Behold the Pomegranate
Champagne Cocktail
Why pomegranate? Because pomegranate is one of the foods believed to bring good luck in the New Year. That's why my recipe for you today is a beautiful Pomegranate Champagne Cocktail, along with tips on how to open, de-seed, and enjoy this highly healthy fruit. But first...
Did you know that many cultures believe you can eat your way to a better tomorrow? Here is a fun list of 10 "Lucky Foods" to start 2015 right.
1) Grapes are eaten at midnight in many Spanish-speaking countries, one for each stroke of the clock. Sweet grapes represent good months, sour less fortunate ones.
2) Lentils are served in Italy because their abundant seeds symbolize wealth, and when cooked they plump with water to represent swelling fortunes.
3) Collards, kale, and other greens are lucky because they resemble paper money. The more you eat, the more prosperous (and healthier) you’ll become.
Click here
for my recipe.
4) Pork is eaten in Europe and America because its fat implies richness, but in Cuba, Spain, Portugal, and Austria hogs are also a symbol of progress because they never move backward. Cookies, candies, and cakes shaped like pigs are considered lucky too.
5) Long noodles symbolize longevity in many Asian countries, and the longer the noodle the better. It’s customary to eat them on New Year’s Day, and the noodles must never be broken or shortened when cooked.
Click here for
Lucy Burdette's recipe.
6) Black-eyed peas are served in the American South in a dish called Hoppin' John. There are some who believe in eating one pea for every day in the new year.
7) Cornbread is another Southern tradition. It’s color mimics gold, and sometimes coins are cooked into the bread, bringing additional luck to the person who finds it (without chipping a tooth).
8) Fish is a New Year’s dish in Asia, and is served with the head and tail intact to ensure a lucky year from start to finish. Similarly, in Europe and Scandinavia eating herring ensures abundance because their silvery color resembles coins.
9) Cakes, breads, and fruits in the shape of a ring or circle are good luck, and cookies shaped like coins bring prosperity to those who eat them.
10) Pomegranates are good luck because their color mimics the human heart, their medicinal properties (think antioxidants) promote good health, and their many round arils are believed to bring prosperity.
In ancient and present day Greece, a pomegranate is hung above the door throughout the holiday season. When the clock strikes twelve on New Year’s Eve, that pomegranate is smashed against the door. As it bursts open, the fruit's ruby-red arils are revealed. The more arils, the luckier the New Year will be.
To celebrate this old and rather messy tradition, I have a modern pomegranate cocktail that may or may not be lucky, but it will certainly help you ring in the new year with beautiful color and bubbly good cheer.
Cleo Coyle has a partner in
crime-writing—her husband.
Learn about their books
by clicking here or here.
Cleo's Pomegranate
Prosecco Cocktail
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon pomegranate arils (to ride
the pretty bubbles)
1 ounce (one part) pomegranate juice
3 ounces (three parts) chilled Prosecco
Directions: Place the pomegranate arils at the bottom of each glass. Add the pomegranate juice, and then the cold, sparkling Prosecco. There are many bottled pomegranate juices available, or you can squeeze your juice fresh. Scroll down for more info on this process...
Virgin variation: For a non-alcoholic option, replace the champagne with sparkling water, sparkling apple cider, or bubbly ginger ale.
For tips on cutting, de-seeding, and enjoying a fresh pomegranate, see the short video below...
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If you do not see a video window above,
then click here to watch the video on YouTube.
How to juice - After de-seeding the pomegranate and removing any parts of visible white pith, buzz the seeds in a blender or food processor. This will release the pulp and juice from the arils around the seeds. Now you must strain the liquid well to remove the crunchy hulls. Although it's an extra bit of trouble to obtain fresh juice this way, the taste is outstanding compared to bottled, which is why, for an amazing Pomegranate Champagne Cocktail, fresh is best.
May you drink (and eat)
with joy and have a...
Happy New Year!
~ Cleo Coyle
New York Times bestselling author of
The Coffeehouse Mysteries
Friend me on facebook here. * Follow me on twitter here.
Learn about my books here.
* * *
Once Upon a Grind:
A Coffeehouse Mystery
* A Best Book of the Year
Reviewer's Pick - King's River Life
* Top Pick! ~ RT Book Reviews
* Fresh Pick ~ Fresh Fiction
* A Mystery Guild Selection
Delicious recipes are also featured in my 14th
culinary mystery, Once Upon a Grind, including...
* Black Forest Brownies
* Cappuccino Blondies
* Shrimp Kiev
* Dr Pepper Glazed Chicken
* Silver Dollar Chocolate Chip Cookies
* "Fryer Tuck's" Ale-Battered Onion Rings
* Poor Man's Caviar
* Caramel-Dipped Meltaways
...and many more recipes, including
a guide to reading coffee grinds...
See the book's
Recipe Guide (free PDF)
by clicking here.
* * *
Marc and I also write
The Haunted Bookshop
Mysteries
Get a free title checklist,
with mini plot summaries, by clicking here.
Or learn more here.
For More Recipe Ideas, visit the special
Mystery Lovers' Kitchen seasonal page
"Recipes for a Happy New Year"
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