Sangria: Monday Night Martha

By Sativa Peterson Mon., Apr. 5 2010 at 12:30 PM

Categories: Monday Night Martha

Welcome Spring. Pick a reason: the Arizona Diamondbacks' home opener, consumption of too many chocolate eggs, a beautiful 78 degree day here in the Valley. Any reason will do to make Sangria.

We've decided to try out this Martha Stewart sangria recipe. This wine punch, typical of Spain and enjoyed in the warm weather, can be made from inexpensive, young red wine.

Martha's version calls for 4 oranges; 2 juiced and 2 thinly sliced, 1/3 to ½ cup of sugar, ¼ cup brandy, 1 bottle dry red wine, 2 lemons thinly sliced, and 2 cups seltzer or club soda. We decided to add a thinly sliced apple to ours and opted for a lesser amount of sugar and a splash of orange juice in its place.

You could also try peach, berries, pineapple, or melon. Or, honey in place of granulated sugar. That is the beauty of sangria, it's pretty happy to adapt to whatever you want.

We drank ours yesterday in between rounds of Easter egg hiding and hunting. The punch was refreshing and the club soda added just a little zip. Perfect for sipping on a sunny afternoon.

The punch can be made ahead of time, and refrigerated, allowing the flavors a chance to intensify. Just add the seltzer or club soda before you are ready to enjoy.

We were going to tackle a complicated cake for Monday Night Martha this week, but after sipping a few glasses of sangria we thought better of it. What's the rush? Why not live in the moment and just eat some more chocolate eggs? Maybe that's what separates us from the mythical multi-tasking Martha, but that's an accusation we can live with.