How To De-Seed A Pomegranate

Did you know that it's pomegranate season?  Why yes, it is.

I've always loved pomegranates, but this year I really got a hankering to nosh on those tart little addictive seeds (a.k.a. arils).

Did you know that you can purchase these tiny arils in convenient packages in select grocery stores?

Did you also know that they will cost you an arm and a leg?

Yeah.  About that...

Asparagus Spinach Quiche

This is a fact: I haven't made a quiche in over a year.

What?  I love quiches.  What is happening to me?

In order to get back on track, I revisited my list of quiche recipes in my arsenal.  (Yes, I call my Bookmarks folder an arsenal.  Don't worry about it.)  I quickly found a Closet Cooking recipe for an asparagus spinach quiche.  I've been a fan of Kevin's blog for a while now and my family and I have made quite a few recipes of his, so I knew that this quiche would not disappoint.  What's not to love about asparagus, spinach, and lots and lots of cheese? Yes, I can get behind this.

Ferrero Rocher Cupcakes

I know I just posted a dessert recipe the other day and now I'm following up with another sweet dessert.  But it's OK.  You're so going to love these ones.  Because they're holiday cupcakes...

Ferrero Rocher Cupcakes.

Wow, right?  Yeah, that's what I think too.  If you're not familiar with Ferrero Rocher, you could simply search the candy aisle for the only spherical, gold-foil-covered candy you can find.  Once you unwrap the foil, you're left with a ball of chocolate hazelnut goodness.  You just want to hug everybody in sight when you eat it.  It's that good.

So once I stumbled across a Ferrero Rocher cupcake recipe from Cupcake Project, I knew that I needed to make these.

Do you need my justification spelled out?  OK, here's why: 

1. I have a love affair with chocolate.

2. I adore a good chocolate hazelnut combination.(Think Nutella. Come on!)

3. These cupcakes have a filled center.  'Nuff said.

3. I am entranced by pretty shiny things.  Ferrero Rocher chocolates pretty much have that market covered.

Salted Caramel Popcorn Pretzel Clusters

Can you seriously say the title of this blog post 3 times fast?  Because I have trouble saying it right the first time and I was the one who (sort of) made this name up.

These clusters actually started out as bars.  You know those really convenient square/rectangle things that give you a bite or two of pure goodness?  Well, that's what I was aiming for.  Clearly things fell a little short.  The good news is that the taste did not suffer at all. Since this dessert was still quite delicious and only lacked the ability to stick together, I whipped out some cupcake liners and separated the sweet into individual portions.

I took these to my friend's brunch party over the weekend and they were a hit.  I'm usually known for my cupcakes, but these treats did not disappoint the crowd.

Mussels in a White Wine Sauce

I really wasn't a fan of mussels until I took a term abroad trip to France during high school.  My classmate and I ate dinner with our host family each night and this meal consisted of whatever our host mom decided to cook that day.  One night she came to the table with a huge bowl of mussels.  I had never tried them before, but since it's sort of frowned upon to turn down the main course, I tentatively placed a few mussels on my plate and tested it out.  And I liked it.

Ever since, I tend to go through stages where I crave nothing but a substantial serving of mussels.  I don't know why, but I roll with it.  Recently I got that craving again.  Unfortunately, things never seemed to work out and I would always miss out on those mussels.

After a few weeks of this, it finally dawned on me that I should just make a big ol' pot of mussels myself.  Why was I waiting to go to a restaurant for this deliciousness?  So let's do it.