Vote for my PAMA Recipes!

Just a note to say that voting has begun on the PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur contest. You must have a Facebook account to vote, and you can vote once daily from now until December 15th. You can find all the entries here, and my entries are the Pomegranate Paklava and the Phyllo-Wrapped Brie. Thanks!!

Pomegranate Paklava

Paklava just doesn't photograph well, does it?

As a second entry into PAMA's Pomegranate Month recipe contest, I decided to update an Armenian classic with Pomegranate Paklava. Armenian paklava is usually less sweet and gooey than Greek baklava, which I am in favor of, but I've still never really liked it. My mother makes it with walnuts, possibly the worst nut out there (I'll eat Brazil nuts before I eat a walnut!), and I've always felt that pistachios are a more fitting nut for this pastry anyway. Adding pomegranate seemed like a natural step. I'm really happy with how this turned out, and although I'm still not a fan of paklava in general, I'd be much more likely to eat this fruitier version.

Pomegranate Paklava
2 cups chopped pistachios
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 lb. phyllo dough
2 sticks butter, melted
1/2 cup PAMA Liqueur
1/4 cup water
1 cup sugar

Combine chopped pistachios, 2 Tbsp sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside.

Unroll phyllo dough and cover with a damp cloth to prevent it from drying. Brush melted butter over the bottom and sides of a 13×9 pan. Lay one sheet of phyllo dough on the bottom of the pan and brush generously with butter. Repeat with two-thirds of the phyllo sheets, ending with a brushing of butter. Spread the pistachio mixture evenly over the dough, making sure to spread all the way to the edges. Top with the remaining sheets of phyllo dough, each brushed with butter. Cover the pan and refrigerate for an hour to let the butter harden.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and cut the paklava into squares or diamonds, making sure to cut all the way through to the bottom. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until golden brown.

While paklava is cooling, combine PAMA Liqueur, water, and 1 cup of sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and stir to dissolve the sugar. Pour hot syrup over paklava; if you like a paklava that is a little less sweet, use less of the syrup. Re-cut the paklava (the edge of a spatula may give you better leverage than a knife). Serve on a platter or in individual paper baking cups.

Phyllo-Wrapped Brie with PAMA Drizzle

Happy Pomegranate Month! If you're seeing a lot of pomegranate recipes out there, it's because Pomegranate Month is in full swing (not to mention that pomegranates are just plain delicious).

PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur is celebrating Pomegranate Month with a recipe contest. The only requirement for entries? Using 3 tablespoons of PAMA. Thankfully, the sweet and tart liqueur pairs well with a lot of flavors.

My first entry, Phyllo-Wrapped Brie with PAMA Drizzle, is kind of a mishmash of ideas. I wanted to use phyllo dough because it always looks fancy, and it's pretty easy to use (even if a lot of people are scared of using it - just give it a shot!). I figured a version of individual brie en croute would be a great appetizer - I love the idea of brie en croute, but I don't like the idea of putting pastry on top of a cracker. This eliminates the need for crackers, making the entire thing hand-held. As for the PAMA sauce, I kept thinking of an amazing steak I had in Italy, covered in a balsamic vinegar reduction that tasted like rich chocolate. A thick sauce like that, but with more fruity flavor from the PAMA, seemed like a perfect pair to the pastry.

Apparently I hit this one out of the park. Our usually loud and boisterous group didn't make a sound when these finally hit the table. The one vegetarian, who ate these as her main coarse, was literally scraping the plate clean of every last drop of sauce. I'm so glad these worked out well, contest or no, and I have a feeling these will be on my holiday table in the next few months. If nothing else, the combination of PAMA and balsamic vinegar makes a sauce that would be killer on just about anything.


Phyllo-Wrapped Brie with PAMA Drizzle
1 lb. phyllo dough
10 oz. brie, cut into 10 long slices
2 sticks butter, melted
pomegranate seeds
1/2 cup PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Unroll phyllo dough and cover with a damp cloth to prevent from drying. Lay one sheet of phyllo dough on work surface and brush generously with melted butter. Lay a second sheet of phyllo dough on top of the first and brush with butter. Place one slice of brie lengthwise along the bottom edge of the dough and top with pomegranate seeds. Roll the brie in the dough two turns, fold in the sides to seal the ends, then continue rolling the brie. Trim the end to lie neatly beneath the pastry, and place seam-side down on a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough and brie. Brush completed pieces with butter.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. While the pastries are baking, prepare the sauce by combining the PAMA Liqueur, balsamic vinegar, and salt together in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until thick and syrupy.

To serve, drizzle sauce over the pastries and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.

*NOTE* If these are too big, you can make smaller ones, but use just one sheet of phyllo - two might overwhelm a smaller piece of cheese.

Pomegranate Baba Ganoush

I'm Armenian and I love eggplant, and yet, it has taken me this long to make baba ganoush. I feel like a slacker. But don't worry, I've definitely made more than my fair share of the dip in the past few weeks to make up for it.

Baba ganoush is a Middle Eastern dip or salad which, at its most basic, consists of mashed eggplant and spices. It's an easy enough recipe that only takes a few minutes to put together (minus the roasting time, of course). It's simple, and yet, no one can decide on one recipe. My Armenian cookbook has four different versions (of course, that cookbook typically has four different versions of every dish, so this isn't saying all that much). I've played around with the recipe enough that I think I've found my version of baba ganoush. How do you like to make baba ganoush?

Oh, and seeing at pomegranate season has officially begun (I recently picked up a HUGE pomegranate from Pom Wonderful at the supermarket and couldn't wait to start peeling), and that means it's time for me to start throwing pomegranate arils into anything and everything I make. So into my baba ganoush went a handful of arils, along with some on the top for garnish, and it was love at first bite. The body of the dip is garlicky and salty with an unctuous creaminess, and the pomegranate adds little bursts of sweet freshness that makes this dip a little different (it's the same concept as my pomegranate guacamole).

Pomegranate Baba Ganoush
1 large eggplant (about 1 pound)
1/4 cup tahini (sesame paste)
2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
arils of 1 pomegranate, divided
3/4 cup parsley, finely chopped, plus a few whole leaves for garnish

Preheat oven to 350°. Prick the eggplant with a fork, then set on a rimmed baking pan with 1/2 cup water. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the eggplant is soft all the way through. Add more water to the pan as needed; the steam will help the eggplant cook.

Let eggplant cool until it can be handled, then peel off the skin. Combine the eggplant, tahini, 1 Tbsp olive oil, salt, cayenne pepper, lemon juice, and garlic in a blender (or a large bowl if you are using an immersion blender). Blend until smooth and combined. Stir in 3/4 of the pomegranate arils and chopped parsley. Add more salt and cayenne pepper to taste.

To serve, arrange baba ganoush in bowl, drizzle with remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil, and scatter remaining pomegranate arils and parsley leaves on top. Serve with sliced vegetables, pita chips, or just a fork.

Pomegranates for Persephone

Being the big Classics nerd that I am, I have been anticipating the Achilles Project for a while. It consists of a high-end boutique (Achilles) and a lounge and restaurant (Persephone) in one large space. It's an interesting mix, but honestly, it's a little hard to tell that it's a store. At night, when the boutique section is closed and the racks are moved to form little glassed-in, hanging exhibits (you really just need to see it for it to make sense), the space is all about the food and drink. The lounge area is very white and bright, a nice change from many bars, while the dining room in the back is darker in light and decor color. The change delineates the two rooms, even though they consist of one large space.

I didn't have a full meal, only tried tastes of a bunch of different things, but based on what I tasted, I'll be back soon. Everything is fresh, and the flavors pack a real punch. Michael Leviton, from Lumiere, heads up the kitchen, and he brings much of the same local, organic, sustainable product mentalities that abound in the Lumiere kitchen to Persephone.


The highlights for me were the crispy gulf shrimp with shishito peppers and lime-scented fleur de sel ($8) and the Lucki 7 Farms pork ribs ($9). The shrimp, still in their ultra-thin shells, were fried in a very light coating. They were salty and crispy and a perfect little snack or start to a meal. The ribs were incredibly tender, to the point that they were literally falling off the bone. The spicy hoisin sauce is a bit messy, but hey, they're ribs - at least you don't need a bib to eat these.

The grilled serrano ham & manchego cheese sandwich ($9) was tasty but no knock out as an appetizer. If this is on the lunch menu (they open for lunch in a few weeks), however, it would be a great mid-day meal. The braised veal shoulder ($39, from the "extra large" section of the menu, meant for sharing) was even more tender than the ribs. Served with polenta, tomatoes, and kalamata olives, it would be a hearty and warming meal to share.

Drinks, too, were delicious and out of the ordinary. I laughed outloud at the "Obligatory $15 Chowhound-Predicted Pomegranate Martini" ($9) because I remembered reading that exact Chowhoud post a week earlier. I much prefered the Desperate Housewife ($12, with Nigori sake, blueberry syrup, Gray Goose bodka, cranberry, ginger and lemon) and the Petal Punch ($12, with Milagro silver tequila, peach and pomegranate liquor, lemon zest and chamomile tea). Other drinks made me squee in my nerd-dom with names like "Spiced Pyrus," "Achilles' Heel," and "Spartan Sling."

I'm definitely looking forward to the chance for a full meal at Persephone - if what I tasted is indicative of what comes out of the kitchen, I'm sure they're going to be quite busy. I better make a reservation now.

Making Guacamole a Year-Round Treat

Guacamole. It's probably my favorite dip to accompany chips. But it always seems so summery to me. With a simple ingredient swap, though, it becomes a fantastic holiday appetizer. It's November - tomatoes are out, pomegranates are in!

Pomegranate Guacamole
4 ripe avocados
1 lime
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
handful of pomegranate seeds (1/4-1/3 of one fruit)

Cut, pit and mash the avocados. Add the juice from the lime to the avocado to prevent browning. Stir in onion and pomegranate. being careful not to puncture any of the seeds. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

And can I just add some more Trader Joe's love on here? The TJ's Organic White Corn Tortilla Chips are the best packaged tortilla chips I've ever had. They're perfectly crisp, with plenty of salt. They're even good on their own, once you've run out of guacamole...

First Among Fruits

I was wandering through the produce section at one of the local markets this weekend when I was stopped in my tracks. Half way across the area, a basket rested on the exotic fruit table, filled with pomegranates. True, they weren't especially large or red, but they were there! Two whole months before I expected to see one! I exercised great restraint by only buying two instead of the whole basket.


The pomegranate is my favorite fruit, not only because it's delicious, but also because of the mythology surrounding it. In Greek myth, Persephone was tricked into staying in the Underworld when she ate six pomegranate seeds. In Jewish tradition, there are 613 seeds in a pomegranate, corresponding to the 613 commandments of the Torah. In Christian iconography, Christ is often holding a pomegranate in Virgin and Child scenes.


The pomegranate (or nur) is also one of the symbols of Armenia, representing marriage, fertility and abundance. Throughout the Middle East, pomegranates are used in wedding rituals; the more seeds in the fruit, the more fruitful the marriage will be.


The health benefits of pomegranates are tremendous, as well, as the recent surge of pomegranate-related products supports. The antioxidants in the fruit are especially beneficial for the heart... but if you want all the details, a quick web search will provide what you're looking for.


Despite the millions of pomegranate products, I'll be sticking with the real thing when I can find it. There's something so zen about peeling the arils, or seeds, out from the leathery skin, sampling a tart seed now and again.


Note: The title for this post comes from the poem "Garden Song," translated by Ezra Pound and Noel Stark, second-hand from Egyptian hieroglypics, about the pomegranate.

And what are they Reserving this for?

After reading this thread on Chowhound, I was intrigued by all the new Reserve flavors from Haagen-Dazs. Many people on the thread where asking where they could find them, so I assumed, as the name implies, that they were hard to get. Imagine my surprise when I found the whole array at a local market.

Now I’m a little bit of a pomegranate freak. I love the fruit, and there’s nothing like the first pomegranate of the winter to signal the approach of the holidays. Most people lament the hard work involved in enjoying the fruit and are happy with all the new pomegranate products on the market. Being a real fan of the fruit itself, however, I don’t think any of those products actually taste like they should. Tangentially, the only exception I’ve found to this is Polar’s Pomegranate Seltzer. The biggest problem with this rash of new products is that the relatively small crop of fruit are all being juiced. I had a very hard time finding the whole fruit this winter in the market, when the year before, they were everywhere. The ones that did materialize where small and anemic, hardly worth the effort. Pomegranates are the John Mayers and Howie Days of the fruit world – they were better before they became popular and famous… now they just suck.

So vainly, I picked the Pomegranate Chip from the freezer. I would have been much better off trying one of the other flavors, one that wouldn’t disappoint me so completely. The Hawaiian Lehua Honey and Sweet Cream sounds really interesting and is probably the best of the bunch, so if I see that again, I might give it a try, although $5 is a little steep for a pint of prepackaged supermarket ice cream.

And what were my impressions of the Pomegranate Chip? Meh. M-E-H, meh. It tasted like a strange raspberry chip ice cream, nowhere near as good as the raspberry chip yogurt that I devoured when I worked at Emack & Bolio’s. I was expecting some hint of tart-y goodness, something to suggest that, indeed, a pomegranate had even been near the ice cream at some point. I guess it’s just one more product to hold in contempt of taking away my precious fruit.