Hoo-boy, we just had ourselves a real scorcher of a day, didn’t we? Weather.com tells me we reached a high of 102 degrees today. 102 and sunny. Bright, merciless, blazing sunshine…everywhere. Thank god I didn’t have to go outside today. Frankly, sitting at home furiously handwriting a million essays for my simulated bar exam was way preferable to braving the heat. Hand cramps and bar exam-induced depression in an air conditioned condo >> heat stroke on the Metro.
If you know me, you’ll know that when it gets this hot out, the only action my kitchen sees is from my blender. So naturally, today’s dinner consisted of some grapes, garlic bread, cheese, and many many ice cold Mango Wine Coolers. It. Was. Amazing. Probably the best dinner I’ve put on the table in ages.
Were wine coolers your first experience with alcohol? Lucky you! My first taste of booze was a barely cool glass of Red Dog beer that I had to chug during a game of beer dice at Dan’s fraternity. It tasted terrible and chugging made me sick as a dog by the end of the game. I would much rather have gotten hammered on fruity wine cocktails my first time drinking. I’ve been making up for lost time on the cocktail front, but this is actually only my second time tasting wine coolers. And guys…these things are freaking delicious! Not too sweet, delicately fruity, and very pleasantly boozy, these drinks live up to their “cooler” name. A couple of these and I swear my body temperature dropped like 10 degrees. Awesome.
Mango Wine Coolers (Adapted from Annie’s Eats)
Ingredients:
- 2 ripe mangos, chopped
- 1 750 mL bottle of white wine (I used a bottle of sweet Riesling)
- 2 oz vodka
- A pinch of salt
Directions:
- Add mango chunks, 2 cups wine, vodka, and salt to your blender. Blend until smooth.
- Strain mixture through a mesh sieve to separate out the fruit chunks.
- Pour strained mixture into a pitcher, and add your remaining wine. Stir.
- Refrigerate until you’re ready to serve.
- Drink chilled, over ice.
What a refreshing and delicious drink for this hot weather!!! Definitely will have to try it. I know what you mean – the kitchen is getting ignored except for coffee and tea in the mornings. The grill however, is seeing a lot of action! 🙂 Stay cool my friend!
Thanks, you too! Hope you have power and AC 🙂