I am a Honey Bee

All about my adventures with cooking, crafts, and travel

sangria

Thirsty Thursday: Red, White, and Blue Sangria

red white and blue sangria

I can’t wait for Memorial Day.

Summer is my favorite time of year and Memorial Day weekend is the unoffical kickoff to summer. It’s going to be gloomy in Boston this weekend but I don’t care!  We are grilling no matter what!!! I just love this weekend and what it represents so I was excited when Amanda picked Memorial Day for our Thirsty Thursday theme this week.

red white and blue sangria_01 red white and blue sangria_02

I know everyone thinks of flags for the Fourth of July but I think of the Red, White, and Blue just as much now. So that is why I made a Red, White, and Blue Sangria. Sure, sure the pineapple is actually yellow but let’s play along and say it represents the white. It’s a great summery drink to enjoy now or for the Fourth of July 🙂

red white and blue sangria_03

Amanda made Sarasota Lemonade. It’s perfectly refreshing and a great drink to cool off with while taking in some sun this summer! Sounds so good that I might have to sneak some to the beach… shh don’t tell!! 🙂

Red, White, and Blue Sangria

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 bottle dry white wine, such as a Sauvignon Blanc
  • 1/2 cup triple sec
  • 3/4 cup fresh blueberries
  • 1 1/2 cups hulled and sliced fresh strawberries
  • 1 pineapple chunks
  • 2 cups Sprite

Process

  1. Combine all of the ingredients, except the Sprite, in a large punch bowl or pitcher and stir well. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours.
  2. Serve well-chilled with a good scoop of fruit floating in each drink.

Inspired by Recipe Girl

Very Berry Sangria

Price and I recently had a party at our place for my birthday. It was centered around a Mexican theme so I’ll be posting a few recipes from that that works well for a fiesta or just a great gathering. Enjoy!

I love sangria so much because it works well year round and with so many different add in’s. You can do citrus, stone fruit, or berries, or an combination in between. I really prefer wine sangria but I have been enjoying red sangria more and more. Most of all I love to serve sangria when people are over. It works well for a crowd since you start with inexpensive wine, add fun fruit to it and it really transforms into a great drink.

 

This red sangria is packed with fruity flavor. All of the different types of berries add so much sweet, bright flavor.  Each of the 4 different types of berries provides a different flavor to the sangria. Then when you add the tequila you get a bit of a kick to it in the end. The seltzer adds a nice bubble to the the whole thing to finish it off.

 

Very Berry Sangria

Serves 12-16 people

Ingredients

  • 4 bottles of red wine
  • 1 pound of strawberries
  • 1 dry pint of blueberries
  • 1 dry pint of blackberries
  • 1 dry pint of raspberries
  • 1/4 cup agave, depending on the wine
  • 3 cups of tequila
  • 1 liter of seltzer, or ginger-ale

Process

  1. Divide the 4 bottles of wine into 2-3 pitchers, depending on the size of pitcher. Fill the pitcher about half way full.
  2. Wash all the fruit. Discard an bruised fruit.
  3. Slice the strawberries.
  4. Add all the fruit to the wine, divide evenly.
  5. Add the agave and tequila. Gently mix the wine to incorporate.
  6. Let chill for at least 2 hours before serving.
  7. Right before serving add the seltzer to the pitchers.

In the know, according to Brian Poe

Last Tuesday I took a cooking class at Boston Center for Adult Education called “The Dishes You Need to Know with Chef Brian Poe”. I wanted to take this class because Brian was teaching it but also because it focused on learning  how to approached several dishes with just a few ingredients. This taught us how to be creative with a few things and see how they can be used in multiple ways.

oranges made an appearance in salsa, as well as sangria

one of the main components in the dishes being prepared was duck. We put basil, hydrated chipotle pepper, lime juice and a slice of orange on it. This was my first time working with duck, in fact I had not patten it much before this.

Brian working on a red wine sauce.

Hello sangria! (glass #1)

Vinaigrette | duck

Under cress

Plating the first course

First Course- duck with israeli cous cous that was tossed with some vinaigrette served under cress

making tacos | the class

Taco course- duck taco with undergress, salsa, and queso fresco. I charred the tortillas over a gas burner.

Sangria glass #2 and #3… I ended up having 4 that night. Gotta love Tuesdays!

Main course- Duck served with a cous cous risotto, salsa, and red wine sauce

Dessert course- dessert nachos… a play on nachos that was made with totillas that were fried in duck fat (previously done at The Rattlesnake) and coated in cinnamon and sugar. Tortila chips were served with a “rice” pudding that was made with cous cous and topped with salsa.