POM Punch!

Some like to think that they are having a party, however it can't truly be a party without Punch! I created this punch for my POM Wonderful dinner party and it blew my apron right off, consisting of lemon, ginger and POM wonderful how could you go wrong?

What you need:

A Big Ol' Decorative Punch Bowl

3 Lemons

2 Giant Cloves of Raw Ginger

2 16oz. POM Wonderful Juice

I used original and cranberry

40oz. Soda/Sparkling Water

1 Orange Sliced

1 Pomegranate worth of Arils 

Mint leaves for garnish

Optional: If your friends are booze hounds like mine, let them spike their own cups with Jameson, Makers Mark or Hendricks Gin- or whatever Spirit they fancy....

Step 0: The night before your gala make some ice cubes using the POM Wonderful Juice.

Step 1: Juice ginger and lemons, you might want to wear some protective gear while doing this, the ginger can get pretty strong. 

the lemon ginger remains

Step 2: In that big Ol' Punch Bowl you borrowed from your great-aunts china cabinet combine POM Juice, 1/4 to 1/2 C. ginger lemon juice (watch out it's a very powerful concentrate) and soda water, add more of either to get it where you like it. 

Step 3: Add Orange Slices, Pomegranate Arils, POM ice and gently torn Mint 

(tearing the mint emits the mint oil into the punch)

Voila! you just classed up your what might have been a boring party in three steps!!!!

Check out my POM Wonderful dinner party here!

Blini with Creamed Goat Cheese and Mascarpone Spread with Pomegranate Caviar

Blini are essentially small buckwheat pancakes from Russia, commonly they are topped with real caviar and sour cream; I am not to into common, more jazz hands and pizzaz!

I had made these show stomping appetizer for my Pom Wonderful dinner party last week, when racking my brain over what I should serve I realized I didn't want the same old bread and dip type of stuff; I wanted to create something that made the pomegranates shine and hold their own. The combination of the pomegranate caviar, creamy cheese, and the soft pancake really lent its self to a bright and textually pleasing bite, with a fun pop of pomegranate seeds to finish it off. 

Complex, but not uptight. Like me. Wait....

Blini

What you need:

1 C. Buckwheat flour

14 oz. Sour Cream

.7 oz fresh yeast (I used dried yeast)

1 tsp Sugar

•••••••••••••••••••

3/4 C. Milk

1 tsp Salt

2 T melted Butter

1 egg yolk

1 egg white

Step 0: prep your yeast if you are using dry.

Step 1: Heat Sour Cream till it is warm, then add Sugar and yeast.

Step 2: In a mixing bowl (with a lid if you have one) add Buckwheat flour and sour cream contents (remember always wet to dry never reverse). Mix.

kinda messy, oops!

Step 3: Leave on the counter covered for about 2 hours or do like I did and put it in the fridge over night. Helps brake up a full day cooking mania!

this is what it looks like right after you mix.

Step 3.5: Take the dough out from the fridge and let it get back to room temp.

this is the scary post fridge version. I like to call it "when yeast attacks"!

Step 4: Heat Milk, Butter and salt in a pan, add to the dough and mix. Mix egg yolk and add that into the dough. 

Step 5: Whisk egg white into peaks, fold into dough. Your batter may look slightly runny, don't worry.

Step 6: Heat non-stick griddle or if using a pan add a bit of butter. Make silver dollar sized pancakes, flip when batter stops making bubbles. Remove and let cool.

Creamed Goat Cheese and Mascarpone Spread:

Step 1: In a mixer add goat cheese, mascarpone, and a dollop of sour cream (if you have any left over from the blinis) blend till smooth. 

Step 2: Put cream in a piping bag (or zip lock bag with corner cut off) and pipe your beautiful pancakes, make sure the pancakes aren't too hot or they will melt the cheese.

Pomegranate Caviar

Step 1: Remove fresh ariels from a fresh Pomegranate, place 3-4 on top of cheese mixture.

Step 2: Serve, Eat and be Admired!

Check out the full POM Party Here!

The blini recipe was borrowed from www.glutenfreeday.com

Pomegranate Dolmas!

What's this? Vegetarian Dolmas that aren't boring and lacking in texture?! No way! But it is true...while working on my Pom Wonderful Dinner party I was trying to come up with a way to incorporate pomegranates in a meaningful historical context, most of my meal has a very Middle Eastern/Mediterranean feel, but my California vibe... 

translation: pomegranate dolmas....

what you need:

1 C. Long Grain Brown Rice (cooked) 

1 Lemon Zested

2 Lemons Juiced

1 shallot finely chopped

1/2 C. Fresh Mint chopped

1/2 C. Pomegranate Ariels

2 Green Onions chopped

S&P to taste

Cumin (a dash)

Paprika (a dash)

EVOO

Tea Kettle full of hot water

30-40 Grape Leaves (in a jar, don't let Whole Foods tell you they don't have them, because they do, next to the pickles!)

Step 0: un-jar and un-wind grape leaves, place in a shallow dish and pour hot water over, cover and start working on the filling.

Step 1: In a large pan heat 2 T. EVOO, saute shallots till they are soft. Remove from heat and add cooked rice, lemon zest, 1 lemons worth of juice, mint, green onions, Pomegranate Seeds, cumin, paprika, and S&P to taste. Mix till all of the rice is coated with Olive Oil.

Step 2: Drain and rinse leaves. Place in a bowl and clear out the shallow dish, you will be placing the dolmas in it.

Step 3: The Making of...place 1 leaf or enough broken pieces that equal one leaf in front of you, veins up and stem towards you. place about 1/2-1 T. worth of filling in the center.

Step 4: The Fold: fold both side ends in then roll up from the bottom. Place them in the dish stem side down. Make sure you crowed the dolmas, they hate having room. Fortunately for me my boyfriend is a dolma rolling wizard, he graced me with his skills and worked on them while I took a much needed chill pill.

excuse the messy kitchen, I was marathon cooking.

Step 5: Once they are all done, cover with more lemon juice and a drizzle of EVOO, followed by more boiling water (just to cover). Cover with foil and place in a 250˚ oven for about an hour. You want them to simmer and get soft. Once they cool transfer them to a smaller dish, drizzle with more lemon and EVOO and place in the fridge. 

the ugly ones are most likely mine.

Pom Wonderful-ly Amazing Party!!!!!

"When one gives thee a plethora of Pomegranates in yonder crate, don't take them for granted,  pass on your good fortune to thy neighbor, and thus will be rewarded with an abundance of admiration and complimentary feasts." 
-Ancient Greek Proverb

Warm Kitchenette Presents: 

A Pom-tatic Pom Wonderful Dinner Party!

Once I was accepted in to the POM Wonderful Dinner Party Challenge I decided to swing into faux Iron Chef mode and get to thinking a bit outside my comfort zone. I knew two things for sure; I want to do individual plating, no family style (oh why, oh why did I decide on that), and I wanted to incorporate pomegranate into ways that people would be shocked and awed, making sure that my guests would always reflect about that wondrous night back on November 14, the year 2010!

But food, friends and fun weren't the only thing on my mind...

Being that Pomegranates reflect health and vitality I knew that this party would be a fantastic way to kick off our fun-raising for this years AIDS LifeCycle ride (not to mention that having a party in red has more than just one meaning). Immediately I contacted POM Wonderful to clear it with them first, a representative got back to me super fast telling me that not only was it okay, but that POM Wonderful is a very generous company, encouraging and often giving their employees funds to donate with...After that email I was even more floored to be participating in this event, it's not often that you get a mass amount of "free" secret ingredients to work with, that you can turn into someones medical needs, or rent for one that can't work at the moment...it truly is Wonderful!

Now let's get to the Party!!!!

Let me set the table for your minds-eye and let us escape to that unseasonable warm night....

Eight friends arrive, a frantic Tanya is putting the final touches on her Bevvy and Bites, thankfully her wonderful boyfriend used his fantastic decorating skills to morph the SF Living/Dinning/Guest Room into a jovial setting complete with faux pomegranate garland, bright red streamers draped from the ceiling, and the most divine tulips wrapping up the penetrating color scheme of none other than red! Placing the fun gift totes from Pom on each guests seat waiting for them to tear into on their arrival. Only the finest  for my guests was used for plating, top of  the line China ette and cutlery from the future...The only thing left was to present my compatriots with their very own pomegranate to savor at home...in most cultures the gift of fruit represents the gift of life...in return I asked for a donation to help with protecting life...all obliged and I raised $160 for the AIDS LifeCycle ride in June...

For your viewing pleasure a magical

Pom-tastic Dinner Party!

Warm Kitchenette's Version of:

How to Open a Pomegranate

The Menu:

A Mediterranean influenced menu made entirely of Local, Sustainable and Organic Ingredients. 

Bites & Bevvy

POM Blini

Topped with creamed goat cheese, mascarpone and Pomegranate Caviar 

 POM Dolmas
Grape Leafs stuffed with Brown Rice, Pomegranate Arils, Shallots and Mint
POM Hummus
chickpeas, garlic, toasted cumin, tahini, lemon and POM juice 
garnished with pomegranate seeds and parsley

Spicy POM Prawns
Grilled skewers with a Glaze of Pom Wonderful reduction, sriracha, horseradish and garlic

POM Punch
Juiced Ginger and Lemon, POM-Cranberry Juice, Soda water
garnished with Pom ice-cubes, Orange Slices and Pomegranate Arils

Greens

POM-mond Salad
Field Greens with toasted Almonds, Pomegranate Arils, and Valbreso Sheep's Milk Feta
POM reduction Vinaigrette with walnut and Olive Oil, Apple Cider Vinegar

Entrée
POM Braised Lamb Shanks over Israeli Couscous
Grass fed Lamb shanks Braised in a Pom Wonderful, Pomegranate Aril Reduction with Lemony, Date, Pomegranate and Mint Israeli Couscous
Desert

Perfect POM-Pear Almond Tart 

Frangipane Tart with POM Wonderful poached Pears on a Gluten-Free Almond Crust
Served with drizzled POM Caramel and Pom-Almond infused whipped cream 

Thank you for visiting my party!
I can't tell you how much fun, and exhausting it all was, but very worth it in my opinion...I encourage you to leave any questions or comments you may have...
xo, 
Tanya

Pom Prawns

Now this was meant to be a Pom Shrimp cocktail, however when culinary disasters happen you have to roll with them and usually something wayyyyyy better happens, hence Pom Prawns.

These little guys are spicy and savory and I guarantee I will be making them again and again and again. At BBQs,  funerals, other peoples kids things...pretty much anytime I get invited anywhere I might just make these.....hope you guys like them just as much as I did, and if not, more for me!

what you need:

1 lb. farmed sustainable prawns, 
de-shelled leaving the tail and cleared of veins, you know what I mean.

1 C. Pom Wonderful Pomegranate Juice

3 cloves finely chopped garlic

1 T horseradish

1-2 T Sriracha

1/2 T Molasses

pinch cayenne

squeeze of lemon juice

S&P

1 T Butter

Bamboo Skewers

Step 1: Melt Butter and add garlic to sauce pan, once soft add Pom juice, then let the juice reduce (yes I think its about time for rhythms) 

Step 2: Add in Sriracha and molasses bring to boil, add in the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 15 min. whisking till it's somewhat thick, taste- adjust spice to how weak or strong your friends are. Remove from heat and let cool.

keep tasting a season accordingly, I think it spicy...

Step 3: Soak Bamboo skewer for a few moments so that way the tips wont burn when you grill them. Stab (in a gingerly manner) 3 shrimp per skewer. If you are magical like me you might end up with the exact amount of shrimp for your sticks. Lay them flat in a dish and cover with half the amount of sauce (reserve the other half for dipping later), cover and place in the fridge till you beckon them for cooking. 

if you make these in advanced which I recommend (strongly) make sure to rotate them ever so often.

Step 4: Grill, either on a BBQ, in a broiler or on a cast-iron grill pan, about 2 min. per side- make sure what ever you are grilling on has been brushed with EVOO and is very hott!

I clipped one end of the skewer to make them a little less dangerous to my friends.

Step 5: Plate and serve, eat up!

Check out my POM Wonderful dinner party here!

Apple, Fennel and Orzo Stuffed Acorn Squash with Roasted Beet and Pear Salad

Wow! Fall is here in full force and this meal will make you think of Thanksgiving, and rainy days all wrapped up into one fantastic fall ball! 

I've been trying to perfect the perfect Thanksgiving offering and I think this time around I got it: 

One: It's Vegan/Vegetarian

Two: It involves squash, which pretty much is Thanksgiving

Three: It is beyond seasonal, and insanely easy with little cleanup, who doesn't love that?

Apple, Fennel and Orzo Stuffed Acorn Squash

what you need: 

(4-servings)

2 Acorn Squash

1 C. Orzo (whole wheat)

1 Tart Apple cubed

1 Fennel Bulb diced

3 Cloves Garlic diced

1/4 C. Currants (optional)

1/2-3/4 C. White Wine

1 C. Broth (veggie used here)

1/2 tsp. Cinnamon 

1/2 tsp. Nutmeg

1 tsp Cumin

1 T. Fresh Chopped Rosemary, Sage and Oregano 

1 tsp Salt and Pepper and some to sprinkle

2 T. EVOO

Step 0: Cut open Squash and De-seed. Hold on to seeds. Pre-heat oven to ˚375. Heat up broth.

Step 1: Brush EVOO onto Squash, sprinkle half the amounts of Herbs and Spices on top followed by a dust of S&P. Pop in the oven and start step 2. 

Step 2: Put EVOO in saute pan, add garlic and sweat. Then add fennel and sweat. Then add apples, the rest of the spices and herbs, S&P and sweat. The starches and juices should start coming out and thickening the mixture up.

 Step 3: Gradually add the wine to the mixture, once the wine is mostly absorbed, add the dried orzo in.

Step 4: Gradually add in hot broth, be gingerly about it, and stir the whole time, otherwise it may burn. This in total will take about 15min. just pretend you are making risotto, you want to let the starches to release, and the orzo to soften. It is done when you notice everything sticking together. Add more or less liquid, remember you want the orzo to be al dente as well. Once done fold in Currants.

Step 5: Pull out the Squash, they should be browned and soft by this point, if not cook for a bit longer. Stuff the Orzo inside, this should make 4 perfect portions.

Step 6: Return Squash to oven and cook till brown crust forms on top. You are done!

Roasted Beet and Pear Salad

what you need:

Beets

Lettuce

Pear

Sheep's Milk Feta

Balsamic Vinegar

Walnut Oil

Step 1: Roast Beets with skin on for about an hour covered. Cool. Peel skin with a veggie peeler or use your fingers, I have found the peeler to be a little less intense.

sometime I wish I had a prep-cook.

Step 2: Prep lettuce and Slice Pears and Beets.

Step 3: Arrange everything in big bowl, sprinkle cheese on top and drizzle walnut oil, vinegar  and S&P.  Lightly toss.

Plate and Enjoy!

Oh yeah! The Seeds!

Step 1: place seeds in a bowl full of water, try and separate the gunk that is attached.

Step 2: rinse in a colander, pat dry and add to a pan, sprinkle in EVOO and S&P (or nut meg and cinnamon for sweet ones) toast in the oven till brown.

Enjoy!