11.22.2009

It's National Pomegranate Month!


If you haven't jumped on the pomegranate bandwagon yet, I'd suggest now, National Pomegranate Month, as the perfect time. Pomegranates are chock-full of antioxidants and Vitamin C, and they taste great too!


Recipes for using pomegranates, pomegranate juice, and PAMA -- a pomegranate liqueur that contains vodka, tequila, and pomegranate juice -- abound.

A couple of my friends came over for dinner last week, and we mixed up some great PAMA cocktails by adding champagne, Grand Marnier, and pomegranate juice to a free sample of PAMA liqueur that was sent to me.


The sample gave us an opportunity to try a new liqueur that we might otherwise not have encountered. I'll now go into a store and seek out PAMA next time I've having a cocktail party or entertaining guests. The light, fruity liqueur is so easy to like.


I also tried a PAMA cosmo when I went out to dinner a couple of weeks ago. It was pleasantly sweet and reminded me of JELL-O. There's such a variety of uses for this versatile liqueur. While I haven't yet, you can make a lot of sweet and savory dishes with it in addition to just drinks.

As you probably already know, I also received some samples of POM 100% Pomegranate Juice from POM Wonderful.

I've already shared with you the crisp, fresh arugula and fennel salad I made and topped with a homemade POM dressing.


Another great idea is to make a simple POM syrup by combining pomegranate juice and a little sugar in a small pot until the sugar has dissolved. This was delicious over blintzes and sausage, and I'm sure it would be great on pancakes and waffles too!


And then for a dinner using pomegranate juice, Bon Appetit has an intriguing recipe for steak with a pomegranate glaze -- just don't walk away from the pan while you're making the glaze as it's very easy to overdo it! Trust me, I know.


I'm actually making a veggie dish today with pomegranate juice, so stay tuned for that!

Tell me how you use pomegranates, POM juice, and PAMA liqueur! I'm always looking for new ideas.