A Recipe for Rose Sangria

   Summertime... and the livin's easy... 

The best summer days begin with blue-sky mornings, carry on with sunny afternoons at the pool or the beach, and end with lazy, comfortable chit-chat among friends as the sun dips below the horizon.  Of course, summer afternoons and evenings are made inevitably better if you are relaxing with a cool, sweet drink in your hand.  So when one of my friends and readers asked on my facebook page for a sangria recipe, I was surprised to realize I had not shared one with you yet.  Naturally I could not let her question go unanswered, so put out a request on Twitter and got some great links to share from The Pioneer Woman, Eat.Drink.Smile, and Aggie's Kitchen. 

And then promptly got straight to work making my own batch of Rose Sangria.    

Next to lemonade, sangria is probably the most quintessential satisfying summer beverage, and I love it.  With a glass of sangria in my hand, and my friends and family by my side, I am a happy lady.  

Regardless of whether you make your sangria with white, rose, or red wine, the best part is definitely the wine-soaked fruit.  Don't you just love fishing out those boozy fruits from the bottom of the glass?  For my summer Rose Sangria, I love adding in ripe peaches and strawberries, sliced oranges, and plump raspberries.  The sliced oranges are so beautiful, but my favorite to eat are the peaches - they soak up the sugar and wine to become tender and just perfectly sweet. 

Bittersweet Negroni

Some days, you just need a good stiff drink.  All the better if that day is Friday.

This past week has just been completely crazy - work has gone into overdrive and my mind has been swirling as I have been trying to make big life decisions at the same time.  I won't complicate matters even further by delving into all the details, but I will say this - Hallelujah for Friday.  Lord knows I desperately need a moment for my brain to take a rest and my body to relax so that I can get some clarity and focus on what is really important to me.   

As I have explained before, at my core I am not really a big drinker, but I do like a good cocktail now and then - especially when I want to kick back, put my feet up and relax or enjoy a really fun night with friends.  In this case, when I saw this Bittersweet Negroni in the latest issue of Bon Appetit, I knew it would be the perfect medicine for my aching, overworked brain.  I had actually never heard of a Negroni before, but I was intrigued by the short description:

'My first cocktail crush was the Negroni. It was the "adult" taste (slightly bitter, slightly sweet) but also its easy-to-memorize recipe that hooked me. Even today, no matter what bar I find myself in, I know I can get a consistently well-made one. It's all about the golden ingredients ratio: 1-1-1.' 

–Andrew Knowlton

The 'golden ingredients ratio' Andrew is referring to is a mixture of 1 part Gin, 1 part Sweet Vermouth, and 1 part Campari.  I love gin - a simple gin and tonic with extra lime is my boring, but favorite cocktail - and the yin and yang of sweet vermouth with bitter campari was strangely reminiscent of another treat I have been enjoying recently... Kumquats.  

Spicy Ginger Citrus Cocktail, with Kale Chips

When I was in San Francisco last fall for Foodbuzz Festival, I went with some of my best buds to Cantina for pre-party drinks.  The evening was predictably chilly, but a little cold weather will never stop lovely ladies from wearing their best party dresses.  So naturally, when we were huddled over the drink menu perusing the options, I was craving something with a little warmth.  I didn't want an actual hot beverage, but something with a little spice... some kick that would warm me from the inside-out.  As luck would have it, my eyes landed on the Laughing Buddha: hangar one buddha’s hand vodka, lime, crushed ginger & serrano chiles, ginger brew.

Yes, that was the drink I wanted.

It was cool and spicy all at the same time, but best part was that there was a distinct spice from the ginger and ginger brew that was totally different than the heat from the serrano chile.  The chile was like an aftershock of warmth that surprised you with each sip.  It was amazing, and I haven't stopped thinking about it since.       

After the new year, I decided I needed to stop thinking about this cocktail and try to recreate it at home.  Being a cocktail beginner, I wasn't totally sure about two of the ingredients - the buddha's hand vodka, and the ginger brew - so I did a little researching on the internet.  Turns out the buddha's hand vodka is made with none other Buddha's Hand citrus (surprise, surprise), which has an appearance that is both intriguing and terrifying, but a taste that is extremely fragrant.  Next, I found that the ginger brew is an all-natural soda made with roots and spices.  Fantastic!  The ginger brew that seemed to be the most popular was REED's, and I thrilled to discover that I could pick some up at my local Henry's.