Recipe: Sangria Cha Cha Cha

Sangria Cha Cha Cha

Makes 8 cups

Salvado Rodriguez prepares our sangria daily at Cha Cha Cha. We make more sangria than any restaurant in San Francisco, most nights selling enough to float a ship. No Cha Cha Cha meal feels right without sangria, but a glass of sangria, we believe, is also important to the cooking process. Put on some island music, pour a cool glass of sangria (keep in mind, we said one glass!), break out the chips and salsa, and start cooking.

1 orange, cut into 1/8-inch slices
1 lemon
1 cup sugar
1 bottle dry white wine
1 bottle dry red wine
Sliced peaches, grapes, strawberries, or other seasonal fruit (optional)
Gin, Grand Marnier, or brandy to taste (optional)

Combine the orange, lemon, sugar, and wines in a large glass bowl and stir for several minutes. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 to 6 hours, or overnight. Add the optional fruits and spirits, if you like. Serve over ice or, just before serving, place some ice cubes in the punch bowl.

From:
Cook, Eat, Cha Cha Cha
By Philip Bellber
Photographs by Ian Reeves
Chronicle Books
144 pages
Full-color photographs and illustrations throughout
Paperback, $17.95
ISBN 0-8118-1146-8
Recipe reprinted by permission.