Frozen Sangrita Recipe

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ArtofEntertaining #CollectiveBias The following content is intended for readers who are 21 or older.

One of the best things about visiting my mom in Virginia Beach is being part of the parties her neighborhood throws. They'll have the blender party (which you already know about), girls sandwich night on the beach where everyone brings a signature sandwich and a beverage of choice and first Friday parties where they take turns at hosting at different houses. While I was there, the street was having an organized night on the beach to watch fireworks, shoot fireworks and of course socialize. Everyone was asked to bring a signature drink for the group, I suggested my mom and I team up together to make something delicious... we decided to make a frozen sangrita to take to the beach street party. 

I have a go to brand of wine that I always use when it comes time for celebrating, and that brand is Estancia. For the past 5 or 6 years, my absolute favorite pinot noir is the Estancia Pinot Noir, and I've even gotten CB obsessed with it too. If you've never tried their pinot noir, you must go tonight and grab a bottle for yourself. This Californian wine is hands down the best quality wine at that price point I've ever had. 

I for sure wanted to use the Estancia Pinot Noir in our sangrita.... but I also picked up a bottle of chardonnay, you know, for good measure.

A sangrita, if you haven't already guessed, is a sangria and margarita layered concoction that will knock your socks off. 

Here is what you'll need: 

Ingredients 

Makes 3-4

8 Cups Ice (Separated) 

4 ounces blanco tequila 

2 ounces Grand Marnier 

4 Limes (1/4 cup lime juice)

3-4 tablespoons honey (or more for a sweeter drink)

Half Bottle Estancia Pinot Noir

1 Peeled Orange

2 Lemons (1/4 cup lemon juice)

Directions
You're going to want to make your margarita and sangria separately, then layer your final drink in a wine glass. Start with your frozen sangria. In a blender, combine 4 cups of ice, Estancia Pinot Noir, peeled orange, lemon juice and honey. Blend until smooth and set aside. Next, for your margarita, combine 4 cups of ice, tequila, grand marnier, lime juice and honey. Blend until smooth and layer your two drinks in your wine glasses. Top off with a straw and ENJOY!

These turned out SOOO good. We grabbed our big batch of frozen sangritas, packed up the cooler and headed down to the beach for the party. I also brought the rest of the Pinot Noir, because, why not! 

Not a bad way to spend a night on the beach, if I do say so myself! 

Do you have any go to cocktail recipes you bring to a Summer party? I'm always looking for new cocktails to add to my repertoire! 

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The 5 Minute Garlic Feta Dip

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #GameDayParty #CollectiveBias The following content is intended for readers who are 21 or older.

It's officially official, football is over and I am very emotional over it. Just as soon as I begin to sink into a deep, dark, post football depression I remember basketball season is already well under way and tournament time will be here before we know it. 

As I've mentioned a few times, two of our best girlfriends live just down the street from us. We get together at least once a week, and this past week we did a test run on a garlic feta dip that will be delicious and easy to make come tournament time. Since this dip only takes 5 minutes, I thought I'd have CB be the one to prepare it for the girls. 

It's about time the girls posted up on the couch watching basketball while the guys are in the kitchen! Boom! That's how you do it, folks!

You can't have dip without wine (actual fact) so I brought over a box of Black Box Chardonnay. Black Box is perfect to bring to a sports-centered get together since it is so portable and is 40% less than comparable bottles. Plus, just one box of Black Box is equal to 4, 750mL, bottles of wine! I buy Black Box all the time because it lasts for so much longer than normal bottles, up to six weeks and they have won over 50 Gold Medals for its quality! 

I poured the girls a glass, then handed off the recipe to CB, fully confident in his abilities. 

That's a natural born chef right there, I think he has found his calling in life!  

|| Ingredients ||  

6oz Feta Cheese (I used Fat Free)

4 oz Cream Cheese (I used a low fat version to keep it lighter)

1/3 cup greek yogurt

3 cloves garlic

Pinch of dill

Pinch of oregano

Juice of 1 small lemon

1 Small Roma Tomato, diced

Chopped parsley for garnish

Pita bread, cut into triangles 

|| Directions ||  

Combine your feta, cream cheese, yogurt, garlic, dill, oregano and lemon juice in a blender. I'd probably recommend using a food processor but we didn't have one of those on hand so a blender worked perfectly! When dip is completely blended, transfer to a small bowl and top with tomatoes and parsley. Serve with pita bread. 

*Recipe adapted from Host The Toast!

Basketball playoffs right around the corner and a delicious dips delivered right to the couch?
Yes please! I'll toast to that!

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Sarah + Wine, A Love Story

I'm about to tell you something that might shock everyone. This news is so earth shattering, and so darn unexpected that reading this new piece of information might literally blow your mind. Literally, mind exploding into a million fragments all over your keyboard.

I love wine. 

Whew. Is everyone ok? Pat your skull a couple of times, feel around for any abnormalities. We all good? Well, duh of course we're all good because hello, everyone already knew this. I've written posts (like the best wines under $10 to bring to a party), on posts (like the girl's 5 step guide to becoming a wino), on posts (like how to host a wine and cheese party) about my favorite hobby; wine drinking! 

A couple of weeks ago NewAir, known for keeping their home appliances and products green and energy efficient, contacted me thinking I might be interested in teaming up to get the word out about their AW-211ED 21 Bottle, Dual Zone Wine Cooler. Hmmm, let me think about that one. Ok thought about it, and YES PLEASE! 

For a couple of years, while I was living in Knoxville, I waited tables at Bonefish Grill. I always loved coming in on a day off, sitting at the bar and having a glass of their red wine. I never put my finger on what made the wine at bonefish so much better than everywhere else, until one of the bartenders told me they keep their reds chilled slightly cooler than most restaurants. That was it, the wine was chilled, but by no means cold. 

NewAir's wine cooler has two separate cooling chambers, so you can keep your reds and whites at the best possible temperature to preserve their flavors. 

Reds should be kept around 55 degrees. White wine, the experts say, should be kept between 49-55 degrees. Seeing as I'm no expert and I much prefer a very chilled white, I set mine at 47! Such a rebel.

I've been using NewAir's wine cooler for about three weeks now and it works perfectly. My reds have been delicious and the whites, perfectly chilled and crisp! 

Now, if anyone would like to pass along any tips on keeping your wine cooler stocked, I'm all ears. Someone keeps drinking all the bottles and it's never full. Gee and Veenie told me that they keep seeing someone sneakily darting in and out of the dining room, which is where our cooler is kept. They told me she is about 5'8, real pale with curly hair. I'm thinking about laying a pizza trap to try and catch her the next time she wants to take one of my hard-earned bottles of wine. 

For those of you needing a little extra motivation, a little nudge of convincing, I've put together a little video of just how perfect a wine night, complete with an expertly chilled bottle of red from a NewAir Wine Cooler, can be after a long day!

*Thank you to NewAir for sending me their wine cooler in exchange for my review. All thoughts and opinions are my own! 

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The Best Wines Under $10 To Bring To Thanksgiving or A Holiday Party

It's that time of year when you're constantly needing a wine to bring to a party. This week, you'll need a wine to serve at Thanksgiving. When you're serving a crowd, those really nice $20 bottles may not be an option. Here are my picks for the best wines under $10 to bring to your next party, or to serve with Thanksgiving dinner. 

1. Jacob's Creek ~ $6

If you come to my home, there's about a 76% chance you'll be handed an Australian wine. Australian wines are absolutely delicious and generally run cheaper than most other wines on the shelf. I've tried nearly every type of Jacob's Creek, and while I like most of them, the Shiraz-Cab blend is my go-to recommendation for Thanksgiving!

Plus, they're all screw caps. This is a plus for hotel rooms, just an item I find important to note.

2.  Penfolds ~ $9

Another Australian wine, Penfolds has a few different collections that vary drastically in price. The Rawson Chardonnay or the Thomas Hyland Cabernet will only set you back about $7-$9. 

3. Mirassou ~ $9

Hey look, California.... not Australia! Mirassou Pinot Noir is my absolute favorite wine for the price point. My favorite wine is Estancia Pinot Noir, but it unfortunately misses that under $10 mark, usually costing about $17. If you love pinot noir, you'll love Mirassou's, especially for just $9. 

4. Bogle ~ $8.50

Bogle is a Californian wine that I actually tried for the first time with my mom in Virginia Beach. I couldn't believe how delicious I thought it was, especially for so cheap. I personally really like Bogle's Chardonnay, which receives excellent reviews from wine critics.


5. Estancia (White) ~ $8

I mentioned California's Estancia Pinot Noir in reference to Mirassou, and while it is generally in the range of $15-$17, Estancia's white wines fit into that <$10 price point. 

6. Belle Ambiance ~ $9

Ok, OK, ok.... you got me. The first time I bought this wine, I only picked it because of the label. I never said I was some expert wine snob over here. I'm really glad I did though, because this Californian wine is fantastic, and not just because of that pretty blue label.

7.  Dark Horse ~ $7

Their red blend is actually a global wine, made from a variety of grapes from Argentina, California and Australia. The packaging is very sleek, making it look much more expensive than it actually is.

8. House Wine ~ $7.25

I'm embarrassed, this is another one I picked because I loved the label. Just kidding, I'm not embarrassed, packaging is everything right? The packaging might have sold me the first time, but the taste of this Washington wine was so good that I grab this one anytime I see it at the grocery store. Even better, they now package this wine in a box... SCORE!

9. Apothic ~ $9

I honestly don't think this wine needs a description, as I'm sure you've heard of it. This Californian wine is wildly popular, and quite frankly the perfect wine to bring to Thanksgiving!

10. A Good Trick

For number 10 I'm going to give you a trick that I do at the grocery store. I'll look for the biggest discounts. Sometimes there will be a big cart filled with closeout wines, don't ignore that cart. I'll also check out the shelves and find new wines to try based on the deepest sales. For example, that Seven Daughters wine shown above, was a fantastic $19 bottle of wine that I got for just $9. When I'm needing a wine to bring to a party, this is the approach I'll take!


So that's my list of suggestions, what do you think? Have you tried any of these wines?
What is your favorite inexpensive wine?

Oh, and get some goat cheese while you're at it.
Every wine goes with goat cheese.
Everything goes with goat cheese.

Goat cheese for president 2016. Gouda for VP.

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