Passion For Pomegranates

I absolutely love pomegranates. I think that I am the only person that I know that actually buys these jeweled gems just because I think they are fun to eat. Not only are they so tangy and good for you, I find them really fun to harvest the seeds.

It's like cracking crabs, or shelling nuts, to me it's worth the wait and effort. Today I ran this bowl of seeds through my Bullet juicer. Which by the way is the first time I've ever used the juicer attachment. I will have to do an ode to my Bullet sometime soon.

After about 20 minutes of seeding and peeling, and hand picking each morsel, I threw them all into the mechanical macerator and extracted...oh about 1/4 cup juice. Not a lot of payoff for my efforts? I beg to differ.

Season's Eatings

The other night I had my first dinner party since I'd been back from the sand box. It went well. I had nine diners (including myself) and a little toddler, and there was plenty to eat. The menu comprised of:

Appetizers:

Various cheeses and crackers
Warm brie en'croute with apples
Various hard Italian salamis
Various candies and chocolates
Garlic stuffed green olives
Bread and dipping olive oil with various spices
Carrot and celery sticks
Egg Nog
Various wines (PLENTY of wine)

Main Course:

Stuffed pork loins
Roasted new potatoes with onions
Gravy
Deviled chicken
Broccoli with garlic and olive oil
Homemade four cheese ravioli with marinara
Various wines (More and MORE)

Dessert:

Tiramisu
(see November 16 post "The Best Tiramisu" for recipe)
French-pressed fresh ground coffee

I think everyone felt well sated, and after several ruthless (and drunken) games of Cranium we called it a night. The next morning the cleanup was minimal and fairly painless (only seven loads of dishes in the sink), and I had a good warm feeling that this holiday was celebrated and acknowledged as it should be. There really is no place like home.