The Copycat Chef: Last-Minute Sangria

Some warm summer nights call out for sangria, but with the weather as fickle as it’s been, you rarely know it 12 hours in advance. Fortunately there are shortcuts to traditional sangria that will make it taste as if it’s been steeping all afternoon, even if you put it together at the 11th hour. This recipe was developed by D. on a recent evening, when all the pieces—and a secret ingredient—fell into place in record time.

Recipe: Last-Minute Sangria

1 red apple
1 green apple
1 orange, peeled
1 pint (1/2 lb.) strawberries
brandy
1.5 L inexpensive Crianza or other Spanish wine
½ c. Grand Marnier
¼ c. sugar
1 c. Orangina

Core and slice the apples into 1-x-½-inch rectangles. Peel and section the orange, cut into similar size dice. Hull and slice the strawberries. As you work, put the sliced fruit in a bowl filled with enough brandy to cover the fruit, about 2-3 cups.

Pour the wine into a large pitcher and add the Grand Marnier and sugar to taste. Let everything sit at room temperature until you’re ready to serve, preferably at least a half-hour after you added the last of the fruit to the brandy. (The time it takes to shower and dress before cocktail hour?)

Just before serving, scoop 2-3 cups of fruit out of the brandy and drain it, leaving the rest of the fruit soaking in the remaining brandy. Decant ½ cup of the brandy from the fruit mixture and add it to the sangria. Top with Orangina (secret ingredient) and serve over ice in wineglasses.

Should you require a second round, mix a 750 ml bottle of wine with the remaining fruit, some brandy, Grand Marnier, sugar, and top again with Orangina. As D. says, “I wouldn’t worry too much about the proportions at that point.”