Red Wine Summer Sangria

High school was hard for me.

I went to school in fuzzy, adorable duck pajamas every day because I couldn’t be bothered to be uncomfortable while I was being subjected to high school. Ugh. They could make me attend, but they weren’t going to make me wear real clothes while doing it. I didn’t actually sleep in the pajamas: I just woke up and changed from my nightgown into them.

Once I got sent home for inappropriate attire, which I viewed as a huge injustice. The assistant principal couldn’t really explain why the duck pajamas were inappropriate. They just were. She said it “should be obvious” to me. It wasn’t. (I argued that they covered me from head to toe and only differed from “regular clothes” in that they had ducks all over them. Were ducks offensive? HUH? WERE THEY? I was That Kid. In what can only be described as educator karma, I’ve had That Kid in my classes plenty of times now that I’m a teacher.)

Red Wine Summer Sangria

I had plenty of other struggles in addition to my duck pajama drama. More serious ones, at that: depression, eating disorders, self harm, terrible time management, and anxiety. I didn’t understand why things were so hard for me. I didn’t understand why I couldn’t connect easily with other people. I wrote lots of poetry and checked out of everything except my work — and Mike. As many days as I could manage it, I skipped school (with my mom’s permission! I was a rule-challenger, but not a rule-breaker) and drove to Mike’s apartment in my little blue Pontiac Sunbird.

Red Wine Summer Sangria

Mike worked from home, so I always knew he’d be there (I still always know he’ll be there. BRB, crying.) This was before I owned a cell phone, so I didn’t call first: I just walked up and knocked on his bedroom window. One of the very best feelings was leaving a hard school day and then seeing him open the door in his baggy sweatpants and long ponytail (he used to have the longest, curliest hair!), grinning and excited to see me. I’d spend the whole evening with him (well, until 8:30, when I had to drive home because of my provisional license curfew.) We usually made Hamburger Helper and ate it while watching Star Trek: The Next Generation on his uncomfortable couch.

Red Wine Summer Sangria

It’s funny. I typically think of high school as one of the hardest times in my life, and in plenty of ways it was. But reminiscing about those days with Mike made me realize that those Star-Trek-filled evenings on the couch were some of the best of my life, only topped by the Star-Trek-filled evenings in our first home together now. (BRB, crying again.)

Red Wine Summer Sangria

Another sweet aspect of this new stage in our relationship? We’re not babies anymore, so now we can drink together (and drive after 9 pm! Livin’ la vida loca!) We loved this sangria recipe from Bobby Flay. We even poured some in the ice cream maker and turned it into sangria slushies to combat the summer heat. Drink it outside with lots of snacks. Happy summer!

One year ago: Limoncello-Spiked Shortbread Icebox Cake with Fresh Raspberries
Two years ago: Anthony’s Cinnamon & Walnut Zucchini Bread (gluten-free adaptation included)
Three years ago: School’s IN for Summer! The Elementary School Reunion Picnic
Four years ago: Secret Garden Party

Red Wine Summer Sangria (and Sangria Slushies)


Recipe by: Slightly adapted from Bobby Flay, with a slushy spin inspired by Dessert for Two’s wine slushies
Yield: 8 servings

It’s summertime, and that means ice cold cocktails on the patio! This sangria is kickin’ and fruity. Mike and I enjoyed it (and sangria slushies!) on the balcony with snacks.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
2 bottles red wine (I used this article from The Kitchn to choose Garnacha and Tempranillo)
1 cup brandy
1/2 cup triple sec
1 cup orange juice
1 cup pomegranate juice
Orange slices
Apple slices
Blackberries
Pomegranate seeds (I skipped these)

Directions:
Make simple syrup by heating the water and sugar together over high heat in a small saucepan, stirring, until the sugar is completely dissolved. Pour into a separate dish and allow to cool completely (I stick mine in the fridge after a bit to hurry it along.)

Pour the cooled simple syrup, wine, brandy, triple sec, orange juice, pomegranate juice all into a huge pitcher (mine was too small, which led to lots of spillover when I added the fruit.) Stir to mix. Add the fruit and stir gently. Cover tightly and store 24 hours in the fridge before serving to let all the flavors meld.

For slushies: Put about 2 cups of your finished sangria (with fruit strained out) into an ice cream machine for around 25 minutes. It takes longer to freeze than regular ice cream or sorbet because of the high alcohol content. Spoon your slush into a shallow bowl or cake pan and stick it in the freezer for 30 minutes, stirring/scraping every 10 minutes or so, or until it’s the consistency you want. Transfer to glasses and serve with sangria-soaked fruit on top!

Pro-tip: To keep sangria cold without watering it down, pour some of your sangria into ice cube molds after making it and freeze overnight as your sangria chills. These ice cubes come out adorable and can double as boozy popsicles.

by | 9 Comments

9 Comments on Red Wine Summer Sangria (and Sangria Slushies!)

  1. DessertForTwo
    June 21, 2014 at 3:39 pm (11 years ago)

    This sounds amazing! I was That Kid too, but it was that I didn’t feel like I should have to wear a bra. I’ve always been a free spirit hehe

    Thanks for linking 🙂

    Reply
  2. Librarian Lavender
    June 21, 2014 at 7:21 pm (11 years ago)

    This recipe looks really great! I had pajama like clothes when I was younger. The hoodies had matching pants and they looked exactly like sleep wear. I was never sent home, but I did look weird a lot of times. I want to redo the last two years of high school, but definitely not the ones before. Thanks for writing this great and honest post!

    Reply
  4. Luisa
    June 23, 2014 at 1:13 am (11 years ago)

    The sangria slushies sound fantastic and I can’t wait to try them. I appreciate your sharing your high school story with us. It’s a very difficult time for a lot of folks, isn’t it? If you looked at my high school yearbooks, you would think that I had a great time because of all the things I did and because I was always smiling in pictures, but it was a false front; the opposite was true. I was very sad and lost and self -destructive, largely due to issues at home. Eventually things improved when I went away to college, but you never forget how those years felt. Sometimes the kids who look like they have it all going on are in pretty bad shape, too. Thanks for being brave and telling your story, and for making me feel that it was okay to tell mine.

    Reply
  5. Amy | Club Narwhal
    June 23, 2014 at 1:59 pm (11 years ago)

    Like you (and lots of other folks) I had a rough time in high school but I love that you are a teacher now and can fully relate to all those kids going through the craziness that is coming of age/adolescence. And I had to laugh at the teacher karma for the PJ pants! I’ve had a few of those as well but mostly I feel like, hey, they came to school! Go them! High school can be such a lonely time and I’m glad you had Mike right there to help life seem better–and I bet it’s even better now that you can watch Star Trek AND drink together 🙂

    Reply
  6. Jess @ Flying on Jess Fuel
    June 23, 2014 at 2:51 pm (11 years ago)

    I love the slushie idea!! How great!! It’s already over 100 degrees where I live so sangria slushies sound like an AWESOME treat!! 🙂

    Reply
  8. Jenny @ BAKE
    June 27, 2014 at 11:30 am (10 years ago)

    I am a little jealous of people who can look back on highschool as the best time, though I can’t say I went through anything as tough as you did. This sangria looks incredible! yay to being above the legal drinking age 😉

    Reply

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