In the Pink Sangria

Makes about 24 servings
Total price: NY $18.73 / 19.77
Price per serving: NY $ 0.78 / 0.82


We made this pink sangria for our friend Blondie’s Birthday Potluck in Prospect Park.* We drink a lot of sangria around here and find that for outdoor picnics, a pretty diluted sangira is preferable and more refreshing on a hot day out in the sun. That’s why this recipe calls for 2 liters of seltzer. If you’re serving this at night at a party, drop the seltzer down to just one liter or less (you know, depending on what kind of party you’re having, nudge, nudge.) The raspberries and pineapple with the rose wine give this one a nice bright, fruity taste and the bright pink color, punctuated with the yellow pineapple, just screams “Birthday Party!” And, of course, blondes and pink always have gone together splendidly!


(UPDATE: We've been Slashfooded! ("Stunning Sangria - Feast Your Eyes")

Ingredients

• 1.5 liter bottle Rose wine (NY $6.99)
• 2 shots Crème de Cassis (NY $1.77)
• 2 pints strawberries (NY $2.49)
• 1/2 pint raspberries (NY $2.49)
• 1 pineapple (NY $4.99)
• 2 liters seltzer (Free or NY $1.04)

Directions


Pour wine and cassis into a large pitcher. Wash strawberries, remove leaves, quarter vertically and toss into pitcher. Wash raspberries and add to raspberries. Chop pineapple into approximately half inch chunks and add to wine/fruit mixture. Put into refrigerator and allow to chill for 3-6 hours. Immediately before serving, add seltzer. (Either pour into pitcher if yours is large enough, or top off individual glasses with the seltzer.) Be sure to scoop lots of fruit into each glass, digging down for the non-floating raspberries: picking out the boozy fruity flotsam** is half the fun!


* The economy being what it is, Blondie still hasn’t found employment, but she’s had some encouraging interviews. Keep your fingers crossed for her!

**Of course, since raspberries don't float, I guess we can't call them flotsam, can we? OK, then, jetsam it is!


Nutritional Facts
Amount Per Serving

Calories 81.6	Protein 0.4 g	Magnesium 3.3 %
Total Fat 0.2 g	Vitamin A 0.4 %	Manganese 27.2 %
Saturated Fat 0.0 g	Vitamin B-12 0.1 %	Niacin 1.3 %
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1 g	Vitamin B-6 2.7 %	Pantothenic Acid 1.7 %
Monounsaturated Fat 0.0 g	Vitamin C 35.9 %	Phosphorus 1.7 %
Cholesterol 0.0 mg	Vitamin D 0.0 %	Riboflavin 2.5 %
Sodium 5.5 mg	Vitamin E 0.5 %	Selenium 0.7 %
Potassium 143.4 mg	Calcium 1.2 %	Thiamin 1.9 %
Total Carbohydrate 7.9 g	Copper 3.8 %	Zinc 0.8 %
Dietary Fiber 1.4 g	Folate 2.5 %
Sugars 1.7 g	Iron 2.6 %

Recipe and Nutritional Information after the jump

Early Summer White Sangria

Makes about 12 glasses
Total price: NY $6.76/NY $7.35
Price per serving: NY $0.56/NY $0.61


This past weekend we had some of that back-of-your-neck-feeling-dirty-and-gritty summer weather that New York is famous for. Sangria, particularly this lighter white wine iteration, is just the thing to both cool down and take the edge off the concrete heat. Plus, what other alcoholic beverage comes equipped with a snack?*


Sangria is also a delicious, summery way to stretch a bottle of wine without being a “spritzer” (ugh) or a “cooler” (double ugh). Personally, I think the best part is fishing out the boozy macerated hunks of fruit bobbing about in the beverage. All the more reason to make this at home: you might not feel like you can dig the tasty chunks out with your fingers in a restaurant or bar, but there’s no reason not to in your house or on a picnic. (Go ahead, slurp away and suck off the juices off your fingers while you’re at it!) When you compare the $6 a glass that this will run you in a restaurant with the around 50 cents a glass that this cost us, we're guessing that you'll become home-brewing sangria converts too. And I bet you weren't getting berries or peaches in that restaurant glass, now were you?


Ingredients

• 1 lime (NY $0.17)
• 1 lemon (NY $0.25)
• 1 orange (NY $0.34)
• 2 ripe peaches (NY $1.01)
• 1 pint strawberries (NY $2.00)
• 3 tablespoons sugar (staple)
• 3 shots Cointreau or other orange liqueur (staple)
• 1 bottle dry white wine (NY $2.99)**
• Seltzer (staple*** or NY $0.59)

Directions

Slice the citrus fruits into thin wedges, dice the peaches, and cut the strawberries into quarters lengthwise. Combine in a pitcher or jug with sugar and orange liqueur. Pour over bottle of wine, and chill over night or for several hours. When ready to serve, pour into glasses, spoon in some of the fruit, and top off with seltzer.**** If its blazingly hot out, toss in an ice cube.



Adapted from Rachael Ray, 30 Minute Meals

* Do tell if you can think of any: I really want to know! I don’t consider a maraschino cherry or lime wedge to constitute a “snack”. And no bottom of the bottle worms either, got it? A snack is something one would *want* to eat.

** We used a Two Buck Chuck here. You don’t have to go quite that low, but really its not worth using a pricey bottle of wine in a sangria, what with all the citrus fruits and other stuff you’re tossing in with it. There is a time and place for nice wine, but really this isn’t it.


*** This is a staple for us, as we make our own with one of these. Yes, that is an incredibly pricey gizmo used to make something that is quite inexpensive from the store. It’s not for everyone. But we’re pretty much seltzer addicts over here, and worry about the environmental impact of all those plastic bottles. This way we can guzzle as much seltzer as we like with worrying about the cost or the landfills. And, its shaped like a penguin. If you can resist that, you are a stronger person than I.

**** Since we took this out on a noontime picnic, we ended up using quite a bit of seltzer per glass because, as the LBUH put it, “We’re not having *that* kind of picnic!” Oh, FINE. Sigh.


Nutrition Facts
Amount Per Serving

Calories 81.4	Vitamin A 2.1 %	Iron 2.4 %
Total Fat 0.2 g	Vitamin B-12 0.0 %	Magnesium 3.2 %
Cholesterol 0.0 mg	Vitamin B-6 2.4 %	Manganese 19.1 %
Sodium 4.0 mg	Vitamin C 53.5 %	Niacin 1.5 %
Potassium 164.7 mg	Vitamin D 0.0 %	Phosphorus 2.0 %
Total Carbohydrate 9.6 g	Vitamin E 0.9 %	Riboflavin 2.2 %
Fiber 1.8 g	Calcium 2.2 %	Selenium 0.7 %
Sugars 1.8 g	Copper 3.5 %	Thiamin 1.8 %
Protein 0.6 g	Folate 2.4 %	Zinc 0.8 %

Recipe and Nutritional Information after the jump