Blue Cheese Pomegranate Bites

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Earlier this month I saw that fresh pomegranates were in abundance at my market. I love pomegranates, they are not only delicious, but beautiful as well. Cut into a ripe pomegranate and you are rewarded with the sweet ruby red treasure contained within. I'm not exactly sure why, but for me they herald the beginning of holiday season. Maybe it's that glorious red color. Whatever the reason, fresh pomegranates mean the holidays must be upon us! With the holiday party season in mind, I thought I use my fresh pomegranates to make some appetizers. These are easy and fairly quick to make. You can make up the pomegranate syrup ahead of time. It will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator. Make extra syrup, it's so good you'll want to have some to drizzle it over ice cream, yogurt, pancakes etc.

Blue Cheese Pomegranate Bites

(Print Recipe)

1  (8-ounce) piece of blue cheese, chilled (you can also use the crumbled blue cheese)

1 1/2   packages frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed

1/3  cup  pomegranate syrup (recipe below)

1/4 cup arils (seeds) from 1 large pomegranate

Preparation:
If not using the crumbled blue cheese, cut cheese into 24 cubes, and set aside.
Roll pastry into a 15- x 10-inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface; cut into 24 squares. Fit squares into miniature muffin pans, extending corners slightly above cup rims.
Bake pastry at 425° for 10 to 12 minutes or until it begins to brown. Remove from oven, and gently press handle of a wooden spoon into center of each pastry, forming a shell.
Spoon 1/2 teaspoon syrup into each shell; top with a piece of blue cheese. Bake 5 more minutes or until cheese melts. Top with the fresh pomegranate arils (seeds) and serve immediately.

Pomegranate Syrup 

Ingredients:

 4 cups fresh pomegranate juice

2 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Preparation:

In a saucepan, combine pomegranate juice, sugar and lemon juice over medium heat.
Stir until sugar has completely dissolved.
Allow to cook over medium high heat for 20-25 minutes, or until juice is the consistency of syrup.
Remove from heat and allow to cool. Store in airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

These appetizers are also very versatile. 24 wine-and-cheese crackers may be substituted. Top each cracker with the cheese, and drizzle with the syrup; place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 5 minutes or until cheese melts. Top with the fresh pomegranate arils. Brie could be substituted for the blue cheese.

Pomegranate gelato

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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...

Baked Brie with Pomegranate and Apple

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I remember my first experience with a pomegranate quite clearly. I was about seven and my mom had gotten a couple pomegranate's from the store. My younger sister and I were very intrigued by this new fruit. Mom told us that inside a pomegranates were hundreds of seeds that looked like rubies that would popped when you bit them. So with this introduction, of course we couldn't wait to try a pomegranate.
After warning us the juice would stain our clothes, she cut open a pomegranate, gave us each a half and sent us out to the porch to eat it. She was right. The seeds did look like rubies! (I still think they look like little gems.) Anyway, I still remember biting into those ruby red seeds for the first time. I carefully picked each one out of the pith and bit it, the juice running down and staining my fingers. I'm sure our shirts were ruined but it was love a first bite.
When I heard that POM had a recipe contest open to blogger's, I couldn't wait to join in! I decided to make something festive. In the past I'd made an apple pomegranate crisp and I really like the combo of the apples and pomegranates. I thought I'd take that idea and combine it with one of my party favorites, baked brie.

Baked Brie with Pomegranate and Apple
1 8 ounce wheel of brie
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced
1 POM Pomegranate, opened and seeds or arils removed (Click here for instructions on opening a pomegranate.)
1 TBS butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp. cardamon
pinch salt
1 tsp bourbon

1 egg beaten with 1 tsp water: for egg wash.

In a pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom and salt. Cook for until apples begin to soften about 5-7 minutes. Add the bourbon and cook about a minute more. Remove from heat, stir in half of the pomegranate and let cool to room temp. reserve the rest of pomegranate for garnish.
Position a rack in the center of an oven and preheat to 375 degrees F (190 C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicon mat.

With a sharp knife, cut the cheese in half horizontally. On a clean work surface, place one half of the cheese, sliced side up, and evenly spread 1/2 cup of the pomegranate apple mixture over it. Set the other half, sliced side down, over the pomegranate apple mixture and spread other half over the top.

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and set the cheese in the center of the dough. Fold the dough up over the sides of the cheese, pleating the upper edges to fit snugly around the cheese. Pinch the dough together in the center to seal. Brush the dough evenly with the egg wash and place on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake until the pastry is golden all over and crisp, 40 to 45 minutes. Let it rest for 5 minutes, then transfer to a platter and sprinkle remaining pomegranates over baked brie. Serve with crackers or sliced baguette.

And what goes better with brie than a PomPom -champagne with a splash of pomegranate juice. Perfect!