POM Dinner Party Recap # 2: Cocktails, Mocktails, Drinks, and Appetizers!

If you're just joining me, I'm recapping my POM Wonderful Dinner Party! Click here to view my previous post about preparations and decorations!

Now... on to appetizers and drinks!

Don't you love appetizers?  It's one of my favorite parts of a dinner party.  Fun drinks run a close second! :)

For my POM Dinner Party, I decided to make two pomegranate-starring appetizers:

• Creamy Goat Cheese and Pom-Stuffed Celery
• Pom Salsa with Baked Tortilla Chips

Both of these recipes are from the POM Wonderful web site.  Originally, I had planned for one more pom appetizer, but then I decided that two were enough.  I knew we had a LOT of food coming, and I wanted to make sure we would still be hungry for dinner!

I LOVED the stuffed celery.  Click here to view this recipe.  I changed it just slightly.  I used 2 oz. of goat cheese and mixed that with a block of light cream cheese.  This made the texture a little creamier and just slightly sweeter.  The little pomegranate arils on top were perfect with the cheese mixture.  It added a pop of tangy but sweet flavor in each bite.

The Pom Salsa recipe also came from the POM Wonderful web site.  Click here to view this recipe.  I wasn't sure about this recipe when I made it.  I was thinking, "How sweet will this salsa be?  Will I LIKE sweet salsa?"  The answer is YES.  I LOVED it.  It wasn't over-the-top sweet, like fruit salsas sometimes are.  It was tangy, sweet, and it had just a little heat from the chopped jalapeno peppers.  And how beautiful is this salsa?  So colorful!

Now... on to the drinks!

We had one cocktail, one "mocktail," and Pomegranate Lemonade!

Our cocktail was a pomegranate martini.  How can you go wrong with that?  I didn't measure these out exactly.  I used lemon-infused vodka, Pomegranate juice, and a splash of orange juice.  Delish!

Our "mocktail" was a "Fizzy Pom." 

Originally, I planned to make this a shot, but then realized I would need a lot of little shot glasses (which I don't have... think I threw those out when I cleaned out my dorm room... LOL) so... it became a mocktail!  All I did for this was mix ginger ale with a splash of pomegranate juice.  I think this would be great with champagne in lieu of the ginger ale, too.  Next time I will try that!

I also decided to make fresh-squeezed pomegranate lemonade. 

To make the lemonade, use the 1-cup method:
1 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1 cup water
1 cup sugar

Start by making a simple syrup.  Add the sugar to boiling water.  Stir until it is dissolved.  Then add the lemon juice.  This is your concentrate.  To that, just add 4 more cups of cold water.  Now you've got perfect lemonade.  Then add 8 oz. of pomegranate juice to turn it into pomegranate lemonade.  That's all there is to it! 

Now... on to the main course! Stay tuned...