Pomegranate Cheesecake

Pomegranate Cheesecake is one my favorite desserts to make during the holidays! It's festive, delicious, and super easy to make! My sister is the master mind for researching and putting various recipes together for this delicious dessert. Ultimately the recipe was adapted from this blog. Today I'm sharing my version on how to make this super east and divine dessert which is perfect for the holiday gatherings - especially NYE! 
The first step is to bake your favorite cheesecake recipe. If you are not into that, have no fear, I suggest buying the New York Deli Style Cheesecake from Trader Joe's (found in the frozen dessert aisle). If you bake the cheesecake make sure it is completely cool before starting the pomegranate topping steps. If you go the Trader Joe's route then make sure the cheesecake is completely thawed and at room temperature. 

Ingredients 

3/4 cup pomegranate juice (Pom Wonderful)

1 pack unflavored gelatin powder 

2 Tbsp Sugar

1.5 cups seeds of one Pomegranate 

Directions

1. Place pomegranate juice in a small sauce pan, sprinkle in unflavored gelatin powder. Let stand 1 minute to soften gelatin before putting it on the heat.

2. Whisk in 2 Tbsp sugar and cook over medium heat, stirring, until sugar dissolves and mixture is steaming.

3. Remove from heat then set the saucepan into a larger bowl of ice water, stirring gently and constantly until it is cold and slightly thickened but not set approximately 5-10 minutes. 

4. Once thickened consistency, stir in pomegranate seeds and immediately spoon topping onto the cheesecake. Refrigerate for 1-2 hour before serving.

Enjoy!

Recipe | Masghati

During Ramadan there are few recipes that are tradition and made for Iftar in my family. Last year I shared a recipe for Fereni which is my all-time favorite! This year my sister attempted to find a recipe  for our childhood favorite - Masghati - which is a type of pudding filled with rose water and cardamom. After a long search my awesome sissy found a fantastic recipe courtesy of Turmeric & Saffron. The only change my sister made to was omitting the pistachios - she isn't too keen on them - however you can do so to your liking. All the credit for making this lovely treat goes to her. The only part I had was decorating and photos!

It's an easy recipe and very delicious treat for Iftar! Enjoy!

Recipe | Spicy Edamame

I'm no chef but I do dabble in the kitchen every once in a while. My forte is mostly baking.

My current favorite snack is Spicy Edamame. I am obsessed with edamame and always grab a pack when I'm at Trader Joe's. I've been on the search to find a recipe to remix the traditional edamame.

Enjoy!

Spicy Edamame Ingredients

• 1 pack of Trader Joe's Edamame (cooked or uncooked)
• 2 tablespoons Chili Powder
• 1 tablespoon Garlic Powder
• 1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

 Spicy Edamame Directions

• Prepare the edamame per directions
• Mix the oil, chili powder, garlic powder, and salt in a small bowl
• Toss the sauce and the edamame together - mix well!
• Place in a serving dish and enjoy!

Nowruz Party Favor Cookies

Golreezan Iran Cookie Cutter & Golreezan "Eideh Shoma Mobarak" Stickers

Nowruz is a time of lots of festivities. During the days and weeks following Nowruz it is customary for people to visit each other's homes and welcome the new year. As party favors for guest when they come to visit our home during the Nowruz (New Year) celebrations I baked these delicious sugar cookies and added some festive Nowruz flair courtesy of these Golreezan Nowruz products. 
I always use the delicious Corilynn Sugar Cookie Recipe  - seriously best recipe ever! This recipe yielded 32 cookies using the Golreezan Iran Cookie Cutter. Once the cookies were baked and cooled down I placed a cookie in the loot bag - which I got from the dollar store. I decorated the bag with these adorable Golreezan Nowruz Stickers and topped it off with some ribbon. 
Now I just need to keep these favors hidden from my family in order for our guests to enjoy them!
Happy almost Nowruz! 

Fereni [Rice Cream] Recipe

Today I want to share one of my all time favorite Ramadan dishes - "Ferni" also known as Rice Cream. My mom has been making Ferni every Ramadan since I was little kid. It is by far my favorite dish and have been wanting to learn how to make it for the longest time. I'm sharing this super simple recipe with all of you so that you can enjoy this delicious dish during Ramadan:

Ingredients: 

1/4 cup Rice Flour
1/2 cup Sugar
2 cups Milk [Whole or 2%]
1 tablespoon Rose Water
1 pinch Ground Cardamom 

Instructions: 

1. Combine milk, rice flour, and sugar in a non-stick saucepan.
2. Whisk ingredients together, then turn the heat on medium and keep stirring until the mixture thickens.
3. Constantly stir the mixture in order to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning. 
4. Just when it starts to bubble (after about 10 minutes) add a pinch of ground cardamom and rose water.
5. Once the mixture thickens pour into small serving dishes or one large dish. 
6. Garnish with saffron, pistachios, or nothing at all. Let cool and enjoy!

3 Tier Fruit Jello

Today I want to share one of my all time favorite Jello recipes! The recipe is my sister's creation - I may be bias when I say this - but it is absolutely delicious!

One recipe of this jello is best to make in a trifle bowl such as this.

This delicious recipe consists of 3 layers of Jello;

Layer One (Bottom)
4-serving ounce (small box) Strawberry Jello
1 cup Boiling Water
Frozen Sliced Strawberry or Pomegranate

Layer Two (Middle)
4-serving ounce (small box) Orange Jello
1 cup Boiling Water
8oz Cream Cheese room temp
2 cans (11oz) Mandarin Orange

Layer Three (Top)
4-serving ounce (small box) Island Pineapple Jello
1 cup Boiling Water
1 can Crushed Pineapple

Instructions

1. For the first layer add boiling water to gelatin mix and stir until dissolved.
2. Then add the sliced strawberry or pomegranate to the mixture and stir.
3. Slowly pour the mixture in the trifle bowl. I generally use a ladle to transfer the mixture. 
4. Place the jello in the fridge and refrigerate until firm. [I generally allow an hour for each layer to refrigerate before starting the next layer.] 
5. For the second layer add boiling water to gelatin mix and stir until dissolved. 
6. Add cream cheese to mixture and use a whisk to dissolve the cream cheese completely. Once dissolved add the mandarin oranges.
7. Transfer the second layer mixture, using a ladle, to the trifle bowl and refrigerate until firm.
8. For the third layer add boiling water to gelatin mix and stir until dissolved.
9. Add the crushed pineapples to the mixture and stir.  
10. Transfer the final layer to the trifle bowl. Let the jello refrigerate for 2-3 hours or until completely firm.
11. Garnish with Reddi-Whip and blackberries. 

You can double the recipe and will be able to make it in a dessert stand lid of this size:

This recipe is super easy to make and is always a hit at parties! Enjoy!

Pomegranate Winter Salad

Salads are my favorite. You can combine an array of ingredients and it all magically comes out phenomenal. 

A couple years a dear friend of mine made this delicious salad at her dinner party and I can't get enough of it! I have named this delicious creation Pomegranate Winter Salad. 

Ingredients

• Baby Spinach
• Pomegranate
• Green Apples
• Celery
• Roasted Pecans
• Honey Dijon Dressing

Chop all the ingredients, mix in a bowl, drizzle some dressing and enjoy!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Pineapple upside down cake is one of my favorite desserts! When I found a recipe for mini pineapple upside down cake I was thrilled! They are very easy to make! The recipe was taken from Big Mama's Home Kitchen blog. Check it out!

I purchased the jumbo muffin pans from Michael's. I made the jumbo size pineapple cakes. I quadrupled the recipe to yield 24 cakes. For the topping I only doubled the recipe. 

Once the cakes were cool I placed them in Wilton Baking Cups.

These mini pineapple upside down cakes are the perfect size and taste delicious!

Party Time

My favorite kind of party is a dessert party! 

While I was back in the Michigan I had a small get together to catch up with my dear friends. Since I'm a better baker than cook I threw a dessert party!

The menu included:

Individual Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Fresh Fruit Parfait Mold 

Fruit Display

Donut & Fruit Kabob

S'mores

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Popcorn

The party favors included delicious Cake Pops made by Jackie's Cakes and Edible Creations and Gourmet Cotton Candy ordered from Fluffpop. 

Mocha, Carrot, & Strawberry flavor Cake Pops

Guava, Pineapple, Lychee, & Strawberry Gourmet Cotton Candy by Fluffpop

Jackie is my go to person for cake pops and anything edible! She is extremely talented and always blows me away with her talent! Just check out her Facebook page for yourself!

Remember this post back in October I went to the Zeena fall launch party and gushed about Fluffpop? They have the cutest mini mason gourmet cotton candy party favors that I had to get for my party! It was great working with them! My order was quickly shipped and everything was perfect!  

A big thank you to my dear friend Mina for capturing these beautiful photos!

Check back this week for recipes and how to make all these yummy desserts!