Cowgirl Dinner: The Sabetha Chronicles, Part One

Last weekend, we, along with Mr. Fabuful, Uncle He-Man and The Bean loaded up Goldie (Jo's minivan) and drove to Mr. Fabuful's hometown of Sabetha, Kansas. What's the excitement in Sabetha, you might ask? The really fun girls we could invite to our own version of P-Dub's Cowgirl Dinner Party.

Those of you who have her book know one whole chapter is dedicated to the Cowgirl Dinner Party. Last Saturday afternoon, with our cooking schedule in hand, we cooked. And cooked. Thought that was going to be more epiphanous, huh?

The guest list included Jo's in-laws and friends from the area. What a fun group of gals! One of the easiest things to make for this party was the booze. Yes'm.

In this post, we'll show you how to mix up Ree's Sangria (p. 94). Word to the wise. It tastes like Kool-Aid. Remember this has alcohol in it. We are both lightweights. Thankfully, we had seven other women to share this with.

We started by slicing limes...

...then lemons and green apples.

Next we mixed grapes and pineapple chunks.

We forgot the orange. What's new? Just another day in the life of cooking with Jo and Lou. These are the days of our lives. No sugar? No big deal! The stove is on fire? Eh. That last one really didn't happen. Well, just wait until the Cowgirl Dinner Party Beef Tenderloin post. Please wait on the edge of your seat.

Next, we poured the fruit into the bottom of a large drink dispenser.

The recipe calls for 1.5 liters of red wine, as well as the same amount of white wine. For the red wine we picked Yellow Tail's Merlot.

This went over the fruit first.

Next came Yellow Tail's Pinot Grigio.

Ree's recipe calls for orange-flavored rum and vodka. We had rum, but substituted triple-sec for the vodka.

In the final step we were supposed to dissolve sugar in water, but par usual, we weren't paying attention and poured the sugar directly into the mixture. But, who's telling? Ain't no thang. Nothing a spoon can't fix.

We prepared the sangria several hours prior to the party to give it time to chill in the refrigerator.

This beverage was delicious and enjoyed in moderated amounts. If you don't prefer alcohol, try red and white grape juices in place of the wine and sugar.

Our remaining lemon and lime slices were placed into a second drink dispenser with water. Very refreshing.

Happily full,