YumSugar

Happy Hour: Pomegranate Cosmo

partysugar — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 13:13:33 -0800

Last Saturday night I found the words, "The Cosmo is so 2001," tumbling from my mouth. As soon as they escaped, I started to remember - and miss – my old friends: the classic, rosy hued cranberry juice Cosmo and her close cousin, the berry-colored pomegranate Cosmo. Monday morning, I was shocked to find a note from Angelica with a recipe for the pom Cosmo!

Could we be in the midst of a Cosmo renaissance? The pomegranate Cosmo is the perfect, festive, holiday-worthy cocktail. With its gorgeous color, and tart refreshing taste, it's a delicious aperitif or fun party drink. To join me in rekindling my love affair with Cosmos, get the recipe, just read more

Pomegranate Cosmopolitan
From The Lodge at Tiburon

1 cup Vodka
1/2 cup Cointreau liqueur or triple sec
3/4 cup POM pomegranate juice
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
Lime wedges, optional for garnish

Combine vodka, pom juice, Cointreau and lime juice in a container or pitcher.
In small batches, shake mixture with ice in a cocktail shaker, then strain into chilled cocktail glasses.
Garnish with lime twist, if desired.

Serves 8.

Print recipe with images | without images

Happy Hour: PomTea Spritzer

partysugar — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 11:59:31 -0700

In case you haven't noticed, I've been talking about tea all this week in order to mentally prepare myself for the afternoon-celebration spring-tea party that I am hosting tomorrow. I'm not a skilled tea brewer, I have much more experience mixing cocktails, and this evening I am going to practice brewing a few pots of tea to ensure that I don't pour out anything too bitter or strong at mañana's fiesta de te. Emily is going to come over and act as my drink tester and to reward her for sipping the teas, I thought I could stir together a drink that uses up the fresh brewed tea. A mixture of pomegranate juice, iced tea, and vodka, this sounds like it might even be good enough to serve at the party! To look at the recipe, read more

PomTea Spritzer
From Extra Tasty

1 part Vodka
A splash of Raspberry liqueur
2 parts Pomegranate Juice
1 part Sparkling water
1 part Iced tea
A splash of Honey

Mix to taste: In a pitcher combine one bottle of Pomegranate Juice (recommended: blueberry, for extra antioxidants) with a generous amount of decent vodka, a quick splash of Chambord, about a cup of Iced Tea, and sweeten with a good squeeze of honey.
Stir until the honey is dissolved and dump in the seltzer water, enough to be fizzy but not watered down. Enjoy!

Print recipe with images | without images

Taste Test: POMx Iced Coffee

YumSugar — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 15:00:17 -0700

Pomegranates may have been around for thousands of years, but it wasn't until a few years ago that the fruit took off with the launch of pomegranate drinks such as POM Wonderful. Suddenly, the ubernutritious specimen became the world's hottest fruit. Its tart, brambly flavor began appearing in everything from cocktails to salad dressing. When I heard POM had developed a coffee drink, I had to find out what the hype was about. Did this beverage have pomegranate juice mixed in with its coffee? As it turns out, POMx Iced Coffee contains pomegranate extract for its antioxidant benefits, but no actual pomegranate juice. The 10-ounce drink, which is currently only available on the East Coast, comes in two flavors, café au lait and chocolate, and costs $2.99. The drink contains Rainforest Alliance-certified coffee, fat-free milk, and organic cane sugar. To find out my impressions of the drink, read more.

Drinking the chocolate flavor made me feel like a kid again. It resembled chocolate milk, but with subtle coffee undertones. The café au lait flavor had a creamy consistency, a more pronounced coffee flavor, and was significantly less sweet. I almost fell out of my chair, however, when I learned that each bottle contains 170 to 190 calories - at least 20 calories more than a can of regular Coke!

Although POMx Iced Coffee possesses little complexity like a real coffee, the healthy factor makes up for the straightforward coffee flavors. When I learned that it's being marketed as a "sophisticated energy drink" with a focus on health, the flavors seemed to make more sense.

Bottom line: The beverage contains all-natural ingredients, a stimulating 175 mg of natural caffeine, and enough antioxidants to equal an eight-ounce serving of POM Wonderful pomegranate juice. If you don't mind the calories and you need an energy boost, it might be a good drink for you.

For Red Mango and Pinkberry, It's Pomegranate War

YumSugar — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 11:15:01 -0800

Last Thursday, frozen yogurt chain Red Mango announced that it would be partnering with pomegranate juice pioneer, POM Wonderful, to debut its first new flavor, Pomegranate by POM Wonderful.

But someone else had the same idea: Red Mango's biggest rival, cult favorite Pinkberry. New York magazine's food blog first reported that the rival chain's pomegranate flavor is slated to hit stores Nov. 21, one week after Red Mango's, and a Pinkberry rep confirmed with us the release of the new flavor.

This pomegranate battle isn't the first time that Pinkberry and Red Mango have gone head to head, and it certainly won't be the last. While the two chains may not be thrilled with the news, I'll be excited to conduct a taste-off. Will you do the same?

Source, Source, and Source

DIY: Vibrant Pom-Pom Napkin Rings

partysugar — Wed, 20 May 2009 07:50:44 -0700

After helping one of my friends with the flowers for her big day, I was asked by another friend to put together the festive napkin rings for her wedding. Rather than waste money on buying 60 rings, we made these flower-inspired pom-poms to adorn each napkin. These pom-poms can easily be customized to suit any color scheme. While mine were for a wedding, the fun napkin rings are great for any special occasion, be it a baby shower, engagement party, or dinner party! To learn how to make them and check out my step-by-step photos, read more.

This idea was adapted from something I saw in Martha Stewart Weddings. To make the pom-poms, you will need colored tissue paper, floral wire, and satin ribbon.

Cut four sheets of tissue paper into five- by 10-inch rectangles. Make 3/8-inch accordion folds.
Fold a 18-inch floral wire in half and wrap around the middle of the folded tissue paper and twist.
Trim ends into a rounded or pointed shape.
Carefully separate the layers of the tissue papers, pulling each layer toward the center.
Use the extra wire to make a loop on the back of the pom-pom. Insert a 12-inch piece of ribbon through the loop.
Tie ribbon around the napkin. Voila: a fabulous flower-like napkin ring to dress up any table!

View 11 Photos ›

Happy Hour: PomIranian

YumSugar — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 13:18:06 -0700

Some nights I stay up too late catching up on email, work and my shows. One of my shows is Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie on PBS. The other night I caught an episode entitled "Raising the Bar" where they featured Bartender extraordinaire Scott Beattie. As bartender of one of Sonoma County's finest restaurants, Cyrus, Beattie is constantly pushing the envelope for mixed drinks - he even visits local farms to pick his own herbs and produce. His drinks are amazing looking (I only wish I could say I've tasted one personally) and contain things like candied lemongrass, thai basil, simmered fruit purees and essential oils. They also have ridiculously whimsical (actually they're terribly punny, but I love them) like PomIranian, Olallie Go Lightly and Grapes of Roth. Since most of us won't be able to head out to Sonoma to have one for ourselves, I thought I'd hunt down one of his recipes. To check out the recipe for the PomIranian, read more

PomIranian
From Scott Beattie at Cyrus

3/4 ounce straight vodka
3/4 ounce Hangar One Mandarin Blossom Vodka
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
1 ounce Enhanced Pomegranate Juice (see recipe below)
Cardamom sugar (see *Note)

Shake all ingredients except the cardamom sugar with ice in a cocktail shaker. Strain into a martini glass rimmed with cardamom sugar.

*Note: To make cardamom sugar, combine 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1/4 cup ground cardamom in a small mixing bowl. Transfer to a saucer and spread evenly so that the rim of an inverted martini glass will be evenly coated with the sugar when dipped into the saucer.

This is a great cocktail for parties, as the Enhanced Pomegranate Juice recipe makes 32 ounces and only 1 ounce is needed for each drink. If you halve or quarter the juice recipe, it's crucial that the measurement of the spices be precise so that the drink keeps its sweet/savory balance.

Enhanced Pomegranate Juice

32-ounce bottle of Knudsen's pomegranate juice
1 teaspoon crushed dried cardamom
1 teaspoon crushed black peppercorns
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Combine the juice and spices in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Then turn off heat and let cool completely. Strain with a fine-mesh strainer.

Print recipe with images | without images

Pom-Pom Napkin Rings

YumSugar — Wed, 06 May 2009 21:28:12 -0700

View Slideshow ›

Happy Hour: Pom Lime Vodka Cocktail

partysugar — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 12:01:18 -0800

A few weeks ago I helped my girlfriend host a girls-only birthday party. Instead of serving a full dinner we did appetizers, wine, and a vodka cocktail. The cocktail - with a rosy-pink hue - was a definite crowd pleaser. I doubled the recipe, made the mixture in a pitcher, and shook two servings over ice. The final drink was perfectly sweetened with a lovely effervescence. For an elegant presentation serve the concoction in champagne saucers instead of martini glasses. This cocktail would be fabulous served at a Valentine's Day party so get the recipe now.

A Rustic Wedding on the Russian River

YumSugar — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 05:50:26 -0700

After helping my friend create 60 pom-poms, I was delighted to see the napkin rings make their debut on her big day. The unique wedding was held at Patianna Organic Vineyard with the highlight being a fabulous picnic reception down by the river. The groom's brother, chef Taylor Quimby, orchestrated the entire menu including a variety of appetizers, a family-style dinner, and an extensive dessert bar. Between my pictures and the photographer, Tom, we captured a spectacular and incredibly scrumptious meal! Check out all of my favorites.

View Slideshow ›

Mustache Napkin Ring: Love It or Hate It?

YumSugar — Tue, 26 May 2009 03:30:50 -0700

Modern hostesses, I'm curious to know what you think of this chalkboard mustache napkin ring ($24). It couldn't be more different from the vibrant pom-poms we showed you how to make last week, but I find it laughably cute, with a contemporary hipster vibe. How do you feel about them?

Source