Blood-Red Sangria Cocktail in celebration of True Blood!

In celebration of the True Blood finale on September 11, check out the vampire-inspired Blood-Red Sangria Cocktail from Betty Crocker’s new collection of fun new recipes ideas to enjoy while watching your favorite shows, Fan Fare! With fall TV season upon us, Betty Crocker has created Fan Fare — this fall’s most anticipated TV shows have inspired these delicious and fun ideas – from desserts to snacks to drinks – that are perfect for getting together with family and friends when the weather starts to cool down and the shows start to heat up.

We love sinking our teeth into a good vampire show. Love and horror go hand-in-hand in the mysterious world of the undead as fiery passions and supernatural secrets heat up the night. The battle between good and evil is fun, sexy, and always leaves us thirsty for more. This citrusy martini gets its striking layered appearance from drops of sangria-inspired simple syrup made from red wine and dark sweet cherries (after all, “sangria” means “bleeding” in Spanish!). An “impaled” cherry adds the finishing touch!

Recipe: Blood-Red Sangria Cocktail

INGREDIENTS

Sangria Simple Syrup

1 cup sugar

1 cup red wine, such as Merlot or Zinfandel

1 cup dark sweet cherries, stemmed, pitted, and halved

1 stick cinnamon

Strips of orange peel from 1 medium orange (orange part only)

Sangria Martini Cocktail

Ice cubes

3 tablespoons (1 1/2 oz) citron (citrus) vodka

2 tablespoons (1 oz) clear orange-flavored liqueur

2 tablespoons (1 oz) sangria simple syrup, chilled (above)

1 dark sweet cherry on a cocktail pick

DIRECTIONS

STEP 1

To make simple syrup, in 1 1/2-quart saucepan, mix sangria simple syrup ingredients.

Heat to boiling over medium heat.

Simmer 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat; let cool 30 minutes.

Strain mixture through fine mesh strainer; discard solids.

Cover and chill sangria syrup until ready to use. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

STEP 2

To make cocktail, fill cocktail shaker with ice.

Add vodka and orange liqueur to cocktail shaker; cover and shake.

Strain into martini glass.

Drizzle sangria syrup into cocktail in glass.

Garnish with cherry.

BETTY CROCKER EXPERT TIP

Use a vegetable peeler to remove strips of orange peel. Be sure to remove only the orange part of the peel; the white part, called pith, is bitter.

*And for more viewing party ideas from Betty Crocker, visit www.bettycrocker.com/fanfare for vampire-inspired food ideas to complement your cocktails.