Proud Italian Cook

Grilled Rack of Pork with Pomegranate Glaze

April 24, 2009 by Marie 28 Comments

I’ve seen so many great recipes floating around in the blogosphere using POM Wonderful, I was fortunate enough to receive a case of this wonder juice myself. After holding on to it for a while, drinking some and giving some away, I decided to make a glaze with it. Seeing that its BBQ season again ( yipee!) I thought it would be perfect with some grilled meats. Well let me just say, it was!

I grilled and seasoned my rack of pork, with garlic, rosemary and thyme, and at the last 15 minutes I brushed a little glaze all over. After it rested for about 10 minutes I drizzled more of this beautiful colored glaze on top. I served it with some whole wheat couscous, and a raw kale salad made with fresh lemon, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese.

This stuff is like a superpower!! 100% pomegranate juice, the health benefits are amazing! Just look at that color, doesn’t it just scream ANTIOXIDANTS?

Reducing this down makes the most delicious glaze! This recipe was adapted from the
Everyday Food site.

POMEGRANATE GLAZE
2 Cups Pomegranate Juice
1 Cup of Orange Juice
1 t. Dried Rosemary
3 Smashed Garlic Cloves
2 t. of Red Wine Vinegar
Salt & Pepper

In a large skillet combine everything, boil on high reducing in half while scraping down sides of skillet with a wooden spoon or a heatproof spatula. After it thickens up a little strain everything through a fine mesh strainer. After I did that, I thickened it up even more. When finished, stir in 2 t. of red wine vinegar. Store leftover glaze in the frig.

For tons of ideas and recipes, and the many health benefits of this wonder juice go here.

Have a great weekend, and Buon Appetito!!

28 Comments Filed Under: Meats Tagged: condiment, POM Wonderful, pomegranate glaze

Antipasto Salad and a Tiramisu!

April 14, 2009 by Marie 43 Comments

I just wanted to share with you a couple of the highlights of our dinner this past Sunday. This antipasto salad is so good you just HAVE to make it for your next party! Although I’ve made many salads with fresh green beans in the past like here, I never quite put this combination together. I can thank my dear friend Stacey, of Stacey Snacks for giving me the inspiration!

I tweaked Stacey’s recipe slightly and used a combination of fresh green beans, that have been cooked and cooled down, just make sure they still have a little bite, sun-dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, marinated artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, (I had some that I roasted myself,) garbanzo beans, chopped red onion, and strips of salami. The dressing is made with red wine vinegar and olive oil, salt, pepper, granulated garlic and oregano. Delicious at room temperature. This was so good I had the leftovers for breakfast the next day!

One of the things we had for dessert was this Limoncello Tiramisu, not a conventional tiramisu but perfect for spring. Fresh lemon curd, layered over limoncello soaked pound cake, followed by a mascarpone whipped cream. The flavor is out out of this world!

I’ve made this before but never put it in a trifle bowl, you will definitely hear lots of ooohs and aaahs when you bring it out of the frig! It makes for a great presentation, and best of all you make it the night before! Just click on the link for the recipe and double everything if you’re using a bowl like this. A good store bought pound cake is fine, I used 2 for this, slice it into 3rd’s lengthwise, cut strips to go around the edge of the bowl, and bigger pieces to layer up the middle.

Enjoy the rest of your week, and Buon Appetito!

43 Comments Filed Under: Desserts, Salads Tagged: antipasto salad, limoncello dessert

Party Sides!

April 9, 2009 by Marie 38 Comments

These salads are great side dishes for parties, they can be made ahead of time, served cold or at room temperature. Have you ever tried pearl couscous? Larger than regular couscous, they look like tiny little pasta pearls. Just cook according to directions , and cool down by rinsing with cold water.

Place in a bowl and toss with a fresh lemon and olive oil dressing. Here I added red onion, chopped cucumber, kalamata olives, grape tomatoes, fresh chopped parsley and basil. Salt & Pepper.

This carrot salad is a combination of finely chopped red onion, chopped parsley, garbanzo beans, and pine nuts, tossed in a red wine vinegar and olive oil dressing. The carrot strips were done with a vegetable peeler, this is raw not cooked. Salt & Pepper.

For this broccoli salad you’ll want to blanch the broccoli florets for about 3 minutes in boiling water, then cool down in ice water and drain. Add chopped red onion, kalamata olives, diced red pepper, and crumbled feta, add salt, pepper, and a little granulated garlic. Toss in some olive oil.