So, I received an e-mail the other day inviting me to a “Spiked Fruit” party. Who could resist? So, I started scouring the internet for something interesting since I had never made spiked fruit for the sake of spiked fruit….
I encountered a Sangria recipe that I found to be quite pleasant and appeared to be simple. I’m a firm believer in lazy prep, so here’s what I did….
I took dried fruit (apples, pears, apricots, prunes, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries – all purchased at Sam’s) by the handful and put them into a ziplock bag, then added 3 scant cups of Captain Morgan “Tattoo” Rum (it was what was left in the bottle.) I put this in the fridge along with an inexpensive bottle of shiraz / merlot blend and wandered out for a few hours. While out I grabbed a can of Five Alive frozen juice concentrate. I came home, grabbed the fruit, wine and a pitcher and set off for the gathering. Upon arrival I mixed the entire bottle of wine with the Five Alive. I ladled the inebriated fruit into glasses and poured the wine mix over the top. Pretty tasty – and CHEAP!! Plus the bonus of using dried fruit meant I didn’t have to shop for fresh or chop / peel / section ANYTHING. Lucky has limited culinary skills, as you will recall. 
My friends were entirely more ambitious than I am. They actually got together prior to the party and made fruit preparation an evening’s entertainment.
Beautiful work, but I’m just not that “Martha.”
B.S. bought a “horny melon” for our interest and edification. Nothing like a learning experience when you’re sucking down vodka-logged melon balls!
None of us had ever tried such a thing, so he quickly sliced it open for our perusal.
It smelled grassy and “green.” It tasted like licking the underside of the mower. One of the partygoers thought it was reminiscent of kiwi. I always thought kiwi tasted much better than this! We all had a spoonful of the seed-logged flesh, pronounced it “icky” and it was promptly trashed.
We then returned to our evening’s entertainment of wincing at the contestants on “So You Think You Can Dance,” eating / drinking our fruit and picking at the fantastic brined chicken that B.S. made.
What fun!
