Blood Orange Sangria (Halloween)

Blood Orange Sangria (Halloween)

From: ArcaMax Publishing's "After Work Gourmet," by Lisa Messinger, via creators.com & CookingLight.com (10/19/2011)

(Lisa Messinger is a first-place winner in food writing from the Association of Food Journalists & the author of seven food books, including "Mrs. Cubbison's Best Stuffing Cookbook" & "The Sourdough Bread Bowl Cookbook." She also writes the Creators News Service "Cooks' Books" column.)

Notes from Lisa: Do the oranges in your juice benefit from volcanic soil & cool ocean breezes? If not, you might think about trading up to sweet tart or gory oranges, choice for Halloween parties because they have the dark red juice of blood oranges.

Though not in season until December through May & often difficult to get since they are mainly grown in the Mediterranean, bottled gourmet imported blood orange juice is available anytime, often at reasonable prices, from online retailers, like Amazon.com & at gourmet & specialty chains like Trader Joe's.

Italian Volcano Blood Orange Juice brand, recently selling on Amazon.com for about $15 for three 750 ml bottles, is made from oranges from a small area of Eastern Sicily (the volcanic soil heart of blood orange country) in varying color & flavor combinations rarely available from other parts of the world. Blood orange sodas, syrups & concentrates also sell at retailers, perfect for snow cones & inclusion in sophisticated desserts.

In fact, blood oranges, since they are sweeter than ordinary varieties, are considered one of the top dessert oranges in the world. The juice is outstanding in cakes & sauces for baked goods. It also has a bold presentation & flavor choice for savory foods, like the Hollandaise-based maltaise sauce, which it is often used in, or mixed with spices for a cocktail sauce for shrimp cocktail or dressing for shrimp salad. Cold, slick shrimp (ghoulishly resembling severed fingers!) with a blood sauce make an interesting Halloween menu choice.

The bright red juice, excellent alone as a refreshing beverage, is also the perfect base for grown-up Halloween party cocktails. Cooking Light magazine suggests a pitcher of dynamically colored mimosas with 1 / 2 cup strained blood orange juice, 3 cups champagne or sparkling wine & 1 tablespoon Cointreau (orange-flavored liqueur).

The following sangria, with its ruby-colored, fruity wine, deep-red blood orange juice, cinnamon, cloves, chunks of lemons & limes & Triple Sec orange-flavored liqueur is a memorable tasty blood-stained Halloween treat.

Ingredients:

2 cups sliced strawberries

2 cups apple juice

2/3 cup Triple Sec (orange-flavored liqueur)

1/2 cup sugar

4 whole cloves

3/4 cup blood orange juice (see note 1)

2 - 750 ml bottles fruity red wine (see note 2)

2 - 3 inch cinnamon sticks

1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges

1 lime, cut into 8 wedges

Yields 16 (approximately 1 cup) servings

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a large pitcher & stir until the sugar dissolves.

2. Cover & chill for 8 hours or overnight.

3. Discard the cloves & cinnamon sticks. Pour the sangria into individual glasses, including the fruit.

Note 1: When blood oranges are not in season, or anytime, you can use bottled blood orange juice (strained if there is any pulp in it). During blood orange season, if desired, you can use the strained juice of fresh blood oranges (about 5 for this recipe). Regular strained orange juice, preferably fresh, also can be substituted. When in season, pieces of blood oranges or navel oranges if necessary instead can be used (about 3 seedless oranges cut into 15 wedges each).

Note 2: Any good quality fruity red wine can be used. A combination of pinot noir and Beaujolais is particularly good.