Raspberry White Sangria

What do you mean it's not white?!

I know...I know. In my defense, the wines I used were white. It was the fruit juice that made it not so white. Ya...let's blame the juice! It was the juices fault.

We're on the last leg of our Sangria experience over at BakeSpace.com where the unpretentious Community Wine Tasting beeps (thats short for BakeSpace Peeps...ya, it's a fun lovin, corny bunch. I fit right in) have been playing with Sangria since mid June. You're more than welcome to join us!

Warning: This recipe makes quite a bit...perfect for pool parties and bbq's. Or if you must, just halve the recipe and keep it for yourself.

Typically, when I've made a sangria that is focusing on a particular fruit flavor, I've incorporated some sort of fruit flavored alcohol to enhance the fresh fruit of choice. But not with this batch. No siiiiireeeeee. I really like raspberries. But I have an aversion to raspberry flavored alcohol. It ends up tasting like cough syrup. (shivers).

What I have here, as you can see in the photo are some frozen fruits. I have a lot of fresh strawberries that I recently froze, and fresh raspberries were kind of expensive so I bought a bag of frozen. Plus...when you use frozen fruit....no ice is needed :). Also....if you can chill all the ingredients before hand, you'll already be ahead of the game. If you are making this ahead of time, don't prepare or add the fruit until you're ready to serve. Or, prepare the fruit and store it in the freezer in a freezer bag.

Raspberry White Sangria
Printable Version

1 orange, peeled and chopped into chunks
1 pear, peeled and chopped into chunks
1/2 lb raspberries
1/2 lb strawberries
1 bottle Moscato
1 bottle White Zinfandel
3 cups cran-raspberry juice
3 cups gingerale
1 cup white rum
1/2 cup simple syrup

Combine fruit and set aside

In a large stock pot, combine all the liquid. Save the wine bottles!

Put the fruit into a large pitcher. Pour in as much of the sangria as will fit.

Get out a funnel and fill up the empty wine bottles with the remaining sangria for easy keeping

Stick a stopper in them and put them in the fridge. As the sangria pitcher empties, replenish with more. Repeat as necessary.

Now...put on your bathing suit. Turn on the radio or whatever method of music entertainment you use. Pour yourself a nice glass, and enjoy your sangria while you float around the pool.

Be careful though. This stuff likes to sneak up on ya. Because of it's unassuming alcohol content...you tend to suck it down like juice and next thing you know, you're dancing on the table. In your bathing suit. In your backyard. With a lamp shade on your head. Using your bottle of sunscreen as a mic.

Just don't do that move where the singer throws his head back and the mic is in the air as he holds onto that last note for emphasis. You might end up with a mouthful of Banana Boat SPF 30.

White Sangria

It's been a while since I've mentioned the Wine Club over at BakeSpace. It's also been a little slow in there lately but things seem to be perking up again. Woooo hoooo!!! For the month of June and July, our wine of choice is Sangria. We will be making, tasting and talking about Sangria for another 6 weeks. We just might even have an online Wine Party in the room which can get rather silly. Clean, fun and silly. It's open to anyone. All you have to do is create a forum account and log in. If you'd like to join us, check it out: June / July Wine - Sangria

Anyway....over the weekend I heard about White Sangria for the first time ever!! So of course I jumped all over it, especially when peach was mentioned. It just sounded so refreshing and cool. The perfect drink for hot summer evenings out by the pool, enjoying the cooling breeze.

Or sitting in a chair by the computer writing about it.

And after 2 glasses....thinking to yourself..... 'holy crap!! this shit is strong!!!' Feeling rather good about your creation. 


Now I have to say...this is my first attempt and already I have some alterations in mind, which I'll go over in a minute. But it's really good. And soooo worth playing with.

Oh....and I'm not going to do a printable version of this recipe. It's so simple that you can just copy and paste if you really want to. I'll wait until I have a final version before I make it permanent in my BakeSpace Kitchen. Just saying.

White Sangria

1 bottle of Chenin Blanc
1/2 bottle of Peachello (peach version of Limoncello)
1/4 brandy
2 white peaches, pitted, pealed and cut into 8 segments
3 nectarines, pitted, pealed and cut into 8 segments
1 orange, pealed and each segment cut in half
1 cup Sprite
2/4 cup simple syrup

Combine all ingredients and allow to chill several hours

Now....my changes for next time will be to increase the Sprite or just use some gingerale or club soda. And I think I might cup back on the simple syrup. That might be something I'll add after it's been chilled. Then I'll add it to taste....depending on if I'm in the mood for sweet or not. If I had more Sprite right now I'd definitely add more....it's in need of more fizz but I used up what I had. Although, it's not stopping me from drinking what I've got...and totally loving it. Love the intense peachieness. (is that a word? hmmm..it is now)...and every once in a while I get a nice burst of orange.

But I know it can be better!

If you happen to stop into the Wine Club....you'll see my posts in there under the name "ImStuffed". Let the bartender know that I sent you and she'll be sure to take care of you! Besides, when it comes to virtual wine tasting....all the drinks are on the house! hahahaha

Poached Pears and Getting Sauced

Wine.

It requires an acquired taste, doesn't it

I remember a day when the only wine I'd drink was white zinfandel. And not just any brand. It had to be  Beringer. Nothing else....I was a Beringer White Zinfandel snob. Hey....what can I say....it was my segway from peach wine coolers.

It's been years since I've had that old favorite. I've broadened my horizons and stretched my taste buds. I now enjoy a wide range of wines. Over a year ago I joined an online wine club at BakeSpace that's now called Wine Pairing and Virtual Tasting. Just about every month we choose a different wine type to taste and review. It's because of this fun little club that I've learned so much about how many different kinds of wine their really are out there. I mean....wine's I've never heard of (and a few that apparently even the clerks at BevMo have never heard of, even though it's on their shelf....but that's another story).

I'm still not what you'd consider a "wine connoisseur" (or anywhere close to it). I can't identify which "berry" I detect in the bouquet....or which flavor is actually "oak" (what does oak taste like anyway?)...and if I were blind folded I seriously doubt I'd be able to tell the difference between a merlot and a shiraz. I mean...merlot in itself tastes differently from bottle to bottle...hell, you could give me two glasses of merlot and I'd probably tell you one was a shiraz.

But I enjoy wine for what it is.....I don't have to do the swirling, sniffing, slurping thing. Although it's fun to. I mean, that's when all the flavors come through....but I rarely have the time to just sit there and sip my wine along with some carefully picked foods to enhance the experience. When I open a bottle, it's usually part of the getting dinner ready routine. Chop, sip....mix, sip....saute, bowl, stir, gulp.

I feel like I'm more creative when I drink and cook. That may not be true....but if nothing else, I feel more sophisticated or something....like Julia Child. I dunno.....whatever it is....it's more fun.

Anyways....This month we added a little spin to our wine experience. Typically we review a bottle or two (or more)...include a picture and say a few things about what foods this wine tastes good with. This time we decided to add a recipe that includes the wine in it.

Oh...and our wine for this month? Sauvignon Blanc (it was actually the wine chosen for the month of December but we were all too busy to do anything with it and so now it has become the wine for April).

And thus the Poached Pears emerged. I found this lovely recipe on the BBC website. Kind of a fun site with lots to explore (food being among my top interest of course).

Sooo...the pears are suppose to be poached in Sauternes. But all the recipes I saw said a medium, sweet, white wine could be used instead.

6 Bosc pears
1 orange, juiced and pared zest
1 2/3 cups of Sauvignon Blanc
3 cups water
1/4 cup honey
1 cup sugar
juice from 2 lemons (my lemons were tiny..like...lime size so I used 4 lemons)
1 vanilla pod, split
1 cinnamon stick, broken into short lengths
4 cloves

Oook...with a little knife, score a zigzag pattern in the skin around the top of each pear. Peal the skin off the body of the pear, leaving the zigzag pattern along the top, kinda like a collar, leaving the stem in tack

You want to be careful when peeling....so you can preserve the pears shape as much as possible. (I tried....I swear I did)

Remove the core from the bottom of each pear.

Cut the orange zest into strips. Now....this was new to me. Every time I've zested an orange...it was with a grater. This process required me to sorta gently cut the zest away without the white stuff. So I used a knife and thinly "peeled" the orange. I ended up with some pith still attached but not too much.

Combine everything in a large pot

Over a medium heat, bring liquid to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Allow to simmer until pears are done. Which I think would mean, tender yet firm. The time frame can vary, depending on ripeness...5 - 15 minutes.

Since bosc pears are general a very firm pear (which is why I chose them for this recipe) I let them cook a bit longer.

With a large slotted spoon, remove the pears and place in a bowl. Remove all the seasonings and discard. At this point, I allowed the liquid to simmer a bit longer to get more of a syrup consistency which didn't happen.....I was afraid the flavors would end up...I dunno...overcooked. Have you ever smelled cinnamon and citrus that's overcooked? Maybe in a potpourri? Well, i didn't want my syrup to taste like that.

Pour "syrup" over the pears and set aside until ready to serve

And there you have it. My sauvignon blanc sauced pears.

Oh wait..the pears are poached

I'm sauced.

And totally loving the aroma, the flavor...the fun! But I think this is more of a holiday recipe....I dunno...Christmas? I'm trying to think of a summery version now....with summer flavors. Any ideas?

If you'd like to see where I found this recipe, you can click --->here<---

Printable Version: Poached Pears


P.S. I'm so excited to proudly announce my first ever Tastespotting publication! They accepted the top photo!

Garlic and Herb Chicken - Quick & Easy

If you haven't noticed, I'm a bit top heavy on the chicken recipes. This house consumes more chicken than all the other meat groups combined.....by far. I'm not a huge pork fan and beef can be expensive and well...fish is out of the question. Sooo...that leaves poultry. Its a damn good thing that its so flexible or I'd be in trouble.

This meal is really tasty but a little too much "Sandra Lee'ish" for my liking. I don't usually use packaged products in my meals but once in a while shit happens. It was a long day. I was tired. I had the ingredients and well...it just had to be. It's always popular with the fam but the fact that it contains MSG really bothers me. So, I guess you can just call this meal a guilty pleasure.

Anyways...its a simple, quick (if you use chopped up chicken) dinner and heres how it works:

5 skinless chicken thighs (I used boneless skinless chicken thighs. I've used a couple of chicken breast instead too. Oh...and sometimes I chop the chicken up into bite sized pieces. Do what you want...it's all good)

2 - 3 tablespoons olive oil

Salt

Pepper

2 garlic cloves, crushed

6 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced (the ones in the picture are crimini mushrooms. Regular white mushrooms are completely fine)

2 tablespoons butter

1 packet of Knorr Garlic & Herb Sauce Mix

1 1/2 cups milk

But before we get started, lets treat the cook to something special :)

The Wine of the Month at BakeSpace.com this month is Merlot. I really enjoy Merlot and this month I'm trying several brands that I've never tried before. This one is no exception. The reason I chose it is due to the name... 3 Blind Moose with a yellow cork even! How could I not give it a shot? I'll be posting a review sometime by the end of the month in the June Wine - Merlot section of the Wine Club at BakeSpace.com. If you'd like, feel free to join us. We love new peeps and have such a good time.

Ok, now that the wine is poured and the ingredients all set, the cook is happy and ready to get rolling.

First off, heat the olive oil in a skillet, season the chicken with salt and pepper. Cook over medium / high heat until the chicken is brown on both sides. Remove from skillet. (pictures of browned meat not included....they all look the same, right?)

Now, toss the butter in the skillet; melt. Add mushrooms and garlic:

oh yum...do you know how good thats going to smell in a few seconds? Saute until tender:

Oh ya.....its smells awesome! I think you could saute pebbles with garlic and they'd smell awesome.

Now....combine the seasoning packet with the milk in a bowl. Stir until blended (you don't want clumps of seasoning in the bottom of the bowl). Add sauce mixture to the pan with the mushrooms; stir and scrape the bottom of the pan to get all the crunchies up (thats where all the flavor is!). Return the chicken back to the pan:

Reduce the heat to simmer, cover and cook until the chicken is done, turning once. If the chicken is whole it will take about 30 - 45 minutes. If you've cut the chicken into pieces then it will only be a few minutes.

Serve over your favorite pasta and enjoy. Oh...and I think next time I might add some fresh chopped Italian parsley. The scent from the sprig I put in the photo was wonderful. It just added that extra fresh pizzaz.

Penguins are Priceless

If I haven't stressed this before, let me do so now (stop me if you've heard this one. oh wait...you can't! HAHA) One of the things that makes BakeSpace.com so awesome is the community itself and the interaction in the forums, between the members. We have lots of topics and lots of places to hang out. One of my favorite groups is our virtual Wine Club.

Every month someone gets to chose a wine for all of us to review. Anyone can join in and post a review, along with a picture of your wine bottle. Let me make a quick (or not so quick) statement. We are not...I repeat NOT a bunch of "wine snobs". Some of us (yours truly included) know very little about wine other than it either tastes good or it doesn't. And some of us (I mean the others) know an awful lot about wine. What makes "us" so unique is due to the lack of pretension, it's a great atmosphere to learn and ask questions without the intimidation. We're not drinking $100 bottles of wine. We're just real people, with a common interest. Actually, we all get excited when we find a good bottle of wine for cheap. (Trader Joes has GREAT cheap wine!!) 

So...at the end of the month, we have a pole. Everyone who entered a review is added to the pole and the rest of the participating members vote for the "winner". That winner gets to choose the wine for the following month! :) Believe it or not, I won in April so I got to choose the wine for the month of May. I chose for the  May Wine - Pinot Grigio.   I know the month is almost over, but there's still a few days left. If you want to participate....we'd love to have you. 

Here are two bottles that I was able to review about this month (I had a third but I drank it, and tossed the bottle before I remembered I had meant to review it...common occurrence unfortunately). I you want to read my not-so-sophisticated reviews, you'll just have to visit the forum link above :).

Guess what else? I won my very own Original Penguin Corkscrew! How cool is THAT?!!

Here's a little excerpt from the manufacture about this wonderful, handy dandy, save-my-wrist corkscrew:

"Opening a bottle of wine just got easier with the introduction of the new PENGUIN EZ Pull CORKSCREW from Wine Things Unlimited of Sonoma, CA.
 
The PENGUIN EZ Pull CORKSCREW utilizes patented technology and European styling making it the easiest wine opener ever produced for consumer and restaurant use.

Just place the corkscrew on the neck of the bottle – no handles to squeeze – and pull the lever down to remove the cork in just seconds. The teflon-coated magnesium worm removes even synthetic corks easily.
 
“Best wine opener in 5 years” says local wine writer who recently sampled the Penguin… “I can’t believe it’s so simple!”

Packaged in an upscale gift box with magnetic closure, the PENGUIN EZ Pull CORKSCREW includes a satin chrome and black Foil Cutter and extra corkscrew worm."

Look at how cool this thing is! It even comes with a foil taker-offer! (ya ya, I know...it's called a foil cutter, but thats not as much fun to say)

(and here comes my acceptance speech). I just want to thank my fans! haha. Ok, for reals...you guys are great! Thanks for voting for me. I hope you've enjoyed the wine this month (although we seem to have a more difficult time with white wines than we do red). Our "wine parties" are a total blast! Nothing like drunk posting in a public forum!! LMAO! But hey, its better than drunk texting or drunk dialing, right? But seriously, in the few months that we've been reviewing wines, I've really learned a lot. I think my first pairing included tootsie rolls (hey, it was halloween...whadda ya expect?). And one last thing....

I LOVE YOU MAN!!!! 

P.S. Thanks Babs for making this happen and for the awesome gift. I love this thing. Even my husband, who doesn't drink wine thinks its pretty cool...I could hear it in his voice when he opened a bottle of wine for the first time with it and said, "Oh Wow!" I don't think I've heard that kind of awe in his voice since our first time...LMAO. Just kidding. kinda. aren't I?