italian dessert recipes

Berry Sangria Recipe

"Really simple!"




berry sangria A berry sangria is a flexible recipe. Really most sangria recipes are flexible. It's the procedure that separates the fake pretender sangrias from the goooooooooood ones.

One key with a berry sangria is the choice of berries. You pick a pound of berries from the fruit list below. BUT be cautious. Don't buy them too ripe. Any combination works. But grapes are the berry that will absorb that yummy alcohol flavor - so you have to have some of them.

Brush up on the basics of how to make a Sangria. Follow it through and you will get a tasty pitcher of drinks.

See the substitution section below for liqueur ideas and the fruit list. But from experience do stick the ratios and measurements! If ya get too creative the drink gets over powered with one flavor. Have fun though and visit often.




Berry Sangria





INGREDIENTS * 1 (750 milliliter) bottle red wine
(don't think too hard about the wine - just get a red)

* 3/4 cup berry liqueur or berry/grape vodka (see ideas below)

* 1/8 cup white sugar

* 1 pound of any berry combo listed below

* Club Soda to splash with (optional)



Procedure

 * You will need to have some grapes. This will be the only fruit that will absorb the alcohol.

* Slice the grapes in half and place them in a bowl. (Do some math - if your grapes are half of your fruit - then allot half of the sugar and liqueur to them) * Press the sugar into the sliced grapes.

Just press. Don't pound or beat up.

* Pour the vodka (or whatever liqueur you chose) over the pressed grapes.

* Cover and let the grapes/booze mixture rest AT LEAST 15 minutes.

* AFTER the minimum 15 minutes of sitting, place wine and grapes/booze mixture in the sangria pitcher.

* Put your pitcher in the refrigerator to ALLOW THE DRINK TO SIT at least half a day. (Really!)

* Just before serving take your other fruit (strawberries and/or blueberries) and cut the strawberries in half. Don't quarter them. And don't do anything to the blueberries.

* Press remaining sugar into strawberries and pour remaining liqueur over the blue berries and strawberries.

* Add to the pitcher. Pour into glasses and splash with club soda if you wish.



Substitutions and Questions



What berries work best in a berry sangria?


Not as many as you think. Mainly because the berries decompose in the alcohol.

  • Strawberries


  • Grapes


  • Blueberries


    • Do NOT use raspberries or blackberries unless it's for last minute garnish. They will decompose and make the drink look bloody and like unidentified ocean debris if you let them sit over a few minutes.

    What wine makes the best berry sangria?


    That's like a politics religious question in the middle of church or a fund-raiser dinner. You just choose. You're the cook. And the cook is always right.

    Need liqueur ideas?


    So, if you are making a berry sangria - wouldn't a berry flavored liqueur work? YUP it would. Besides all those berry liqueurs and vodka there's always the stand-by Triple Sec.



    Why two fruit stages?


    You want the fruit to absorb the liqueur you choose. And then you want the flavors to mingle. The strawberries can't make it half day in the pitcher with the wine if they are ripe. They turn colorless and look like things floating in the ocean. The blueberries aren't candidates for slicing or absorbing. They are just for pretties.



    Back to the berry sangria recipe.



    Italian Drinks








    lisa gianotti I love sugar and I eat dessert EVERYDAY! Ok, not MASSIVE amounts. But I do have to finish off the evening meal with a little sweet something.

    When I was a kid my health conscience mother would ration my Halloween candy. Her mantra was, "white sugar will kill you". But my Italian grandma always told me, "Everybody needs a little bit of sugar." :-) So, to get my October Halloween sugar fix I will make the traditional Italian cookie recipe, Venetian Bones of the Dead. Italians make these for the Day of the Dead on November 2nd. So - hey, our holiday in America - Halloween is the closest.

    So - while the neighborhood is slamming down a bunch of gross mass produced candy on October 31st, I'll have a real goodie. Oh yeah, I'll have to post it too! (Eventually!) You know how it is. Work. Kids. Clean. Cook.



    I'll see if Bones Of The Dead is in my grandma's first recipe file she started when she married in 1932. Most of the recipes on my site came from her influence. If they aren't in her file - then I got them from her friends. And the remainder I experimented with adapting her style.

    I hope she looks down and smiles this Halloween.

    Lisa


    Would you like to share this page? You know how to do it! Thanks for sharing the sugar love!



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