Juicing a Pomegranate / Pom Martini & Spritzer

If you've ever had a pomegranate, you know how delicious they are.  The jewel of fall, shiny red on the outside and full of healthy juice you can use to make nourishing smoothies and spritzers or mix in a little vodka to make a martini for the ages.  We are lucky enough to have a pomegranate tree on the slope behind our house.  And this year, due to the two months of 90+ degree weather, our little tree gave us a bountiful harvest.

Pomegranates with their pointed sepals and leathery rinds may seem tough to eat but crack one open and you will find the interior contains sweet, tart clusters of delicate ruby red or fuchsia pink juice sacs, technically called arils or pips depending on region, separated by thin white membranes there to protect the pips. Historically pomegranates are Persian in origin and these thirst quenching fruits were often carried on desert caravans because of their durability and high liquid yield. 

Poms adapt to a cool winter, hot summer environment and have a lengthy storage life...up to 7 months in the refrigerator.  They are also bursting with nutrition.  Not only are they a good source of fiber, they are laden with Vitamin C, B-Complex and various other antioxidants.

If you are at all familiar with this fruit you know that eating one can be a huge mess.  This is usually done outside and wearing old clothes. However, with this easy method, you can juice your pomegranates without redecorating your kitchen!

Juicing a Pomegranate

You will need a chef's knife, large mixing bowl, slotted spoon, ziplock bag, rolling pin, strainer and container for the juice.


Using the knife, halve pomegranate and break into chunks. 

Fill the bowl with water and gently dislodge pips under the water.  The white membrane will float the the surface and the pips will sink to the bottom.

Once you've unseated all the arils, use a slotted spoon to remove and discard the white pieces of membrane then scoop the fruit into a ziplock bag.  Squeeze as much air out of the bag as possible.  Time to roll.

Using a rolling pin, roll back and forth over the bag.  When you start to get a lot of juice, strain to your container and go back to rolling until you have burst all the pips.

Each pomegranate should yield about 1/2 cup to 1 cup of juice.

Pomegranate Martini

4 ounces pomegranate juice
2 ounces vodka
1 ounce Cointreau or Triple Sec
Juice of half a lime
Lime wheel, wedge or curl for garnish

 Shake it up, strain to a fancy glass.  Makes 1 extra large martini or 2 small ones.

Pomegranate Spritzer

 Mix ice, pom juice and club soda or sparkling water.  Garnish with a lemon or lime!

Yorkshire Pudding

Yorkshire Pudding

If I could name the quintessential childhood recipe my mother made for me, one I begged for repeated, that dish would be Yorkshire Pudding.  With their golden brown crusty exteriors and delicate hollow centers my mouth would start watering the minute mom started mixing the batter.  Yorkshire Pudding was part of a traditional roast beef dinner, or on extra special occasions, Prime Rib, so my family had these only once or twice a year...but when she did make them it was a race to eat as many as fast as I could.

Over the years I've tried to describe Yorkshire Pudding to people who haven't tried them but mostly I only manage to convey what they're not.  They're not a muffin, biscuit, roll, souffle, pancake or bread.  Purists may call them a Popover because past dictates that Yorkshire Pudding is only Yorkshire Pudding if beef fat is incorporated but in my opinion Popovers do not come close to the texture or mouth feel of an authentic Yorkshire Pudding. It's what my mother called them and she was always right!

Historically, Yorkshire Pudding originated in Yorkshire, England in the mid 1700's.  Also known as batter pudding or dripping pudding, a shallow pan of batter was placed underneath a spit of roast beef or mutton, the fat and juices dripped into the pan, mixing with the batter and eventually rising to create a savory accompaniment to the meal.  The pudding would then be cut into squares and served with gravy alongside the roasted meat.  Over time ovens replaced the open hearth and muffin tins were substituted to make individual puddings.

Today Yorkshire Pudding starts as a thin batter poured into a pre-heated muffin tin containing a small amount of melted butter, then baked in a very hot oven.  Inside the oven something magical happens and the Yorkie's inflate, growing more and more puffy until they begin to resemble crispy, golden balloons.

The steam trapped inside creates a silken middle with delicate custard-like strands which are perfectly absorbent for sopping up delicious beefy gravy.
 

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour  (Using the right flour is very important. Ironically if you use self-rising flour they will not rise!)

½ teaspoon salt

3 eggs

1 cup whole or 2% milk

¼ to ½ stick of butter divided into 12 pieces (about the size of a 1/2 pat)

Muffin or Popover pan

Cookie sheet larger than muffin pan**

**IMPORTANT:  Make sure to put the muffin pan on a cookie sheet while baking to catch drips, otherwise smoking may occur and in the worse case scenario a fire could start on the bottom of the oven.  Trust me you do not want this, nothing ruins a dinner party faster having to call the Fire Department!

Directions: 

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl (preferably with pour spout) add flour, salt, milk and eggs.  Beat with electric mixer for 1-2 minutes to make a thin batter.  (Tip: batter can be made in advance and may rise better if it's allowed to rest outside the fridge for up to 1 hour.)

Prepare muffin pan - Lightly grease muffin pan with the wrapper from a stick of butter. (Tip: do not use cooking spray or Pam as this will cause Yorkies to stick unmercifully.)  Place one piece of butter into each muffin cup and set in the oven atop a cookie sheet.  The butter will melt fast so stand by and remove the pan as soon as butter is liquified.

Working quickly to keep the muffin tin hot as possible, pour or ladle batter into each muffin cup about 2/3's full.  Place on middle rack of the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes.  Avoid opening the oven or slamming cupboard doors while baking as the Yorkshire Pud's are oh-so sensitive to collapse.

Before

After!

Yorkshire's are best served immediately with gravy and/or butter but if you're lucky enough to have some leftover they make for a wonderful breakfast with jam and powdered sugar!

This blog is dedicated to my beloved mother on what would have been her 80th birthday.  Rest gently mom, I love you.