“Who took the cork out of my lunch?” -WC Fields
Last weekend I took a solo trip with my two little girls, ages 2 1/2 going on 4 and 1 going full on 17 year old rebel (though they tend to alternate these stages) to Texas. We flew for two hours in one of those one seat on one side and two seats on the other little Express Jets. This, my dear friends, is why pharmacy companies are mega-rich and they now take debit and credit cards on flights for purchasing alcohol. Our departing flight was pretty early and, God bless my husband, we were there just in the nick of time to pre-board the plane. And, just a suggestion, I don’t care if the CEO of Continental/United gave you a super elite status one pass card. A woman traveling alone with a 25 pound one year old in a sling, her purse, her backpack/diaper bag, her two year old in the stroller from which she will have to be extracted and herded onto the plane from the jet-way without forgetting her Elmo backpack and then break down said stroller to gate-check, 100% unassisted is getting on the damn plane before you or bare the wrath of a crazed woman. All of this, upon which I will elaborate in a full ‘weekend journal’ of this trip to be posted soon, just made me want to dunk my head in a trough of my sister’s Sangria upon check in at the hotel. Without further ado, my sister Laura’s awesome sangria. At present, I don’t really care about the history of Sangria, I just know it’s got fruit, liquor and wine. Need I say more? Really? (I’ll put a little history on the ‘A What?’ page)
Sangria Base Ingredients:
1 lime
2 large oranges
3 lemons
1 qt water
3 1/2 cups sugar
Sangria Ingredients:
1 bottle red wine
1 cup strained Sangria Base
1/4 cup Brandy
1 lemon thinly sliced
1 cup pineapple chunks
1 fresh peach (optional)
2 cups chilled Ginger Ale
Try to make Sangria base a day ahead: Cut fruit into wedges. Slowly boil the lime, 1 orange and two lemons in the water, adding sugar slowly as it dissolves. Cook about 30 minutes over low heat until syrupy, stirring occasionally. Squeeze remaining fruit into hot liquid, stir and let stand until cool. Refrigerate in an airtight container overnight. (The base will keep for months in the fridge.) Several hours before serving, combine wine, base and brandy. (Try to use a decent wine, something good but not expensive. A nice Chilean) When ready to serve, pour chilled mixture into large serving bowl or pitcher. Add fruit and ginger ale and stir with a wooden spoon.
Memoirs of My Family Kitchen 