pomegranate juice

When hosting a dinner party, it's fun to introduce guests to interesting ingredients and exotic flavors. Keep the majority of the menu familiar, then throw in one unexpected element in the form of a specialty cocktail that highlights kumquats. My friends and family have little experience with the miniature citrus fruit, but they'll love to sample it in a vodka pomegranate punch. Part of the punch can be made the day before, then at the dinner, all you have to do is stir in the juice. Don't skip the pomegranate seed garnish; they provide a festive jewel-like quality to the drink.

To get the cocktail recipe, read on.

If I had to choose one thing to drink for the rest of my life, I would select sparkling wine. I cannot get enough bubbles! Naturally, I'll be pouring it at my half-birthday housewarming. Since I'm guessing a lot of guests will show up with a bottle of bubbly in tow, I'll be whipping up this elegant blissini. It's like a mimosa, but with pomegranate juice. The addition of mint takes this effervescent drink from morning to night.

Get the easy recipe after the break.

Before you sit down to a romantic dinner for two on Valentine's Day, enjoy each other's company over a blushing cocktail. This drink is the perfect boy meets girl concoction.

Don't be fooled by the pink color; it's gin-based, so it's not for the faint of heart. Fresh-squeezed lemon juice provides a refreshing tartness, while pomegranate juice and simple syrup slightly sweeten the beverage.

It's sure to get your intimate party started! To look at the easy recipe, read more

It seems like everyone I know is detoxing this week. People are working out, staying in, and eating healthy. To support my sister and friends, who are on a 10-day vegan cleanse, I'm making a figure-friendly meal full of vegetables. Since they've also given up drinking, I'll have to serve a nonalcoholic beverage. Instead of offering something boring like water, I'm whipping up a round of this uplifting refresher. It's a combination of muddled mint and pineapple and pomegranate juice. It's fruity, but not too heavy and will pair perfectly with chickpea, mint, and parsley spread. To look at the easy recipe, keep reading.

There's no better way to get in the spirit of the season than by pouring a fizzy and festive cocktail like this sparkling pomegranate-elderflower concoction. It's blushing color is reminiscent of Fall sunsets and falling leaves, while the effervescent texture screams holiday.

The elderflower adds a hint of syrupy sweetness that's not cloying or overly floral. This cocktail may be girlie, but it's elegant and smoothly sippable. Although a bottle of St. Germain is a bit of a splurge, think of the fragrant liqueur as an investment that you can enjoy through the New Year.

Start Thanksgiving with these rosy bubblers and during the weeks leading up to Christmas, make sparkling Shiraz punch! To get the easy, three-ingredient recipe, read more