Burning Man Recipes: Sangria a la Playa

Much to my Burning Man camp's detriment, I lost this year's game of "new parent roshambo" and will be staying home in San Francisco instead of hosting potlucks. In the spirit of community, however, I'm sharing a few of my Burning Man recipes.

Unsurprisingly, the first request I received was for the tastiest of liquid refreshment: Sangria a la Playa. It's fabulous on OR off of the playa, and easy to customize to your taste, but be warned that it packs a punch. Instructions are below, and I've also posted the recipe at Yummly for easy saving to your recipe collection, access to nutritional info (one glass has 72% of a day's vitamin C!), and so forth.

Ingredients

• 1     orange (sliced thinly, in halves)
• 1     lemon (sliced thinly, in halves)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup brandy
• 1/2 cup cointreau (or any of peach schnapps (cheapest), triple sec, or Grand Marnier)
• 1     bottle wine (sauvignon blanc, white zinfandel, chianti, or pinot noir)
• 1     cup fruit (halved seedless grapes, halved pitted cherries, quartered strawberries, or sliced peaches)
• 6     tbsp lemon juice

Directions

1. Decide if you're going for a white, pink, or red sangria. White is the most refreshing; pink, the sweetest; and red, the heaviest. For Burning Man, I recommend going with the white zinfandel. Fruity sweetness on the playa is heavenly, especially if you have it later in the week.
   -  If white wine: choose green grapes, white cherries, or peach slices as the third (optional) fruit.
   -  If white zinfandel or rose: choose green or red grapes, or strawberries as the third (optional) fruit.
   -  If red wine: choose red or black grapes, red or black cherries, or strawberries as the third (optional) fruit.
2. Prep lemon, orange, and (optional) third fruit of choice. Note that halving the lemon/orange slices means that they will fit through the mouth of reusable water bottles. Mix. Set aside in bowl.
3. Pop open your wine and pour it into any large container, ideally one that you can cover from dust. Note that box wine (I'm partial to Franzia white zinfandel) is highly recommended for the playa - less waste, and dust won't get into the open container. More importantly, one box equals five or six bottles, so it's easy to make a large batch and share with your neighbors. 
4. Pour in your lemon juice, brandy, and cointreau (or one of the cointreau alternates listed). Add sugar and mix thoroughly.
5. Add as much fruit mix as you like. If you prefer to go heavy on the booze and light on the fruit, you may have extra fruit, in which case cover it up and use it later in the next batch.
6. Chill using block ice from Arctica, and wait an hour if you can. If not, drink and enjoy.

Shopping tip: If you're camping with friends, the easy way to prep is to swing by Costco and pick up a sack of lemons, a sack of oranges, a box of your third fruit, a case of wine, and your bottles of booze. Leave the citrus and wine in the shade under (not in) your car once you get to Burning Man and it will survive a full week just fine without taking up valuable cooler space. Just remember to rinse off the playa dust before cutting into your lemons and oranges.

More good playa eats to come. Enjoy, and let me know how it goes!