Receta White Peach Sangria - A True Parch Pleaser!
Just in time for the 4th of July, our coastal County of Monterey finally had it's first taste of hot summer weather. Compared to Phoenix, that had a temperature of 118F and various parts of the country-- 80 degree weather isn't a walk in the park for us. But, for we locals, we are used to temps that range from the mid 60's to mid 70's during the summer. Air-Conditioning isn't something that is built into most of our homes. If we're hot, we plug in fans or go to an air-conditioned movie theater. I can count, on one hand, how often Craig and I have headed to our local public library, to bask in the air-conditioned computer lab due to temperatures that hit triple-digits. We're heat wave whimps, and I'm very happy with the climate where I live, thank-you-very-much. I begin to turn various shades of red when the mercury hits the 80's. Beyond that, I'm pretty much useless. I'd never survive in the South, that's for sure.
After a few summers of begging pleading for my husband to invest in some new patio furniture, he finally agreed. Granted, the Salinas Valley winds can sometimes blow really strong in our backyard. But, that's usually in April-May. By summer, we get some winds in the later afternoon, once the coastal fog begins to roll onto the shore-- about 25 miles inland. On Sunday, we were having guests for a backyard barbecue of ribs and "Butterflied Chicken".
I had a hankering to make a White Peach Sangria. Ever since our trip to Palm Springs, last October, I've wanted to see if I could recreate that refreshing drink that I enjoyed-- while dining at a trendy restaurant, sitting under misters at 8:00pm, and it was still close to 100F outside. I was parched. I was a little cranky. This cocktail cheered me right up. After doing a little internet surfing, I settled on Bobby Flay's White Peach Sangria. The recipe calls for fresh oranges, apple and peaches-- these peaches happen to be white peaches. On a whim, I discovered two of my numerous kitchen gadgets work really well to prepare peaches. My apple corer made quick work of peeling peaches-- and my mango splitter did a great job of removing the pit. Ya gotta love gadgets!
I had a beautiful bowl of cherries, and so I decided they'd be fun and colorful to add to the sangria, instead of an apple. Here's another one of my gadgets:
Now, to make Sangria! I added one bottle of Sauvignon Blanc (Bobby uses Spanish table wine). I later found out, on Batch #3, that a White Zinfandel works well, too. A cup of pineapple juice goes into the pitcher...
... add a cup of fresh orange juice. I added about 2 ounces of simple syrup. That triggered an idea-- I had some fresh, sliced pineapple so I added that to the mix. I also added 3 ounces of Peach Schnapps (Bobby uses brandy) and 3 ounces of Triple Sec-- but, I later added a lot more... like 3/4 cup of each. Why? I'll explain in a moment...
Bobby Flay used a peach puree, but my peaches weren't quite soft and ripe enough. I decided to take a short-cut. Peach nectar worked great!
This lovely concoction went into the fridge for several hours.
The reason I added more Triple Sec and Peach Schnapps is that I wanted to some "fizz" to the Sangria. I decided that I would add club soda, and I figured that would water down the booze. Sounds sensible, right? It's up to you, but I decided to not add the club soda all at once. I didn't want to risk the sangria going flat. Your choice... To serve this, I poured a couple inches of club soda in each glass, added ice and then the white sangria.
I confess, that I made this on Saturday to test the recipe.
VERDICT: Cheers, Bobby Flay! Refreshing! Peachy. Sweet, but not over-the-top sweet. My husband said "it's a girlie drink", while holding on to a bottle of beer. Girlie? Really. We'll see...
Feeling satisfied that this Sangria was going to be a hit, I topped it off with more Sauvignon Blanc, a splash or two more of Peach Schnapps and Triple Sec and put it in the fridge, overnight.
By the time our guests arrived, it was hot! Our two male dinner guests (who are about as macho as they come) couldn't get enough of this drink. Now, who are you gonna call "girlie"? Oh, how quickly my husband forgets. I think I saw him sipping two or three of these. I had to make a total of two more pitchers of this refreshing drink. While Sangria tastes best, when allowed to chill for several hours-- this works fine if you make it on the fly. It's a perfect summer cocktail. It's also versatile-- add or take away whatever fruit suits your fancy.
Cheers!