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? Keep reading this post to see a fun list of 10 "Lucky Foods" to start 2017 right.
(To keep reading, scroll down or click here...)
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.
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.
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.
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Cleo Coyle has a partner in
crime-writing—her husband.
Learn about their books
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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 great tips on cutting and de-seeding a fresh pomegranate (in just 10 seconds!), watch a short video below... (if you don't see the video below, watch it by clicking here).
How to juice - You can use bottled juice or fresh in the champagne cocktail recipe. To obtain fresh juice from the pomegranate, first de-seed, and then remove any parts of visible white pith from around the seeds. Now buzz the seeds in a blender or food processor. This will release the pulp and juice from the arils around the seeds. Finally, strain the liquid well to remove the crunchy hulls.
🍸 🍸 🍸
~ Cleo Coyle
A "Best Book of 2018!"
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.
VIDEO TIP
For great tips on cutting and de-seeding a fresh pomegranate (in just 10 seconds!), watch a short video below... (if you don't see the video below, watch it by clicking here).
------------------------------
--------------------------
How to juice - You can use bottled juice or fresh in the champagne cocktail recipe. To obtain fresh juice from the pomegranate, first de-seed, and then remove any parts of visible white pith from around the seeds. Now buzz the seeds in a blender or food processor. This will release the pulp and juice from the arils around the seeds. Finally, strain the liquid well to remove the crunchy hulls.
☕
Happy New Year!
🍸 🍸 🍸
May you drink
(and read) with joy!
(and read) with joy!
~ Cleo Coyle
5 Best of Year Lists!
👇
5 Best of Year Lists!
☕
Now in paperback!
Now in paperback!
Amazon * B&N
*
IndieBound * BAM
"A gripping and entertaining mystery"
--Library Journal (Starred Review)
*
"Penetrating insights" --Kirkus Reviews
*
"Sure to delight" --Publishers Weekly
🍴
Our culinary mystery includes
25 delicious recipes! To get the
Free Recipe Guide, click here.
Click for Free Recipe Guide
to Shot in the Dark.
"A gripping and entertaining mystery"
--Library Journal (Starred Review)
*
"Penetrating insights" --Kirkus Reviews
*
"Sure to delight" --Publishers Weekly
🍴
Our culinary mystery includes
25 delicious recipes! To get the
Free Recipe Guide, click here.
25 delicious recipes! To get the
Free Recipe Guide, click here.
|
| Click for Free Recipe Guide to Shot in the Dark. |
A "Best Book of 2018!"
*
~ Suspense Magazine
"He is hardboiled in the tradition
of Philip Marlowe, and she is a genteel
Miss Marple; yet the two opposites
make an explosive combination..."
—Midwest Book Review
"He is hardboiled in the tradition
of Philip Marlowe, and she is a genteel
Miss Marple; yet the two opposites
make an explosive combination..."
—Midwest Book Review
of Philip Marlowe, and she is a genteel
Miss Marple; yet the two opposites
make an explosive combination..."
—Midwest Book Review