Pomegranate gelato

The folks at POM Wonderful recently contacted me and asked if I'd like a free sample of their pomegranate juice. Umm... let me see...Yes!!! You don't have to ask me twice! I love the stuff and you want to give me some, FREE! Okay, I'll take off your hands;)
We almost always have a bottle of juice in the fridge. It's not only delicious but incredibly good for you as well. It's an antioxidant superpower and has been shown to improve heart health as well. Check out all of the amazing health benefits of pomegranate juice here.
Yesterday I opened my door and found a FedEx package sitting there. I couldn't recall ordering anything, but the box had my name on it. Then I saw the POM label! Inside the box was and entire case of pomegranate juice!! I was so excited, like I'd won some kind of food lottery. I guess I'm easily thrilled, but really how cool is this:

Thanks POM Wonderful!! Now to figure out what to make with all that delicious juice.

Way back sometime near the beginning of December, I sent hubs to the grocery store to pick up something I needed for dinner. I know that in doing this that I'll end up with not only what I sent him to get, but more than likely, several kinds of mustard and at least one bottle of hot sauce. He claims we can't have enough mustard and there's always some new variety he wants to try. Same thing with the hot sauce. On this particular occasion he mentioned on the way out the door that he was going to get some Haagen Daz Fleur de Sel caramel ice cream. I introduced him to this amazing ice cream shortly after he'd returned from Iraq and it was love at first bite. When He got home from the store and began putting away the various mustards and hot sauces he'd purchased, explaining the need for each one. He told me that unfortunately the store didn't have the Fleur de sel ice cream so he gotten the Haagen Daz Pomegranate Chip instead. After tasting it we were not disappointed at all in the substitution. It was just as delicious. Anyway when I got the case of juice from the POM people, I knew right away I knew I wanted to try to recreate that pomegranate ice cream.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup POM Wonderful pomegranate juice
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cup heavy cream
3 ounces of dark chocolate, roughly chopped
Combine the juice and sugar in a small, non-reactive pot and bring to a simmer. Continue to simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes. It will become slightly syrupy. Set aside to cool completely. When the resulting pomegranate and sugar syrup has cooled, whisk in the heavy cream and refrigerate until very cold about 2 hours. Churn according to ice cream machine's instructions. Add the chocolate pieces in the last five minutes of churning. The gelato will still be very soft at this point. Put ice cream into a freezer container and freeze for another several hours or overnight to get the perfect texture.


Okay so maybe this recipe defeats the heart healthy part, but it's so good! Stay tuned for more recipes/ideas for pomegranate juice. Coming soon pomegranate vinaigrette...