple Sec/Grenadine, a couple of shot glasses and a bunch of recipes.



Bubble Gum Bomber
1 1/2 parts 99 Bananas
1/2 part triple sec
splash of grenadine

Shake over ice and strain into a martini glass.

Enjoy!

My beautiful friend Erin enjoyed it!


I hope you do too!!

Summer Stone Sangria

There was no sangria last week. Well... I did make one... but it was a FAIL... but this week definitely more than makes up for it!

Summer Stone Sangria!

It's summer time and what would be a perfect addition to sangria?

Summer Stone Fruit!

I'm still working through my wine cabinet. This week I pulled out a Fat Cat Pinot Noir.



Summer Stone Sangria
1 (750 ml) bottle Fat Cat Pinot Noir
2/3 C Slivovitz (plum brandy)
1 C Apricot Nectar
2 Nectarines, sliced
1 Black Plum, sliced
1 Red Plum, sliced
1 Black Velvet Apricot, sliced
1 big handful Cherries, sliced
Ginger Ale

Mix all ingredients except ginger ale and refrigerate several hours to overnight.
When ready to serve, pour over ice and top off with ginger ale!

Enjoy!!



Chop up all of the fruit.


Mix it with the wine, apricot nectar and slivovitz and refrigerate.




This was DELICIOUS!


I was a little afraid it would be too strong with the Slivovitz... or too winey... since I'm not a wine fan in general...

It was great straight... and great with ginger ale!

I loved it!

Definitely a winner!!

Refreshing Grapefruit Sangria

So the 4th of July weekend sangria for the Summer of Sangria started out to be a Limey Citrus Sangria. At least that's what I thought when I was putting it together.

First, I realized that I have a cabinet full of wine! Jon and I don't drink wine, but when people visit, they often bring some along. Since I typically have cocktails for the evening already planned, it usually ends up in the cabinet. There are also some leftover from previous wine-tastings in the cabinet.

So I started there. I wanted to use up the wine I have, instead of shopping for more wine. Makes sense right?

From little under-appreciated wine supply I selected a big bottle of Barefoot Moscato. That was definitely a leftover from a Moscato wine tasting.

My original train of thought was since moscato is sweet, I'll have to tart it up a bit. And I LOVE lime, so I figured I'd go citrus, heavy on the lime. I couldn't wait to try it!

I snuck a taste just before I put it into the fridge and thought it was great! Typically, that taste is usually way too winey for me. But not this time, limey & tart... but it didn't stay that way!



Limey Citrus Sangria
Refreshing Grapefruit Sangria
1.5 liter Barefoot Moscato
1 C Key Lime Rum
1 12oz can Limeade concentrate, thawed
1/2 medium pink grapefruit, sliced, then quartered
1 orange, sliced, then quartered
1 lemon, sliced, then quartered
2 limes, sliced, then quartered

Combine all ingredients in a pitcher and refrigerate several hours to overnight.
Pour over ice and enjoy!

Sounds pretty limey right?



I'll tell ya what, if you invite grapefruit, be prepared to step aside, because grapefruit is definitely the life of the party!




It went into the fridge limey, but those juicy pink grapefruit quarter slices really took over.

Also, I had planned to top off the glasses with 7up, but it was already such a light sangria, that I ended up just pouring it over ice.



The tart grapefruit flavor was a total surprise and it was so refreshing on a really hot 4th of July!



This is definitely a keeper!! But now I have to find that Limey Citrus Sangria I was trying to create. I know what I'll be doing this weekend!

Oh yeah... I totally forgot!! I never told you how the Summer of Sangria came about!

The BakeSpace Wine Club of course!!

The Wine Club had slowed down a bit, but DD kick started it and dubbed June & July Sangria!

I decided to extend that and make it a Summer of Sangria! Starting out with my Memorial Day Tropical Sangria, since Memorial Day is really the unofficial first day of Summer right? And ending with Labor Day weekend!

Check out all of the other Sangria recipes at the BakeSpace Wine Club Sangria section... and keep checking back all month!



So stay tuned! I have a Limey Citrus Sangria to concoct and a cabinet full of wine that needs to get used up!

Release the Kracken Sangria!

It's the Summer of Sangria at Spryte's Place and I'll be putting up a new sangria recipe every week.

This week's selection I'm calling Release the Kracken Sangria!

I wanted to make a red sangria with rum. Most of the recipes I looked at called for white rum.

BORING!

I LOVE The Captain! Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum. I thought the spice would add a nice twist to the Sangria.

I typically have a few rums in the liquor cabinet, but I ran out the door to buy wine and totally forgot to double check.

So Hector and I got to the liquor store and I decided I'd just pick up some Captain Morgan's just to be safe. It's not like we wouldn't use it anyway.

But we got to the rum section and I started thinking that a fruity white rum might be good too.

Then we saw it.

The Kracken Black Spiced Rum


Jon really wanted that one and I have to admit, spiced rum with a sea monster on it is pretty appealing.

Since I grabbed wine on the cheap... I splurged the couple extra bucks for The Kracken!

And when you say the name, you can't just say "The Kracken"

You have to really roll that "R" with a Scottish accent... like Sean Connery or Groundskeeper Willy.

The Krrrracken!

I have no idea why... that's just the way it always sounds in my head!

Anyway... back to the Sangria!

Release the Kracken Sangria!
2 bottles (750ml) Cabernet Sauvignon
1 C The Kraken Spiced Black Rum
1 C orange juice
2 nectarines, sliced
1 black plum, sliced
1/2 pint of raspberries
1 orange, sliced (plus one for garnish)
1 lime, sliced
lemon-lime soda

Pour all ingredients except lemon/lime soda, into a large pitcher and refrigerate for several hours.
Add some ice to wine glasses, pour in wine mixture and top off with lemon/lime soda.
Enjoy!







That's it!

So we shared this with Erin & Andrew.

Unfortunately, I have to say, this is not a favorite Sangria.

The reason?

It mostly tasted like wine and well... I don't really like wine!

I love Sangria, but wine... not so much.

This recipe definitely isn't a fail. I'll try it again. Maybe I'll double the orange juice next time. Or add some triple sec.

Now if you actually enjoy red wine, you definitely should give this a try!



See ya next week with a new Sangria for Summer of Sangria at Spryte's Place!

Tropical Sangria

I love Sangria! I think I like red best, but I wanted to try to make a tropical white sangria.

This is basically the same recipe I tried before, but I changed the wine to Sauvignon Blanc and changed the fruit.



Tropical Sangria
2 bottles Sauvignon Blanc
1/3 C brandy
1/3 C triple sec
1/2 ripe mango, cubed
1 orange, cut into slices, then quartered
5 or 6 pineapple fresh pineapple spears, cut into bite-sized pieces
cold lemon/lime soda

Pour all ingredients except lemon/lime soda, into a large pitcher and refrigerate for several hours.
Add some ice to wine glasses, pour in wine mixture and top off with lemon/lime soda.

That's it! Really easy right?!

I really don't like most wines... but I do love sangria.

I took a little sip after mixing the fruit & wine & liquor, before I put it in the fridge.

MAJOR squinchy face!! I hoped it would get better in the fridge.

Thankfully, it really did!!

It was very fruity & tropical tasting. Perfect for a hot summer day!

Captain Morgan's Planter's Punch

Who doesn't love the Captain?



Nobody!

So, during one of our recent football gatherings, we decided the beverage of the day would be Captain Morgan's Planter's Punch.



Captain Morgan's Planter's Punch
1.25 oz Captain Morgan Spiced Rum
2 oz orange juice
2 oz pineapple juice
.25 oz lime juice
.25 oz lemon juice
1 good splash grenadine
1 cherry with stem
1 orange slice

Shake with ice and strain into an ice filled glass.

Garnish with cherry & orange.

Enjoy!!