The Heirloom Pan: Blood Orange Sangria

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Blood Orange Sangria

I ended up with beaucoup blood oranges after a nutrition lesson highlighting the hydrating, cancer-fighting abilities of red fruits and vegetables for Valentine's Day, and I immediately knew exactly what I wanted to do with them. Anyone who knows me well probably knows I am obsessed with sangria. Someone even gifted me with the book 101 Sangrias & Pitcher Drinks for my 27th birthday. Without a doubt, the most thoughtful gift ever! I'm always experimenting with sangria flavor combinations, so blood oranges were a natural next step. I built the punch around the blood oranges by choosing fruit and spirits that would complement the slightly tart flavor. A clerk at my preferred local wine store, The Wine Source, confirmed my choice of a Torremoron Tinto 2009, made from 100% Tempranillo for this sangria.

This punch is awesome for a number of reasons. #1. It's seasonal! #2. It's perfect for today's Super Bowl Game. #3. It's perfect for Valentine's Day. #4. I've been told that sangria means blood in Spanish so the addition of blood oranges increases the irony of this punch's name. #5. It freakin' good. #6. I get to have sangria all week after those long work days.

Blood Orange Sangria

Ingredients:

1 cup simple syrup
1 bottle red wine (750mL)
1 cup fresh-squeezed blood orange juice
1/2 cup brandy
1/2 cup triple sec
1 Brown Asian Pear, diced
1 Honeycrisp Apple, diced
2 Kiwis, sliced
2 cup Black Seedless Grapes
1/2 lime, juiced

Directions:

Begin by making the simple syrup: combine 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup hot water in a container. Set aside. Wash and cut the pear, apple, and kiwis. Set aside. Wash grapes and set aside. In a saucepan, combine the cut fruit and 1 cup of grapes with the simple syrup over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. Discard cooked grapes. Combine remaining ingredients in a large ceramic or glass container. Add the fruit and syrup mixture and stir well. Cover and refrigerate at for at least 4 hours. Serve over ice.

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More about me...

I grew up in the rolling hills of North Mississippi with four large garden plots directly adjacent to my home. I spent my summers sowing fields, eating fresh, homegrown produce, and steering clear of indigenous reptiles.

My first food memory is shelling purple hull peas with purple-stained fingers at our kitchen table, and most of the early part of my life revolved around food. As a family, we farmed the land. We hunted the woods. We fished the lakes. We raised our own pigs. We foraged the native foods that grew wild around us (such as blackberries, plums, muscadines, and poke salad). Quite naturally, we also did a lot of cooking. So, it's no surprise that I take the Virginia Wolfe approach to life: "one cannot think well, love well, sleep well unless one has dined well."

At age 23, I became pesceterian. Some people tell me, I've lost my southern roots. I find that absurdity pretty funny. I find solace in my buttery, delicious cornbread muffins. As I strive to live healthier and continue to expand my culinary repertoire, I build on the history and traditions that have brought me and sustained me thus far.