Last updated on June 4, 2015 by Liza Hawkins
A couple of weeks ago I mentioned how cool it was that I got selected to be one of 100 people across the country to host a POM Dinner Party. Two crates and 40 pomegranates later, my dinner party was a wild success, and the guests are still talking about the menu – and the crazy apron POM sent for me to wear.
Let’s get started on the party recap, which includes….drum roll please…..a how-to pictorial on opening a pomegranate, and lots and lots of photos of our seemingly endless stream of pomegranate inspired platters!
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| Dinner Guests Abby, Theresa, Me, Amy, Linda |
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| Dinner Guests Abby, Theresa, Me, Amy, Josie |
For some reason, and I’ll blame delirium after spending about 10 hours straight in the kitchen, we didn’t think to set the camera to snap a photo of all of us together. Hence, the two group shots – one with Josie, and the other with Linda. So, there were a total of six of us – a girls’ night in, pomegranate extravaganza!
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| Beautiful Fresh Pomegranate Arils |
The table decorations themselves morphed out of things I already had at the house, as I had decided to make my meal as local, sustainable, and frugal as possible. The evolution of the table-scape can be seen below:
Next up, the menu – served family style at the table, with as many local “farm-to-table” ingredients I could get my hands on.
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| Pomegranate-Citrus Glazed Roast Chicken stuffed with garlic, onions, lime, lemon, orange, thyme, sage (chicken is local, free-range, organic, farm-to-table) |
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| Acini di Pepe Vegetarian Pomegranate Salad pomegranate arils, mint, flat-leaf parsley, slivered almonds, minced garlic (mint and parsley courtesy of Truffula Seed Produce) |
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| Pomegranate Dipping Aioli -roast potato accompaniment- pomegranate juice, Dijon mustard, mayonnaise, sour cream, thyme (Thyme courtesy of Truffula Seed Produce) |
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| Roast Potatoes blue/Yukon gold,/fingerling potatoes, green onions, thyme, garlic, sea salt, cracked black pepper (potatoes, green onions, and thyme courtesy of Truffula Seed Produce) |
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| Fall Simple Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette pomegranate arils, sliced almonds, arugula, field greens, flat-leaf parsley (parsley courtesy of Truffula Seed Produce) |
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| Pomegranate Cosmo vodka, triple sec, fresh lime juice, POM Wonderful juice |
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| Pomegranate Swirl Orange Scented Cheesecake with Pomegranate Citrus Reduction |
Lastly, as a parting gift, POM Wonderful sent me eight canvas bags to give out to my guests, stuffed with a how-to guide to opening a pomegranate, a coupon for a free bottle of POM Wonderful juice, and a set of recipe cards from their 2010 Chef Series. In addition to that awesome swag, I included a pomegranate and:
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| Pomegranate Sugar Cookies Yarn dyed and spun by Abby of Folktale Fibers |
The night ended with full bellies and lots of laughs, but before my guests left, I made sure to show them (step-by-step) how to open and de-aril a pomegranate:
And there you have it! My successful POM Wonderful Dinner Party – so much fun!
Love the filter you used for the photographs. The food and decor look great – well done! I hosted last night but running out the door for work for the week … hope to get them up soon!
You MADE all of that? Looks divine, but I am assuming you never want pomegranates ever again!
@Valentine – can’t wait to see everyone else’s party recaps!
@Erica – I made all of it, and yes, I’m pomegranated out for now. 🙂 Good thing they’re only in season for a short while! Very versatile though…
WOW. This was an AMAZING post. I felt like I was reading–and looking at pictures from–some upscale foodie mag!
Cool pics on opening the pomegranate. Had no idea!
I can really appreciate that you made it as local as possible. Looks super fun AND YUMMY!
PS–LOVE LOVE LOVE the centerpiece. Beautiful!
@Jackie – Thanks!!! I love the photo technique too…think I’m going to continue that for future posts. 🙂
quite simply – Yum!
Your party came out lovely…especially drooling over the cheesecake! What are you doing w/your leftover poms? I have 20+ left and have been sharing with friends and family. Going to use some for Thanksgiving next week. Good luck…your party came out great!
@Wendy – I have no pomegranates left; only a small bag of arils in a baggy in the fridge. After the party was over, I still had about 20 left. Gave them to my sister who de-ariled them, and froze the arils for use throughout the year. Smart!
I love your giant POM centerpiece and that cheesecake, OMG! What a feast you prepared.
Fun!! I loved reading your recap — as I just posted mine. Absolutely LOVE the POM sugar cookies!!
Kathy and Kelsey – Thank you! The cheesecake and sugar cookies were both sooooooo yummy, and really quite simple! I’ll be continuing to post the recipes over the next week or so. Stay tuned!