Miracle Sangria

Image courtesy VintageHolidayCrafts.com

The thing about summer is that a person always has a ton of fruit laying around.   And if you are like me, you often have half bottles of various and sundry liqueurs, brandies, etc. taking up valuable space in the liquor cabinet.   That's why this sangria recipe is a miracle - it lets me use up that peach that might be past its prime, or the lime wedges left over from last night's vodka and tonic, or even lemon rinds that remain from making fresh squeezed lemonade.   Whatever you have on hand, use it!

Here's the basic recipe - feel free to switch things up to use up what you have on hand.  I had a half bottle of raspberry liqueur left over from some long forgotten cocktail project that had an inch of dust on the cap.  Substitute the brandy for whatever fruity thing you might have kicking around in your stash - I'd stay away from anything too off the beaten path (i.e. the banana liqueur I bought to make Bananas Foster probably wouldn't be a good choice).  And substitute the citrus and apple with whatever you have that needs using up - apricots, peaches, melon, etc. will all work just fine.  I mix mine up in a half gallon canning jar - it would be a great cocktail to bring along in the camping cooler for my next camping trip.     I like to stretch my sangria (and reduce my calorie count) by drinking a half a glass and topping it off with a splash of club soda.

Miracle Sangria

1/2 c orange juice (or whatever other kind of juice is languishing in the fridge)
1/2 c brandy
1 bottle dry fruity red wine (I like tempranillo or garnacha for sangria)
1 c club soda
1 lemon, sliced
1 orange, sliced
1 apple, cored and sliced

Mix everything together in a large pitcher - a half gallon canning jar is perfect!  Serve in tall glasses over tons of ice.  It's the perfect drink for summer...and here is the perfect summer song:

Vintage Artwork: Preserve Perishable Produce

Great vintage canning poster from Great Britain

Father's Meatloaf for Father's Day

For a long while, I have been meaning to post the recipe for the best meatloaf I have ever made.   It's out of cookbook I picked up at a garage sale a few years back straight out of the 1960s called "365 Ways to Cook Hamburger" by a fellow named Doyne Nickerson.   From my Googling, I found out that the book must have been a great seller for Doubleday, as it went through many printings.    It's amusing to me to wonder if the famed cookbook editor at Doubleday during that era, Judith Jones, championed this cookbook at the same time she was working on Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child.   It's a gem of a cookbook that features a photo of a dapper Doyne browning some meatballs while decked out in a shirt and tie in his San Fernando Valley kitchen.    In his intro, he said that he wrote the book for "bachelors, bachelor girls, newlyweds, small families, large families, those who like hamburger, those who are tired of hamburger cooked in the same old way, clubs and church groups".

Should you be looking to cook your burger with an international flair, there's a recipe for Persian meatballs or something called Swedish Kaldomar, which would appear to be some kind of stuffed cabbage.  Want the flavor of New Orleans?  Try Meat Balls Creole. Making a meal for your next scout cookout?  How about Hamburger Soup for Fifty?  The only recipe I have tried thus far from this book is a recipe for meatloaf.  I originally made it for my parents when my mom got too sick with cook and barely would eat anything because the chemo killed her appetite. But she loved this meatloaf and so I made a dozen of them and froze them in throwaway mini loaf pans so her nurse could heat them up in the toaster oven for dinner.  It freezes beautifully, so when making it, I try to double the recipe and freeze one for later.    I'm not sure whose father the title references - maybe it was Mr. Nickerson's dad, but since it's Father's Day, I thought I'd post the recipe finally, with a few of my modifications.   Mr. Nickerson tended to use a lot of MSG in his recipes, but it really isn't necessary.   It was the 1960s, so everyone was doing that.

Father's Meatloaf

2 lbs. hamburger
2 eggs
2 c breadcrumbs
1 c chopped onion (chopped fine)
1/2 c chopped green pepper, chopped fine, or a small can of chopped green chilis, drained
1/4 c milk
2 T horseradish
2 t salt
1 t pepper
1 t dry mustard

Mix all ingredients together and form into a loaf.   Brush with:

1/4 c chili sauce

Bake at 350 F for 1 hour. 

Happy Father's Day!