Tag Archives | wine

Toni’s DIY Holiday Spice Sangria

Homemade Sangria Recipe

Have a holiday drink on hand for last-minute entertaining, or to give away as a Christmas gift.  I love homemade sangria, and here’s my recipe with a twist of holiday spice.

Homemade Holiday Sangria recipe

 

Toni’s DIY Holiday Spice Sangria

Toni’s DIY Holiday Spice Sangria

Ingredients

  • Basic Red Table Wine- I use a gallon of a basic red wine that I find in bulk at Costco. Trader Joe’s also has great deals for basic red table wine over the holidays.
  • Cranberry Juice- 1 bottle
  • Brandy- a little more than half a bottle (save some for your eggnog!)
  • Oranges- 3 or 4 large; sliced and halved (into half-moon shapes)
  • Pears- 3 or 4 large; sliced
  • Cinnamon Sticks- 4 or 5 whole
  • Cranberries, fresh- 12 oz.
  • Whole Cloves- put into a tea bag

Instructions

  1. Combine ingredients in large mason or Sangria Jar
  2. Let this mixture “steep” for a 2-3 days in a cool place. If you live someplace cold, you can just leave it outside, unless it will freeze.
https://tonispilsbury.com/tonis-holiday-spice-sangria/

 

Eat, drink and be thrifty!

If you enjoy serving wine to guests for the holidays, at anywhere from $20 to $100’s per bottle, the money you spend can certainly add up.  Having a batch of this holiday wine elixir on hand is not only affordable, it makes a visually stunning holiday presentation and it’s absolutely delicious.

homemade holiday sangria recipe

 

The Gift of Wine

Many of my friends like to give and receive wine for the holidays, and this too can get costly.  Get creative with ribbons, tags and metallic pens by bottling your own Holiday-Spice Sangria.

 

Toni’s Holiday Spice Sangria Recipe

You will need a big pitcher, mason or sangria jar.  I don’t like sugar in my sangria even though so many recipes call for it; I can’t even drink it.  Instead I use fruit juice.

Combine:

  1. Red Table Wine- I use 2 gallons of a basic red wine that I found in bulk.  Trader Joe’s also has great deals for basic red table wine over the holidays.
  2. Cranberry Juice-  1 bottle
  3. Brandy- a little more than half a bottle (save some for your eggnog!)
  4. Oranges- 3 or 4 large; sliced and halved
  5. Pears- 3 or 4 large; sliced
  6. Cinnamon Sticks- 4 or 5 whole
  7. Cranberries- 1 12oz. bag
  8. Whole Cloves- put into a tea bag

Let this mixture “steep” for a few days in a cool place.  If you live someplace cold, you can just leave it outside, unless it will freeze.

Serve and enjoy.

Happy Holidays!

 

Chardonnay Cake Recipe:

Chardonnay Cake

Easy Chardonnay Cake Recipe

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Manic Monday Giveaway- California Wine Club (3 Winners)

There is an old saying that we believe in here at Organized Cook: Never cook with wine you wouldn’t drink! Julia Child once said, “If you do not have a good wine to use, it is far better to omit it, for a poor one can spoil a simple dish and utterly debase a noble one.” Of course, our rule of thumb is that any wine you cook with should be one you are having a glass of while cooking!

California Wine Club is a great way to try new wines delivered right to your door! I have been receiving monthly shipments for the past two months and has been very impressed with the quality and uniqueness of the wines. I love that they source their wines from ‘mom & pop wineries’ and send things I won’t typically find in my Costco liquor store (but if you are looking in Costco, try Conundrum).

Our first shipment of wine included these two selections from Three Saints

Three Saints Wine

The Chardonnay was a perfect compliment to our Chardonnay Cake Recipe.

Chardonnay Cake from Toni Spilsbury, The Organized Cook

I am not typically a red wine drinker but I loved this one. My husband, who is a red wine fan, enjoyed this Kiara 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon so much my husband said “Do whatever you need to do to keep that one coming.” Um, OK, honey….Good thing I can order bottles individually as well.

Want your friends and family to be as impressed with your wine buying skills? Here is your chance! You can order from California Wine Club and use this to get a bonus just for reading us!

Code: traveling12

Your readers will be able to receive 4 bottles for the price of 2 in their first shipment with no obligation to continue. They will also be able to receive all reds or all whites or a combo of each.

Even better, 3 of our lucky readers will win a 1 month subscription ($50 value) to CA Wine Club! Here is how to win:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

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Summer No-Cook Appetizers

My favorite summer appetizers for parties, weekend guests or just hanging with the girls are Caprese Salad and Prosciutto with Melon & Fig.

First of all, who wants to slave over a stove during the summer months for a snack, especially here in the desert.  And, especially when the most fabulous summer appetizers require no sauteing, marinating or baking.  What’s best of all, these tasty treats can be made in advance to serve when the time is right.

So, when I received a phone call from mother-in-law asking for wine and recipe ideas for her guests, I quickly chose Caprese Salad and Prosciutto with Melon and Fig.

Here’s a short story about why I chose these favorites.

My husband and I are not mormon, but he grew up in the faith and his mother is still active in the mormon church.  Although I’m not involved in the church, she and I still still have so much in common personally including gardening and cooking.

What sparked the phone call from her this particular day was the news that some old friends of her husband from New York (whom she had never met) were set to arrive this weekend for a visit.  In an effort to make their visit comfortable and pleasant, she asked her new Italian friends if they had any food requests for their visit.  “Red wine and watermelon” was the response.

So, before she set out to purchase a bottle of wine (for the first time in her life), she thought it would be a good idea to get some suggestions.  After I offered some simple and versatile Zin suggestions, it was on to the food.

Caprese Salad.  Easy.  Delicious.  Beautiful.  And what better way to take advantage of her summer garden basil.  By assembling it in a gorgeous arrangement the night before, she need only pull it out when her guests arrive and drizzle a little olive oil and vinegar over it.

Caprese Salad

Caprese Salad

Next?  Prosciutto with Melon and Fig because you can’t get more old-school Italian than that.  And the fact that it too makes an aesthetically pleasing presentation doesn’t hurt either.

Email the recipes you ask?  I’ll do even better than that!  Here it is, photos and all because, well… that’s how I role now.

Prosciutto with Fig and Melon

Prosciutto with Fig and Melon

 

For recipes: Caprese Salad & Prosciutto with Melon and Fig

 

 

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