Cupcakes with a Heart

I haven't posted for a while, but I promise I haven't given up baking or blogging! The past few weeks have been busy with work and other things in my personal life that have kept me pretty busy. I knew I had to get this done by valentines day, and I wanted to share this recipe with you. This is my entry into the PomWonderful Cupcake Contest- a contest combining two of my favorite things- Cupcakes and Pomegranates. I started with one of my favorite cake recipes, made a few changes and incorporated Pomegranate Juice, tried a new trick I learned from Bake It In a Cake and voila- Cupcakes with a Heart.

Cupcakes with a Heart (aka Champagne and Pomegranate Cupcakes with Tahetian Vanilla Bean Buttercream)

Makes 30 Standard Cupcakes

Cake:
2 boxes white cake mix
6 egg whites, divided
1 cup milk, divided
3/4 cup champagne
3/4 pomegranate juice
4 tsp vanilla extract, divided
4 tbsp vegetable oil, divided

Frosting-
3 sticks butter, softened
2 lbs powdered sugar, divided
1 tahetian vanilla bean or 2 tsp vanilla extract
2-4 tbsp milk
red food coloring if desired

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine 1 cake mix with 3 egg whites, 1/2 cup milk, 3/4 cup champagne, 2 tbsp oil and 2 tsp vanilla. Stir with wire whisk for 2-3 minutes or until smooth.

In a second bowl, combine remaining cake mix with 3 egg whites, 1/2 cup milk, 3/4 cup pomegranate juice, 2 tbsp oil and 2 tsp vanilla. Stir with wire whisk for 2-3 minutes or until smooth.

Spray bottoms of 2 8x8 pans with nonstick spray, and pour a 1/2 in thick layer of champagne cake in one pan and pomegranate cake in the other. Bake 10-12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Set aside and let cool.

Prepare muffin pans with liners and fill slightly less than 2/3 full with batter. Take a small heart-shaped cookie cutter (small enough to fit inside a cupcake) and cut 15 hearts from each cake layer. Insert a heart of the opposite color into each cupcake and push down as far into batter as it will go. Take care to keep cupcakes lined straight so that when cupcakes are bitten into you can see the heart.

Bake for 24-26 minutes, or until cupcakes are lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool completely before decorating.

In large bowl, cream butter with electric mixer until smooth. Slice down the side of the vanilla bean and scrape insides into bowl, or add extract. Mix until combined. Add powdered sugar in small batches, mixing well after each addition. Add milk, 1 tbsp at a time until desired consistency is reached. Add food coloring, if desired. Frost cupcakes and place some sort of decoration on the front, so the cupcakes remain facing forward.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think.

Pomegranate Scented Stuffed Mushrooms

These mushrooms were served as the appetizer during my Pomegranate Party a few weeks ago, and I thought I'd get the recipe out there before Thanksgiving. These were a big hit at my party, and I wish I would have doubled the recipe- everyone inhaled them, and it seemed like 2 per person wasn't enough!

This would be a great alternative to traditional stuffing for Turkey day- I'm a big stuffing fan, but don't like it soggy from inside the bird. I like stuffing that's been cooked separately and has a bit of crunch to it.  I used a little bit of the glaze from the main course, the Pomegranate Citrus Glazed Chicken, to marinate the mushrooms in instead of Marsala wine like the original recipe called for. The glaze was enough to make the mushrooms stand out, but not overly fruity.

I'm going to be a bit lazy today because I've got a lot to do...so the recipe isn't going to be posted here, but you can get the Printable Recipe here.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving! Enjoy your family and friends, and be sure to keep those far away in your thoughts and prayers.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Pomegranate Citrus Glazed Chicken

When I was selected to host a Pom Party, I knew I wanted to somehow combine Chicken, Pomegranates and Goat Cheese. Why?  I love chicken- and one of my favorite restaurant dishes is the Chicken Bryan at Carrabbas. It's the first dish I ever tried that contained Goat Cheese- and I was hooked! It seemed to me that the tartness of the pomegranates and the tang of the Goat Cheese would work well together. When I started searching for recipes, I found that others found the combination pleasing- which meant I had to try it!

I found a recipe for Pomegranate Glazed Chicken on Martha Stewart's website that looked promising. It combined pomegranate juice, orange juice, and a few savory herbs to make a glaze that sounded delicious to me. I used a bit of the glaze in one of the other recipes, which is why I'm posting this recipe first. It made a great substitute for Marsala Wine in my Pomegranate Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms.

I found the process of making this glaze very enjoyable- it was fun to see how the flavors combined to make such a tasty glaze- without being overly sweet or overly savory. It is the perfect combination!

Reducing the juices and spices into a nice thick glaze

Printable Recipe


Pomegranate Citrus Glazed Chicken adapted from Martha Stewart
Serves 8

3 cups pomegranate juice
1 1/2 cups orange juice
1 1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary
5 garlic cloves, smashed
coarsely ground salt and pepper
3 teaspoons red wine vinegar
8 chicken breasts
4 oz goat cheese
1 bag baby spinach
1 cup pomegranate arils

Preheat oven to 425. In a large skillet, combine juices, rosemary, garlic and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Boil over high heat, until reduced to 1 cup, stirring and scraping sides of skillet often. Pour glaze through a fine mesh sieve to remove any bits of garlic. Stir vinegar into glaze. Pour into an airtight container and refrigerate if not using immediately. Reserve 1 cup of glaze for later use.

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Place in baking dish, and bake for 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven, brush chicken with glaze and return to oven to bake for an additional 15-20 minutes. Brush chicken with glaze every 5 minutes. Remove from oven when chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.

Place a chicken breast on a layer of baby spinach, top with a dollop of goat cheese and sprinkle fresh pomegranate arils on top. Drizzle with reserved glaze before serving.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Perfectly Pomegranate Dinner Party

Several weeks ago I entered a contest on PomWonderful.com to be one of 100 people chosen to host a Pomegranate Dinner Party...and I was chosen! The gracious people at PomWonderful sent me an amazing host package, complete with two cases of Pomegranates, coupons for free bottles of PomWonderful Pomegranate Juice, an apron and cutting board, as well as goodies to share with my dinner party attendees.

The final entries are being judged on three components:

• Best incorporation of Pomegranates into the food and drink
• Most inspired Pomegranate decor
• Most successful "How to open a Pomegranate" presentation

I have a confession. Until this package arrived, I'd never tasted a Pomegranate or anything even Pomegranate flavored (besides my Burt's Bees Pomegranate Lip Gloss). I entered this contest as a challenge to myself, to learn about and hopefully try something new- as well as being able to plan an entire party around one fruit.
I was thrilled to be selected, and when my goodies from PomWonderful arrived I couldn't wait to try a pomegranate.

Luckily for me, the host kit included instructions on how to open a Pomegranate. I followed these instructions, and found that it's pretty simple to open and remove the seeds. I was so excited to try my first Pomegranate- and I loved it! It was sweet, juicy, and tart- a perfect combination in my book! Part of the requirements for the dinner party were that each host would do a presentation to instruct guests on how to open a Pomegranate- so I spent plenty of time perfecting my technique..so much so that the apron I was sent in my host kit was stained with Pomegranate juice (a sign of super juicy fruit) and in the washer the night of my party!

I began planning my party immediately, sending the word out to my friends and family that I would be having a dinner party. I was even asked by one friend to teach her how to open a Pomegranate. Perfect! I began searching for recipes that either called for Pomegranate in their original state, or recipes I could tweak a little by substituting Pomegranate Juice for something else. Here's the final menu:

I have to say that dinner was delicious..and I'm not just saying that because I cooked it- the friends and family I cooked for said it for me. I was excited to find the the Pomegranate is versatile- it works well with sweet dishes as well as savory, and paired easily with everything I had in mind. I had some minor last minute changes to my menu- I attempted to make homemade goat cheese, but failed miserably, so I used store bought. In the heat of the moment, I forgot to have someone take a picture of the Roasted Cauliflower- so just picture some golden brown cauliflower florets tossed with garlic cloves, fresh parsley and fresh lemon juice. It was a hit! Here are the pictures from dinner- and I'll share recipes soon!

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms marinated in the Pomegranate Citrus Glaze used  for the Chicken

Pomegranate Citrus Glazed Chicken served on a bed of Baby Spinach topped
with Goat Cheese and Pomegranate Seeds and a Pomegranate Red Wine Vinaigrette on the side

Profiteroles with Pomegranate Syrup and Pomegranate Cream

Pomegranate Lemonade Spritzers with optional Vodka

I truly had a great time with this party from the moment my Pomegranates arrived. Looks like my friends did too:

The kiddo's had their own dinner party with Homemade Mac and Cheese

Something must have been funny!

I forgot Dan is a vegetarian, and he was a great sport! Took the stuffing out of the mushrooms, and
enjoyed my Mac and Cheese with a side of Spinach and goat cheese!

Another requirement of this dinner party was to use Pomegranates in your decorations as well as your food. I knew immediately what I wanted to do, I just had to figure out the logistics! I wanted to have a hurricane glass filled with Pomegranate Arils surrounding a candle, so the candle would illuminate the arils and cast a lovely red glow on the dinner table. I was able to pull it off- along with some fall leaves and fresh pomegranates, and I'm super proud of my centerpiece!

The last requirement was to give a presentation on how to open a Pomegranate. Not a problem..I love to talk with a knife in my hand! I seem to make goofy faces when I talk, and a video would have been mortifying..But I do have some pictures to share!

Here's a quick step by step on how to easily open a pomegranate:

• Make sure you've got a cutting board, sharp knife and an apron. These things are juicy!
• Fill a large bowl with water and set aside.
• Slice the top off of the pomegranate, just beneath the crown.
• Use your knife to score the pomegranate into sections using the membrane as a guide
• Pull sections apart, like you would an orange, using both hands.
• Hold over the water, and use your fingers to separate the membrane from the seeds- let the seeds fall into the water.
• When finished, you'll notice that the seeds are at the bottom of the bowl and pieces of membrane are floating at the top.
• Use a spoon or small strainer to scoop out bits of membrane
• Pour seeds into a strainer
• Enjoy- pop a few into your mouth, use as a garnish, or refrigerate in an airtight container to use later

Thank you to everyone at PomWonderful

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!