Cold Beer With A Black Knight

I was having a lot of fun rummaging through my fellow scavenger hunter's stores to wrap up this week's theme of  "cool beverage" because they all had so many items to choose from!  But when I came across the Black Knight Mug at Bargain Express, I thought this is it!  She's got goblets and all kinds of glassware for any kind of cool beverage you care to drink.  For me, it's 100F here today and all I can think of is when I get home from work I'm going to kick back, have an ice cold beer and start the week-end!  Now, wouldn't you like to drink a beer with this Black Knight?  He's awesome!

Tasty Chilled Sangria for Summer

There's nothing like a nice chilled sangria for a summer party and the theme at ESN this week is "cool beverage".   Back in college we used to make huge metal tubs of the stuff for our parties and used a ladle to scoop it into our plastic cups.  There's tons of recipes on how to make it, and I don't remember exactly how we made it back then, but my tastes are a bit more sophisticated (or so I'd like to think!) these days so I don't drink from metal tubs anymore either.  I like to serve it in lovely clear pitchers so all the colorful fruit and liquor shines through brightly.  Le Petit Marche has a lovely Italian Wine Decanter for sale for your next fancy party. And I've included 2 Sangria recipes if you'd like to give it a try!  Look at the differences and the similarities of the two.

Italian Crystal Wine Decanter

 From Emeril Lagasse

 Ingredients

• 1 (750-ml) bottle red wine
• 1/4 cup brandy
• 1/4 cup orange flavored liqueur (recommended: triple sec or Grand Marnier)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 orange, thinly sliced
• 1/2 lemon, thinly sliced
• 1 unwaxed apple, cored, and cut into thin wedges
• 1 (750-ml) bottle sparkling water, chilled

Directions

Combine everything but the sparkling water in a large plastic container or glass pitchers. Cover and chill completely, 1 to 2 hours. When ready to serve, add the sparkling water. 

From Bobby Flay

Ingredients

• 2 bottles red Spanish table wine
• 1 cup brandy
• 1/2 cup triple sec
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 cup pomegranate juice
• 1/2 cup simple syrup, or more to taste (equal parts sugar and water, heated until sugar dissolves, cooled)
• Orange slices
• Apple slices
• Blackberries
• Pomegranate seeds

Directions

Mix all ingredients together and let stand in a tightly sealed container or pitcher for at least 24 hours in the refrigerator before serving.