Sangria is one of those adult drinks perfect for cooling down a hot summer day. Recently, I had a longing for a cold glass of it and remembered the best sangria I'd ever had. Mike Nafziger is a chef-turned-stay-at-home-dad, and I first met him when he was a chef at Blue Ribbon Cafe in Soddy-Daisy. Now he stays at home with his preschool-age son, but still does a lot of cooking for family and friends. When I asked for his recipe for sangria - the best I'd ever had - he was more than happy to oblige. In fact, I reached him at a good time as he was in the process of digitizing all of his recipes, and this is one of them.
He says he played around with several recipes, taking bits and pieces from each, until he hit upon the right formula.
"I think every sangria should have the same elements: fruity, sweet, dry, refreshing and, of course, alcohol," he says. "I've continued to hone the recipe over time. Some were better than others. It just takes time and patience to get it right."
But when you do get it right, it's the perfect summer refresher.
"It should be refreshing, plus with the booze, I mean, come on - it's a party. I make it whenever I get the chance because it's easy and everyone loves it," Mike adds.
The only problem is, it never seems to last, he says. So double the batch.
"Everyone's taste is different," he says. "Some may like it a bit boozier than others. Some may like it a bit sweeter. But that's the best part of sangria - you can make it to your liking if you keep those five basic elements. Plus, you really need to let it sit for 10 minutes before chilling it. That allows the flavors and alcohol to mingle and get to know each other." In other words, let them have a little party themselves before they go down the hatch.
Mike's Sangria
1 lemon, sliced and seeded
1 orange, sliced and seeded
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
3/4 cup VSOP or other quality brandy
2 (750 milliliter) bottles of dry Spanish red wine (see note)
1 cup or more of ice, to chill
Anne BralyTo a pitcher, add lemon, oranges and sugar; allow to muddle for about a minute. Add orange juice and brandy, and stir for a minute. Add wine to pitcher, and stir for a minute. Now, the important part: Taste the sangria, and adjust by adding more sugar, orange juice or brandy to your liking. Stir one more time, and let sit for 10 minutes. Add ice right before serving to chill the sangria, and stir once more. To serve, add ice to a mason jar, pour sangria and serve with an additional orange slice for garnish. Store covered leftovers in refrigerator - if there are any - for no more than 24 hours.
Note: If you can't find a Spanish wine, then any fruity, full body, semi-dry red wine will do.
Best BBQ sauce ever
I recently had an opportunity to travel to Fredericksburg, a German-settled town in the Texas Hill Country. While there, I visited Das Peach House, the home base of jelly, jam and sauce maker Fischer & Wieser. The company, founded in 1928 by Joseph and Estella Wieser, started as a peach market next to their orchard filled with 11,000 peach trees. Today, the orchard is still there, but there are just 1,100 trees.
The company's time is filled with making all of its delicious products, one of which is the best barbecue sauce/glaze I've ever had. They have samples available at the store for tasting and testing. The name of the sauce caught my eye: Smokey Mountain Whiskey Barbecue Glaze. Why, I asked, would they name a sauce after the Tennessee mountains when Texas has hills and is known for its 'cue far more than Tennessee? The answer was simple. "Because of the whiskey," says company spokeswoman Nicole Wharton.
When I got home, I glazed a pork loin and put it on the grill, basting it a couple more times over the next few hours. Oh my! I'll never use another barbecue glaze. The taste was somewhere between smoky and sweet with a hint of heat. I wish I could run to Food City and pick up a jar or two, but for now, the only place to get it is online at www.jelly.com. Or go to Fredericksburg.
Contact Anne Braly at abraly@timesfreepress.com.