2011 Halloween Party -- Sangria

"Sangria" in Spanish means blood. Yes, BLOOD. Therefore in Halloween Party, I can't think of any other party drink that suit the theme the best other than Sangria. For those of my friends whom have drunk it, you should know that you were one of the vampires that night ^_< 

I chose Paisano this time. As a result, I don't think it is as good as last time. I didn't keep a record as I made Sangria for the home party last time. When I tried to retrieve my memory, I think I chose Rose instead of Paisano. I think another reason that the wine wasn't as tasty as last time was because Tommy accidentally threw away the pineapple juice that suppose to mix in the drink. Arggg... Not blaming him but still thinking those juice might make the drink taste a little bit better... Hehe! 

If you are interested in making this for your party drink, you can consider Cabernet, Merlot, Rose or Zinfandel as your wine choice. I browse a couple of websites for Sangria recipe and then decided to mix it on my own. I didn't really have the detail or exact recipe for the drink but do it by own sense.

Here are part of the ingredients to mix in the drink. Ignore the Bacardi Rum in the middle. I didn't include any in the drink but Tommy insisted include this bottle in the picture.

(Recipe from Stacy Slinkard)

I modify the recipe according to the memory of having a fantastic Sangria from a Thanksgiving Party on 2009 at my friend's house. 

Ingredients:

• 1 Bottle of red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Rioja, Zinfandel, Shiraz) As you can tell, I use way more than 1 regular bottle of wine.
• 1 Lemon cut into wedges
• 1 Orange cut into wedges
• 1 Lime cut into wedges
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• Splash of orange juice or lemonade I use OJ
• 2 Shots of gin or triple sec (optional) I use Triple Sec
• 1 Cup of raspberries or strawberries (may use thawed or frozen)
• 1 Small can of diced pineapples (with juice)
• 4 Cups ginger ale I didn't put as much but probably just 1 cup

** I also added apples and peaches to add more fruit flavor into wine.

 

Preparation:

Pour wine into a large pitcher and squeeze the juice wedges from the lemon, orange and lime into the wine. Toss in the fruit wedges (leaving out seeds if possible) and pineapple then add sugar, orange juice and gin. Chill overnight. Add ginger ale, berries and ice (I didn't put any ice) just before serving. If you'd like to serve right away, use chilled red wine and serve over lots of ice. However, remember that the best Sangrias are chilled around 24 hours in the frig. - allowing the flavors to really marinate into each other.

轰趴

最近又迷上了烘焙。

我说“又”，是因为自己在马来西亚时曾经对此很有兴趣。后来到了美国，只是忙着想自己的去路，后来忙着读书找活计，再加上没有任何的工具，所以早将这个莫大的兴趣给硬生生地埋在心里深处。

感谢我的一位朋友，她有个很好听的名字，叫斐斐。谢谢她重新勾起了我的兴趣，让我在闲暇之余不必担心自己手痒痒，成天等着打牌，还可以有这个造福人群（该是造福多于灾难吧，至少我一厢情愿这么认为，嘻嘻！）的兴趣。更感谢铭哥哥，赞助了我不少的、贵贵的烘焙工具，让我可以重新的、全身的投入烘焙的世界里。最后，感谢身边的白老鼠朋友们，哈！希望你们都还好好活着 ^_<

我本没有拍照的习惯，后来身边的朋友一再提醒之下，想想自己好像该记录一些自己烘焙的心路历程。但是第一次在这里做的巧克力酥饼、香蕉蛋糕、柠檬方块酥糕以及蓝莓muffin等，都没有了照片为证，唉 ！逝者已矣，得向前看。所以，不赘言啦！



我有幸住在一个规模还不算小的房子里，后来趁着我其他的室友都不在，典型的"American-teenager-spirit"竟然在我身上出现了！他们的spirit 是父母不在家就轰趴，我则是将对象改为室友。而轰趴，怎能少得了制胜圣品--酒呢？呵呵！

我除了自制的两样甜点--Almond Apple Tarts 和 Hazelnut Chocolate 松饼以外，也自制了这美味可口的Sangria（ 桑格利亚酒--西班牙一种用红葡萄酒和水果汁等配制而成的一种混合饮料 ）。几年前曾经和一位好朋友在新泽西上过调酒的课程，虽然没有学过这款酒，但是调酒的原理到底还是懂的。我前年的感恩节在一位朋友的Party上喝过这种酒后就一直念念不忘，这一次我在寻找记忆中那香香甜甜的味道，这自己独家调配的酒就这么诞生了。

Almond Apple 塔不难做，买个Puff Pastry后就可以自己自由发挥。至于这款松饼，我个人是不怎么喜欢，倒是两位香港来的朋友挺买账的，直赞好吃，还打包回家咧！一个说吃起来像“鸡仔饼”，另一个说吃起来像“皮蛋酥”，真不知道这究竟是褒还是贬。这饼如其名，主要有打碎的Hazelnut 和巧克力粒融化其中。倒是这酒是大受欢迎，连那几位不爱喝酒的女生朋友都一杯接一杯，幸好没人KO。

红酒的酒精成分本来就不高，可是不代表不容易醉。就我个人来说，红酒最容易让我在两口下肚后微醺，话也特别多。在添加了果汁和苏打后，酒精肯定比原来的更少了，所以我加了点Triple Sec。有些人喜欢加Cointreau或白兰地，随个人喜好以及自己的食谱而定。由于知晓朋友的酒量，所以我下手特轻，是希望大家尽兴之余也不必在Party后吐得个七荤八素。


看看里头，我确实放了好多的水果：苹果、桃子、柠檬和菠萝，再加上橙汁和菠萝汁以及Triple Sec在冰箱里浸泡过夜，第二天上桌前再加上苏打水以及草莓，嗯……听起来就垂涎三尺了，你也可以试试看哦！

原本这篇是想说说烘焙的成果，结果一说上酒就滔滔不绝。不过这确实是个很不错的经验，朋友们也都玩得开心，这就够了。

下一篇再说说更多自己的烘焙成果好了。