Sangria

I'm so sad that I didn't try this recipe earlier this year while lemons and oranges were more in season.  I got the Cook's Illustrated Holiday Entertaining magazine as part of a Christmas present from my husband and had bookmarked so many recipes to try.  While I made several other recipes, I forgot about this sangria recipe until this Friday when I realized we had all the ingredients on hand and it would be a fun Friday thing.  I halved the recipe below which made enough for 2 servings. 

It's an easy recipe that only takes a few minutes to make, although it does need 2-8 hours to chill (seems like a good party drink that you can make ahead of time).  I was also blown away by the flavor! This was so smooth, tasty with a nice hint of fruit.  We used Two Buck Chuck Cabernet (well, really Three Buck Chuck here) which worked really well.  The sangria was so good that I made it the next night, too! Also, even though they might not be at the peak of their season, sangria-soaked oranges still taste pretty amazing.  

Sangria
Taken from: Cook's Illustrated Holiday Entertaining 2011
Serves 4  (could easily be halved, as well as tripled or doubled; these are generous servings in my opinion)

• 2 large oranges, washed (1 orange sliced and 1 orange juiced)
• 1 lemon, washed and sliced
• 1/4 cup sugar (I used turbinado)
• 1 bottle (750 mL) medium-bodied red wine, chilled (I used Trader Joe's Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon)
• 1/4 cup triple sec

1. Slice 1 orange and lemon.  Add slices and sugar to a large pitcher or bowl. Mash gently with a wooden spoon until the fruit releases some juice but is not totally crushed and the sugar dissolves, about 1 minute.
2. Stir in the wine, orange juice and triple sec. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 8 hours.
3. Before serving, add 6-8 ice cubes and stir briskly to distribute any settled fruit and pulp.