Maybe it was the extreme cold snap that has hit the mid-Atlantic this week. Maybe it was because I didn’t get to go to the beach this year. Maybe it was because travel wasn’t happening this year. Maybe it’s because restaurants need a little shine right now. Maybe it was just because it’s so damn good. Does it really matter? Yes, that’s why I’m writing (and you’re reading, I hope) this blog.
I’ve had sangria; at parties, at summer shin-digs, but even around the holiday season where the typical red sangria is replaced with sparkling white wine, it has been a part of my life for 20 years. It started when my sister’s friend, Rick, would throw ragers and instead of a fridge full of beer, he had batches of his own sangria concoction stored up in old, cleaned out milk jugs. I had it many times at Jose Andres’ Jaleo in DC after work or on a date night, and elsewhere throughout the DC metro region. But, I had never had Sangria until I plopped down at a table in The Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City. What makes there’s different? It could be the tableside service. It could be the cute little bull that came with their secret ingredient. It could be that I was also pairing it with one of their Cuban sandwiches. Or, it could be they know what they’re doing...since 1905, with pride.
It was all of the atmospherics, as well as, the fact that they put brandy in their sangria to give it a little oomph. After returning home, I asked many places if they used brandy and the answer was always “no”. In Virginia, they aren’t legally allowed to combine the two spirits. As a result, I would often order a sidecar (or two) of brandy and dump it in the sangria. So, if you can’t travel to one of their 5 locations (I’ve been to 4, including their now-shuttered locations on the Pier in St. Pete and in West Palm) which are still operating in Florida, I’ve provided the recipe below, along with a couple of dishes from their cookbook. Please go buy something, either from their restaurant directly, or from their store, or something from one of your treasured restaurants. They may not be around much longer and need all the support we can give them.
Sangria
adapted from The Columbia Restaurant Spanish Cookbook,
Adela Hernandez Gonzmart and Ferdie Pacheco
1 bottle red wine (preferably from Rioja)
¼ cup brandy
2 tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
2 tbsp orange juice, freshly squeezed
1 tbsp sugar
1 cup club soda
Maraschino cherries and orange slices for garnish
Mix the first 5 ingredients together in a pitcher, stirring the sugar in to dissolve. Add the club soda and chill in the refrigerator or serve over ice, if desired. Garnish with fruit.
Lobster Malagueña
adapted from The Columbia Restaurant Spanish Cookbook,
Adela Hernandez Gonzmart and Ferdie Pacheco
While you should never really use cheap wine to cook, it is really important to use a good Spanish white wine for this recipe, as a good portion of the wine does not fully cook down into the broth.
1 cup olive oil
Sofrito: 2 green peppers sliced thin, 2 onions, chopped medium, 6 cloves of garlic, minced
32 oz tomato sauce
2 lobster tails cut into 6-8 pieces
1 lb smoked ham, diced
1 lb chorizo, sliced ¼ inch thick
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 cups white wine
Asparagus and parsley for garnish
Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven or large skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the sofrito, with a pinch of salt, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato sauce and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the lobster and cook for a few minutes. Stir in the ham, chorizo and mushrooms and half of the wine. Cook for another few minutes.
Remove from the heat. Stir in the remaining wine and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with asparagus tips and parsley. Serve with yellow rice.
Spanish Yellow Rice
adapted from The Columbia Restaurant Spanish Cookbook,
Adela Hernandez Gonzmart and Ferdie Pacheco
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Sofrito: 1 green pepper, 1 large Spanish onion, 4 cloves of garlic, all minced
14 oz can of diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
2 cups long-grain rice
½ tsp saffron
2 tsp salt
4 cups chicken broth
Garnish: thinly sliced roasted peppers, ½ cup frozen peas (thawed), and parsley for garnish
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Sauté the sofrito, tomatoes and bay leaves until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the rice, saffron, salt and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 20 minutes. Let sit covered for 5 minutes.
Fluff the rice and stir in the garnish.
_____________________________________________ Copyright 2020, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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