Pomegranate Sparkler

will you be my valentine?

My sister sent a picture this morning of my niece Nora and I had to share it. Isn't she so adorable? I could just eat her up! If I didn't already have a valentine, I'd choose her. Anyway, obviously it's Valentine's Day, time for my last red recipe post. For this festive occasion I've made a simple champagne cocktail. Perfect to start out a night promising to be full of love, passion, and romance.

This recipe starts with a simple syrup, which is just equal parts pomegranate juice and granulated sugar. The only other ingredients are sparkling wine or champagne and pomegranate seeds. I suggest a brut (dry) sparkling wine. The pomegranate simple syrup is pretty sweet. Toast your valentine tonight with this Pomegranate Sparkler. Here's how to make it...

Ingredients - Serves 6
1 C 100% Pomegranate Juice
1 C Granulated Sugar
1 Bottle Sparkling Wine, chilled
To Serve: Pomegranate Seeds
Optional: Love, Passion, Romance, and all that gooshy stuff...

Directions

Begin by making the simple syrup: In a small pot combine the pomegranate juice and granulated sugar. Heat over medium until the sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat to cool. Store in a sealed container at room temperature until ready to serve.

Make the cocktail: Pour 1 oz. pomegranate simple syrup into the bottom of a champagne flute. Top with sparkling wine and garnish with a few pomegranate seeds (and all that gooshy stuff). One bottle of sparkling wine will make 6 cocktails. Here's to Valentine's Day! Cheers!

Roasted Duck Breasts over Wild Rice with Pomegranate-Orange Sauce

duck...duck...food!

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm focusing on pomegranates and Valentine's day with this series of red recipes. How appropriate that color falls at this time! Last night I made a dinner worthy of any date night and perfect for Saturday. It's a meal that will impress, but really was quite easy to make. The hardest part is waiting for the duck to roast, it smells so good!

This recipe was inspired by duck a l'orange, a classic French dish that pairs roasted duck with an orange sauce. My sauce not only contains orange juice and zest, but also pomegranate juice and molasses. Pomegranate molasses can be found at specialty stores (try Jungle Jim's) or you can make your own (follow this recipe). If you want to impress your Valentine's Day date don't go out to dinner, make it! Here's how...

Ingredients - Serves 2
2 Duck Breasts (1/2 lb. each)
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper
1/2 C Pomegranate Juice
1 Orange, zest & juice
2 T Pomegranate Molasses
2 T Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 T Brown Sugar
1 tsp. Fresh Thyme, chopped
To Serve: Wild Rice and Pomegranate Seeds

Directions
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. We are roasting this duck low and slow!

Pat the duck breasts dry with paper towels. Using a sharp knife, score the skin and fat side in a crosshatch pattern, making the cuts about 1/2 inch apart. Be careful not to cut into the breast meat. Season the breasts well with salt and pepper.

Heat a large cast iron skillet over med-high. Sear the breasts skin and fat side down, about 6 minutes. Remove the breasts from the pan. Reserve or discard the fat. Wipe out the skillet and place the duck, skin side up, back into it. Put the skillet into the preheated oven to roast for 35-40 minutes. Or, until the duck registers at 145-150 degrees on a digital read thermometer. Once cooked, remove to a cutting board, rest for about 5 minutes, and then cut into thin slices.

As the duck is roasting, make the wild rice and sauce. For the rice: cook to package directions and keep warm. For the sauce: combine the pomegranate and orange juice, zest, molasses, vinegar, brown sugar, thyme, and 1 tsp. salt in a small sauce pan. Heat to a boil and reduce by 2/3, about 15 minutes. The sauce will be think and syrupy. Keep warm.

Plate the sliced duck over a bed of wild rice. Pour the sauce over the top and around the sides of the dish. Top with fresh pomegranate seeds. Valentine's Day dinner never looked so good. Enjoy!

Winter Fruit Salad

heart healthy...

If there's ever a month to be good to your heart, February is it. With the American Heart Association brilliantly dubbing February "National Heart Month" and spreading the word about how to care for your heart, eating smart is a large part of it. Some of us will celebrate Valentine's Day by wearing red, others will go out to dinner, and some of us won't celebrate at all. So, I say, celebrate your heart all month, not just on February 14th. I'll be focusing on pomegranates for this series in all their ruby red glory.

This Winter Fruit Salad is a good place to start caring for your heart. Loaded with a variety of fruits and lightly dressed with lime juice, this is an excellent source of vitamins and antioxidants. And, it's super easy to make. Pomegranates are just going out of season (you can still find the seed however) so make this salad soon! Here's how...

Ingredients - Serves 6
1 Pomegranate (or 1 1/2 C seeds)
2 (10.5 oz.) Cans Mandarin Oranges in juice (not syrup)
1 Mango, diced
2 Firm Bananas, sliced
2 Kiwi Fruit, pealed & diced
1 Lime, zest & juice
1/2 T Granulated Sugar
Big Pinch Kosher Salt

Directions
Fill a large bowl with water. Extract the pomegranate seeds: Score (don't cut through) the skin of the pomegranate with one circular cut around the top and bottom. Then, score the skin by cutting down from the circular cut at the top to the bottom. Score the pomegranate 5 or 6 times from top to bottom.

Next, submerge the fruit in the large bowl of water. Gently pull the pomegranate apart to expose the seeds. Work carefully to remove the skin and membrane that hold the seeds in. The membrane will float to the top of the bowl and the seeds will sink to the bottom. Discard the skin and membrane. Then, scoop out the seeds and lay them on paper towels to dry.

Meanwhile, mix the other fruit together: Drain the mandarin oranges and add to a large bowl. Toss in the mango, bananas, and kiwi fruit. Add the pomegranate seeds, lime zest & juice, sugar, and salt. Stir everything together well.

Allow the salad to sit for about 10 minutes. Stir again to distribute the juices and serve. It's easy to be good to your heart. Enjoy!