Post 2 of my 7 course POM DINNER PARTY
The Drinks I served all had a Pomegranate taste added, as I offered...
Non-alcoholic Shirley Temple
Pomegranate Champaign Cocktail
Pomegranate Manhattan
and a Tropical Tequila Sunrise with Fresh made Grenadine.
But to day I am explaining the second of the sauces that I used. Quick recap, 7 courses, I made 7 different sauces from Pom Wonderful Pomegranate juice. The grenadine I used in the drinks is very sweet, yet has that tart taste. My second sauce is a pomegranate molasses. It is a thick, brown honey like substance. Made similar to the grenadine, but with a major exception. The sugar is added to the Pom Wonderful juice at the beginning of the cooking process, and is allowed to thicken the sauce as it melts. The grenadine add the sugar at the end, and it is simply dissolved, instead of melted.
To make molasses, all I needed to do was...
1 cup Pomegranate Arils ("the botanical term for the seed, surrounded by a juice sack") 1 cup Pom Wonderful Juice (I could have just opened another Pomegranate and used another cup of Arils, but I had the juice handy)
Juice from 1 Lemon
1 cup Sugar
First step is the juice. Put the cup of Arils and the cup of Pom Wonderful Juice in a processor and spin away. Liquefy and then strain the seed parts out.
Get the liquid boiling. Then reduce to just a simmer.
And leave it alone for an hour.
You want the liquid to reduce by half.
Stir a bit more, and start watching. After an hour, once the liquid has reduced, it starts to darken and thicken up quickly...
Look at the difference between this photo above and the one below...
It only took about 10 minutes to go from caramel colored mostly thin sauce to a mostly thick dark brown sauce.
It has a heavier taste than the grenadine. It is also thicker and not quite as sweet. But still retains the tart taste from the pomegranate juice.
And it is perfect to make my very favorite type of rolls...
Anadama Rolls.
ANADAMA is a traditional bread of New England made with white flour, cornmeal, molasses and sometimes (not this time) rye. But, there is a legend surrounding the rolls...
From Anadamabread.com/history.php - This is truly a "bit" ofRockport, MA, for Anadama Bread originated in this town many years ago. This is the true story of a local fisherman whose lazy wife always gave him steamed corn meal mush and molasses for dinner. One day when he came in from fishing, he found the same corn meal mush and molasses for dinner and being very tired of it, he decided to mix it with bread flour and yeast and baked it saying,
"Anna Damn Her."
The bread was so delicious that his neighbors baked it calling itAnadama Bread.So, with thanks to Mary from ONE PERFECT BITE, who first introduced me to these rolls...
ANNA DAMN HER Bread rolls...
Anadama Rolls...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite
Ingredients:
1 cup whole milk
1 cup water
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/3 cup mild-flavored (light) molasses
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup warm water
1 envelope (2-1/4 teaspoons)dry yeast
4 to 4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 egg, beaten to blend
2 teaspoons sesame or poppy seeds
Directions:
1) Bring milk, 1 cup water and salt to boil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Slowly whisk in cornmeal. Cook until mixture thickens and boils, whisking constantly, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk in molasses and 2 tablespoons butter. Transfer mixture to large bowl. Cool until thermometer inserted into center of mixture registers 115°F, whisking often, about 15 minutes.
2) Pour 1/2 cup warm water into small bowl; sprinkle yeast over. Let stand until yeast dissolves and top looks spongy, about 10 minutes. Stir yeast mixture into cornmeal mixture. Gradually mix in 4 cups flour, about 1 cup at a time, to form soft dough that pulls away from sides of bowl. Sprinkle 1/4 cup flour onto work surface. Turn dough out onto floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, sprinkling with more flour by tablespoonfuls if needed, about 10 minutes (dough will remain slightly sticky). Form dough into ball. Coat a large bowl with butter or shortening. Add dough to bowl and turn to coat dough with butter or shortening. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 hour 15 minutes.
3) Punch down dough. Cover with plastic wrap; let stand 10 minutes. Coat each of two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with butter or shortening. Roll dough into 18-inch-long log. Cut into 18 equal pieces. Using floured hands, form each dough piece into ball. Place 9 dough balls in each pan, spacing apart. Cover each pan loosely with towel. Let rolls stand in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, about 30 minutes. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Brush rolls with egg glaze. Sprinkle with seeds. Place rolls in oven and immediately reduce temperature to 350°F. Bake rolls until golden brown, about 30 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool completely. Store airtight at room temperature. Wrap rolls in foil and rewarm in 350°F oven 10 minutes.) Serve warm. Yield: 18 rolls.
As part of my table decorations, I elevated Pomegranates in flower pots. I carried that theme with the rolls, by placing them in a mini flower pot...You can see the rest of my table decorations by clicking HERE, Pomegranates were used to decorate our driveway and stairs to our front door, as well as our fireplace, mantle, side tables and the all important dinner table.
And the rolls were perfect. Sweet from the molasses, with an extra little tang. Would make a wonderful addition to your Thanksgiving table!
And if you need a little help in learning to open a Pomegranate to get at the good stuff...
Here's how to open one... VERY neatly (So neatly, I did it over a white towel... No Mess)
...
Such a cute presentation.
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