Peachy White Zinfandel Sangria

Most of the time, when Bob's best friend stays at our house, his grandmother sends along a little gift bag for the house. She totally doesn't need to do that, but she always does. Often there's some kind of alcohol... Hungarian sausage... snacks for the kids. It's awesome! Thank you Elizabet! You're such a sweetie!!

The last bag had a bottle of White Zinfandel in it. I knew right away I'd be making it into sangria!!

I mentioned to Erin that I needed to come up with a sangria recipe for the White Zin and she sent me this from Tasty Kitchen. I've tweaked it to my liking and upsized it to use a 1.5 L bottle of wine, since that's what I had on hand.



Peachy White Zinfandel Sangria
1.5 L White Zinfandel
1 C peach schnapps
1/4 C triple sec
1/2 lemon, sliced
1 1/2 oranges, sliced
BIG handful of strawberries, sliced
2 nectarines, sliced

Keep the extra 1/2 lemon & 1/2 orange, slice and use as a garnish.

Combine all ingredients in a large pitcher. Refrigerate for several hours.
Pour over ice.
Enjoy with friends!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is all you need!




This was tasty. It was light and refreshing. I didn't add any soda to it at all. Very peachy in flavor. I prefer a red sangria. But I definitely wouldn't say no to this!

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!!
 

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!

Wine Tasting ~ Gewurztraminer

So finally a wine tasting post! I have a few kinda mostly written... I should try to get them cleared out!

But this is November's Wine for the BakeSpace Wine Tasting Club.

I got to pick the November Wine and hoped that Gewurztraminer would be a wine that I actually liked. I'd heard that it was very similar to a Riesling and to date, that had been the only kind I actually liked.

Yay!! I chose well!!

I didn't really have a party for this wine tasting... just a last minute idea for a few friends to come over.

I planned to serve Spicy Curried Potato Pockets, Tandoori Chicken and Sweet Coconut Curry Rice. No one could make it for dinner... but I still had the Spicy Curried Potato Pockets to go with the wine. Jon and I did try the first wine with the Tandoori...


First up is the wine that I picked up.

Name: Fetzer

Region: Valley Oaks, California

Price: $7.99 (on sale)

Year: 2008

PHOTO of bottle:


Short intro from the wine maker about the wine:
"It’s often called gavurtz because it’s hard to say, and even harder to spell. This wine, though, is a secret weapon, great for taming spicy foods or sipping on its own. Enjoy the honeyed apricot and peach flavors in the glass, and breathe deeply to capture the aromas of rose petals and honeysuckle. Lots of people love this wine, even if they’ll never spell it. Just ask for gavurtz. We’ll know what you mean."

Review:
very clear yellow color
the cork smelled spicy... smells like wine...

Me ~ sweet, no squinchy face... not too sweet... Tandoori Chicken made the wine spicer... and it was sweeter after Sweet Coconut Curry Rice... burps fruity... kinda thick viscosity

Jon ~ sweet... goes well with Tandoori... burped peachy

(yeah... we're wicked classy)

Erin ~ smells winey... pretty good actually... peachy... fizziless champagne

Andrew ~ appley... same after... no aftertaste... would be nice used as liquid for fruit cocktail

Would you buy again?: Yes... I actually liked it one!

Wine Pairing Ideas/Recipes: It went very well with Spicy Curried Potato Pockets, Tandoori Chicken and Sweet Coconut Curry Rice. This is really the first wine I've had that I could really say, "Wow... this wine really 'goes' with this food!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Erin & Andrew brought this wine...

Name: Chateau Ste. Michelle

Region: Columbia Valley, Washington

Price: $10.99

Year: 2008

PHOTO of bottle:


Short intro from the wine maker about the wine:
The magical combination of sun soil and water - the "terroir" of Washington state's world class growing region produces bright spicy Gewurztraminer grapes. A slow, cool fermentation preserves the wine's characteristic spice notes. Grapefruit and citrus flavors are lively on the palate in this refreshing medium-dry wine.

Review:
paler yellow than the Fetzer

Me ~ smells like wine... kinda squinchy face... sour sour apple... sweeter after Spicy Curried Potato Pocket.

Jon ~ smells like outside... sour-er... I don't mind sour... likes this one better... awful wine taste leftover... can taste grapefruit...

Erin ~ definitely wine... peachy... hitting the back of my mouth more... wants to suck on it, like hard candy... def taste grapefruit... loses sour after Spicy Curried Potato Pocket...

Andrew ~ more grape-y... like a snake-bite shooter... after burn like kerosene... 1st one was two sweet... this one is spicy like a peppercorn...

Would you buy again?: Probably not, not being a wine drinker... If I needed a Gewurztraminer... I'd choose the Fetzer.

Wine Pairing Ideas/Recipes: It went very well with Spicy Curried Potato Pockets, Tandoori Chicken and Sweet Coconut Curry Rice

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So Erin & I liked the Fetzer better and Jon & Andrew liked the Chateau Ste Michelle.

I was totally lame and didn't take any pictures at all this day! Ok... actually I did take pics of making the Tandoori... but totally spaced when we started wine tasting.

So these are our newest friends/wine-tasters... actually... they've been Jon's friends for a very long time... but I just really met them at Ericka & Drew's wedding a couple months ago. They are very cool and you can expect to see more of them!


Aren't they cute??
(I stole that from Erin's facebook... shhh....)

And since I didn't take any pics that day... I just picked a picture of Jon and me that I like!

That was us a few years ago in Amsterdam. =)

Have you joined the BakeSpace Wine Tasting Club yet?



What are you waiting for?

Sangria!

I experimented with making some Sangria over the weekend. I'm making some for a special occasion coming up and wanted to get in at least one practice batch!

The one I made is pretty simple.



Sangria
1 bottle Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon
1/3 C brandy
1/3 C triple sec
1 nectarine, sliced
1 granny smith apple, sliced
1 orange, sliced
1 big handful raspberries
7up

Pour all ingredients except 7up, into a large pitcher and refrigerate for several hours.
Add some ice to wine glasses, pour in wine mixture and top off with 7up.

The pictures aren't really great for this.

Everything except 7up into the pitcher.




Chill several hours.

Add ice to wine glasses.


Then wine mixture.


Check out that wine soaked fruit.


Top off with 7up.


So far, I haven't found a red wine that I like. But I do like Sangria.

This was pretty good.

I think I can probably find a better one. I have time to experiment a little more this weekend.

This would have been good over champagne or asti too!

Eating My Way Through Memorial Day Weekend!

I went back to my hometown for a couple of days over Memorial Day weekend. Usually that's not quite enough time for me to consider it worth the 10 hour drive. But I really wanted to meet my new great nephew before Thanksgiving.

This is Kai.


Isn't he perfect?

Since I was there... I HAD to have some of my favorite foods that I miss so much!

Every trip to Massachusetts, I can't wait to have pizza. Sorry Pittsburgh, but your pizza just doesn't measure up!

On my first night, my mom always has Pizza from Wakefield House of Pizza, waiting for my arrival.

Bob and I had a late lunch around 2 or 2:30 and were totally ready for pizza when we arrived around 8pm.

Sausage & Pepperoni for Bob (of course I had a slice too!)




Cheese for me (actually... my sister Jeannie likes extra cheese, so it was probably extra cheese) YUM!


My nephew Damien also ordered a CheeseSteak Pizza.


It looked better than the picture. I would have tried some, but had to have my favorite first. Then I was just too full. There was some leftover, but I don't think that would have been a very good leftover.

However, the leftover cheese pizza was awesome, cold for pre-breakfast!

Saturday morning, over to Christopher's for breakfast. My sister works there part time and this was her first opportunity to show her perfect grandson. She was working, so we called ahead to get a table in her station.

Of course, I forgot to throw my camera in my purse, so no pics. But I had the Eggs Benedict Anyway You Like It... which is any kind of meat. So I got it corned beef hash. The hash was AWESOME. But I do have to say, the Hollandaise was a little bland. (maybe they'll see this and spice it up a bit!) But my niece Casandra got the Ultimate French Toast, which looked AMAZING!!!

Something that I thought was totally cool was that they have American Chop Suey on the kids menu! I've lived away from Massachusetts for so long, people always refer to it as Goulash... I don't know if I've ever seen Goulash on a menu... but I know I haven't seen American Chop Suey! So that totally tickled me!

Plus my Auntie Evelyn joined us, which was such a nice surprise!

If your looking for breakfast or lunch and are near Reading, MA, I recommend you stop in! (If it's a Saturday or Sunday, ask for Jeannie!)

Later in the day, on our way to the cemetery to plant flowers on my dad's grave with my mom, we stopped at Morena's Cucina Rustica per my request. I had to have a Sicilian Slice and a Hippi Roll.



The Hippi Roll is Calzoni with Sausage, Hamburger, Peppers & Mozzarella.




YUM!!!

Next visit I'll get an Italian Sub. In Massachusetts, if you like them, they'll put chopped pickles on your sub... not pickle slices. It's not something that sounds like a big deal, but it is! And it's NOT baked. Ok... I have to stop typing about something I can only make at home and not quite as good as Morena's!

After the cemetery, Mum decided she'd like a Coffee Frappe. That's not a coffee drink prepared by your favorite barista. It's a milkshake with ice cream.

Now normally I'd happily join my mom for a coffee frappe. It's also a favorite of mine; however, we were stopping at Meletharb! YAY!!



They have Lime Rickeys!!!!

A Lime Rickey is quite possibly the most refreshing drink you can have. For some reason, the rest of the country hasn't caught on to this.

It's so easy... a couple squirts of simple syrup, the juice of a lime or three (if you like them sour like me!), drop in the squeezed limes, fill with soda water and stir. That's it! They also make a Raspberry Lime Rickey, which just adds a squirt or two of raspberry syrup. That used to be my favorite, but my tastes have changed and now I definitely prefer tart to sweet.

I don't have a picture of it, because in the paper cup it comes in, it doesn't look particularly noteworthy.

So Mum and Jeannie asked what I wanted for dinner that night. (yes... still eating...) I had been wanting some Steamers. Being land locked in Pittsburgh, it's not easy to just stop in someplace quick for some... if you can find any at all!

We went to Dockside for dinner. It's a little place down the street that they go to pretty often. Mum & Jeannie really like their burgers... but spinach artichoke pizza and nachos are also favorites.

My pictures aren't great...


Dipped in butter


They were awesome!


Creamy buttery bellies, with not a spec of sand!

Saturday night I tried Domaine de Canton which was awesome!!

So Sunday... my last day there, I wanted to pick up a bottle to take home. I knew there was NO WAY I'd find it in PA. Plus, I wanted to find some interesting microbrews for Jon... so off to Kappy's in Saugus.

Earlier in the day I had been thinking I really wanted some fried clams. The little seafood place down the street from Mum's house closed a few years ago. Then it occurred to me that there was a Kelly's Roast Beef in Saugus.

So next food stop... Kelly's Roast Beef! It's funny. I had no intention of going there at all. But my cousin Charlie will be visiting next month and can't wait to go!

We were going out for Chinese food later for my nephew Damien's birthday, so I didn't want to eat a lot. I was hoping they might have a kid's clam roll or something. But I ended up just getting a Clam Roll. Mum ate the onion rings and we tossed the fries.

Doesn't that look awesome???


It totally was!!!

I didn't really have a craving for a Roast Beef sandwich... until I saw the ones everyone else ordered!!! Next time... Kelly's is ON the list!

Next eating/drinking adventure? Wine Tasting with Mum & Casandra.

Name: CK Mondavi Willow Springs Pinot Grigio

Price: $6.99

Year: 2007

PHOTO of bottle:


Short intro from the wine maker about the wine:
Our Pinot Grigio is a medium-bodied wine filled with aromas of wildflowers, peaches and pears. Fresh, tropical flavors combined with a touch of spice lead to a delightfully crisp finish.

Review: Well... I left my notes at my sister's house. She said she'd mail them to me, but I pretty much remember.

Pale yellow in color

No specific aromas I could pick out.

Me ~ squinchy face... definitely not digging it. Maybe can taste some pear; but I don't like pears either!

Mum ~ she wasn't really digging it either... she definitely prefers Chardonnay.

Casandra ~ nice... she liked it and could even pick out some pear flavor

Would you buy again?: I'd cook with it.

Wine Pairing Ideas/Recipes: I just use it for a dry white wine in recipes.

Name: Bolla Pinot Grigio

Price: $7.99

Year:2007

PHOTO of bottle:


Short intro from the wine maker about the wine:
Bolla Pinot Grigio is made from handpicked Pinot Grigio grapes from northeastern Italy in Veneto, Fruili and Trentino. Our Pinot Grigio has lively fresh fruit flavors and aromas of peach, melon, pear and lime. Light-bodied and refreshing, this dry Italian wine nicely complements seafood, poultry or light pasta dishes, soups and salads.

Review:
This wine is more golden in color than the Mondavi.

Mum & I liked it better than the Mondavi too...

Even though I liked it better... I still wasn't really digging it.

Casandra liked it less.

We did get a bit of pear flavor.

Would you buy again?: Sounds weird, but even though I liked it better than the Mondavi... I would probably buy the Mondavi before this, just for cooking.

Wine Pairing Ideas/Recipes: I have nothing... but there is an Italian Chicken Pasta recipe on the Bolla website you can check out!

We tried these wines with a cheese that was WAY too much cheese for the wines.

Trader Joe's Goat's Milk, Garlic & Herb Gouda Cheese.




Mum and I really LOVED the cheese!! Casandra & Jeannie really HATED it!

And that was my first trip to a Trader Joe's. I also picked up some Sunflower Seed Butter. But sadly that store didn't carry wine. Oh well... but stay tuned for Sunflower Seed Butter Cookies!!

Hmmm... this is getting pretty long... I wonder if anyone's still reading?

I know (think) Mum will at least read the whole thing! =)

Anyway... last eating adventure of the weekend... so if you're still with me... don't worry, it's almost over.

KOWLOON!!! YAY!!!!

I LOVE Chinese food in Massachusetts. Every part of the country is a little different. I think you just like what you grew up with best. At least that's how it seems to work for me!

We were celebrating Damien's 25th birthday.

He started off the evening with a Sake Flight.


I started with a Scorpion Bowl (for two - hey if I'm probably going to have two anyway, I might as well get it in a cool bowl right?)


That's me, with Mum in the background.


And Damien decided my Scorpion Bowl looked pretty good after he finished his Sake Flight.


We ordered WAY too much food. We always do. But when we take it home, it doesn't seem to go to waste.

Egg Rolls, Chicken Fingers, Boneless Spare Ribs


Seafood Exotic Fantasy, Teriyaki Nuggets, and my Scorpion Bowl


Beef Lo Mein, more Chicken Fingers (cuz they're SO good), Crab Rangoon


There was more food too... Pan Fried Noodles with Chicken and Veggies, California Roll... I think that might be it... but there could have been more.

So that was eating my way through Memorial Day Weekend!

I didn't want to step on the scale when I got home, because I was afraid I'd break it!!

Expect to see some lighter recipes here!

Have a great weekend!!

And if you're still reading... you actually made it to the end!