Pomegranate and Mint Sorbet

A few weeks ago I got the new Giada at Home cookbook and was so excited to try out some new recipes.

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This weekend I tried her Pomegranate and Mint Sorbet and it was sooo good! If you have an ice cream maker you have to try this. And if you don't have one, run out and get one (I think you can get them for less than $30).

Pomegranate and Mint Sorbet:

Ingredients
-- 1 cup Mint Simple Syrup, recipe follows
-- 2 cups 100 percent pomegranate juice (recommended: Pom Wonderful)
-- 1 cup orange juice
-- 1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
-- Fresh mint sprigs, for garnish

Directions:

Special equipment: an ice cream maker

In a glass pitcher, combine the Mint Simple Syrup, pomegranate juice, and orange juice. Pour the pomegranate mixture in an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. During the last 10 minutes of freezing time, add the mini chocolate chips.
Scoop the sorbet into dessert bowls and garnish with fresh mint sprigs.

I have a Rival ice cream maker, and this only took 40 mins. After 30 mins I added the chips.

Mint Simple Syrup
-- 1 cup sugar
-- 1/2 cup water
-- 1 packed cup packed fresh mint leaves

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, water, and mint leaves over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the syrup to cool for 20 minutes. Strain before using.

Savannah Style and Coffee Table Decorating

I love love love Paula Deen, and I also love Savannah, so when I found out about Paula Deen's new book Savannah Style, I immediatly ordered it from amazon.com.

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The book is full of beautiful pictures of her home, as well as other beautiful homes around Savannah. I think my favorite section was the section on gardens. Oh what I would give to be able to get lost in some of those lovely gardens. I will be in Savannah in a few weeks on vacation, so hopefully I'll run into some of them!

In addition to getting lost in the style of Savannah, I also worked on my coffee table centerpiece this weekend. Last week I made a post about working on a display for my coffee table. I had asked for some comments/ideas, and this is what I have come up with (for now) =)

I kept the white tray because I thought it would be fun for spring/summer. I also hadn't used it in a while, so I thought it would be a nice change. Using inspiration from the Savannah Style book, I came up with a fun flower arrangement using some peony's that I had from a long time ago, and I added some hydrangeas and some other greenery to fill it in. This vase is from my crystal collection, which I love!!

I also included this fun purple flower plate that I found at Target a few weeks ago. At the time I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it, but I figured I would find something. I added a B&BW's candle, and ta-da!

Thanks everyone for your comments, and I am sure in a few weeks I'll change it up again!

Pink Saturday - 4/17/10

Happy Pink Saturday!

I am really enjoying all of the flowering trees this spring. I don't know if it is because we had snow on the ground for 3 months, and I am just totally ready for spring, or what, but I am really starting to notice all of the flowers and buds on all of the trees and they are just beautiful and seem to be everywhere!

This pink tree is outside of my building at work. Everyday I walk past this tree and the other day it just all of the sudden bloomed with these beautiful pink flowers. My boss's office actually over looks this tree, and the other day we were telling him how jealous we were of his view.

Last weekend I took some more pictures of some trees and flowers around my neighborhood, so feel free to check them out here.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend so far! Check out Beverly's blog for more info on Pink Saturday.

And the blog that I checked out this week was Happier Than a Pig In Mud. I admit, I just loved the name of this blog!

Samoas Bars

My all time favorite Girl Scout cookies are the Samoas. I also like the Thin Mints, but if I had to choose, I think I would choose the Samoas.

I came across this recipe on Baking Bites and just had to try them out. They were sooo good! I actually took some into work the other day, and they were gone very quickly! Everyone loved them. I admit though, they are kind of time consuming, but were well worth it!

Samoas Bars

Cookie Base:
-- 1/2 cup sugar
-- 3/4 cup butter, softened
-- 1 large egg
-- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
-- 2 cups all purpose flour
-- 1/4 tsp salt

First, make the crust. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan, or line with parchment paper. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Working at a low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is crumbly, like wet sand. The dough does not need to come together. Pour crumbly dough into prepapred pan and press into an even layer. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until base is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack before topping.

Topping
-- 3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
-- 12-oz good-quality chewy caramels (or I found some baking caramels in the baking aisle which worked out just fine, no need to unwrap!)
-- 1/4 tsp salt
-- 3 tbsp milk
-- 10 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula.

Put dollops of the topping all over the shortbread base. Using the spatula, spread topping into an even layer. Let topping set until cooled. When cooled, cut into 30 bars with a large knife or a pizza cutter (it’s easy to get it through the topping).

Once bars are cut, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each bar into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment or wax paper (actually I just spread the chocolate onto the base, the shortbread bottom was a little crumbly so it was easier to just spread; I then turned the bars upside down onto a baking rack).

Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a ziploc bag with the corner snipped off (wonderful idea!!) and drizzle bars with chocolate to finish. Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.

Makes 30 bar cookies. (although I cut mine into larger bars and got 16 bars)

Pictures From My New Camera

So over the weekend I purchased a new digital camera. My old camera was about 8 years old, and was a 3.5 MP. I had been debating for a while how much longer this camera was going last, and was a little afraid it would die on me during my upcoming vacation.

Well the other day I noticed the battery was getting ready to die, and so I thought, why don't I just look online and see how much cameras were going these days. I was shocked that I could get a 12 MP camera for under $100! So I thought, maybe now was the time to break down and buy a new camera.

So of course after I purchased said camera from Tar-jay, I had to go and try it out. There are some beautiful trees around my neighborhood, and every day as I passed them I thought, I need to take a picture! So here they are!

Pink Saturday -- 4/10/10

For this week's Pink Saturday, I wanted to focus on decorating. And I need your help!

I have been looking for centerpiece/decorations for my dining room table and my living room coffee table for some time now, and can't seem to figure out what I want to do.

This is a fun pink/purple orchid (faux, because I would probably kill a real one in a matter of days) I found for my dining room table, but I am not sure I am 100% happy with it. I left the tag on it, so let's see if it makes it through the weekend. I have paired it with a cute green table runner (with cute butterflies and fireflies) and my crystal candle holders with sage green candles.

At first I was looking to either buy or make a topiary, but I already have 2 in my house, so I was trying to find something a little different, and I think orchids are very pretty.

I have 2 options so far for my coffee table.

This has been on my coffee table for a couple of years now. The base is from Southern Living at Home, and I filled with some ivy and then the glass hurricane is from Pier 1. I like it, but I am just kind of bored with it since I have been looking at it every day for a few years (I just keep changing out the candle and the ivy depending on the season).

I had this on my coffee table about 6 years ago. The tray is also from Southern Living at Home, and I weaved some ivy in the little holes on the side of the tray. It's a little big for my coffee table, and I can't seem to figure out what I want to put in the tray. Right now I have one of my crystal vases (matches my candle holders) and a Southern Living at Home planter with a candle. I like the tray, but am not 100% happy with what's in it. (I also think I need to straighten out that ivy...it's the same ivy I had from way back when I used this tray...ha!)

I am open to ideas that can either improve my options or even some new options as well. Let me know what you think.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy Pink Saturday. To find out more about Pink Saturday, check out Beverly's blog.

The Pink Saturday participant that I visited this week was Mary Beth at live. laugh. make something. I just loved her "Peep Show" post from last week! Check out her blog.

My Style - 4/9/10

I was really happy with my outfit today. This doesn't always happen, which I think most women will relate to! =) Anyway, just wanted to share a little bit of my style with you.

Jeans, belt and cardigan from Ann Taylor Loft

Shoes (you can't tell but they are dark blue peep toes with a little silver accent) and top from Macys (from a few years ago)

Here is a close-up of the top. It is a really shiny fabric, with puffy sleeves, and has a lot of fun blue and green colors. I adore this cardigan. I got this over the winter at Loft, and it has some fun fabric flowers on the upper left hand side (you can't see in the pic), and it has fun sparkly buttons. I wear cardigans almost all the time. Even in the summer because my office is always cold and you have to wear lots of layers to keep warm. I am also lucky because I get to wear jeans almost every day (unless I have a client meeting).

My newest favorite pieces from Lia Sophia. I finally got these earrings a few days ago from when I attended one of my friend's parties a few weeks ago. The picture doesn't do them justice, but the teardrops are a really deep blue, and the stones at the top are a real sparkly lighter blue. And I love this bracelet. I wear it almost every day!

Thanks for taking a look at my style today!