Instead of waking up to strong winds, rain, and general chaos outside, this morning I woke up to bright sunshine, blue sky, Mt. Fuji and crisp air. It was a perfect day after yesterday’s typhoon. It is incredible to experience dark, gloomy skies for days and days that eventually lead to one day that fits into the ‘perfection’ category. And on a Friday, nonetheless!
In the spirit of all things new, crisp and clean, I created this cocktail and named it after the recent typhoon in Japan: Melor. Without Melor, we would probably still be experiencing rain and clouds. On the other hand, far fewer people would have been effected by the strong storm. I think I’ll go with optimism today and give Melor credit for the beautiful weather we experienced today.
I read somewhere that Melor is actually a word for Jasmine flower. This cocktail does not have any relation to that…just to clear up any confusion…
The story behind this cocktail goes a little deeper than the typhoon. I was in the grocery store last night, and to my joy and surprise, I found pomegranates! I searched high and low for pomegranates at this time last year and had no luck. This new store that I have started going to, however, has surprised me not only in their selection of hard to find food, but in the extreme affordability (relative to other stores in Tokyo, anyway…) So, I bought my pomegranate for 230 yen and merrily headed home.
When I started brainstorming how to show off the beautiful seeds inside this amazing fruit, I knew I wanted to use the juice in some capacity. The only question was, “How do I juice this thingy?” Well, using a food processor was out of the question because I don’t have one (it’s broken). So, I decided to try a little experiment. I put the seeds in a fine strainer and used a stainless steel ladle to press the seeds down enough to burst the juice. The juice went from the strainer into a bowl, leaving the harder insides behind and resulting in a beautiful pink juice. Success!
The seeds were used to garnish the cocktail. I wanted them to float, but found that as they sank to the bottom of the martini glass that they made a beautiful presentation. The color of the cocktail transformed from a light pink at the top to a deeper pink at the bottom. This martini would be the perfect addition to the holidays (yes, I said it…HOLIDAYS) and could be made in bulk. Just serve it in a punch bowl with ice and garnish with mint leaves (to make it a little more festive.)
Today you are also getting a preview of a post that is still to come: Fried Pork Wontons with Lemon-Cream Cheese Dip. Delicious! Check back in a couple of days for that post and recipe! Until then, happy Friday to you all! Enjoy a little cocktail and some time with great friends!
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Melor Martini
Makes 2 cocktails
1 pomegranate, seeded and juiced (leave a few seeds for garnish)
4 oz. Blue Sapphire Gin
2 oz. apple juice or cider
Combine the pomegranate and apple juices along with the gin in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake shake shake…shake shake shake….shake your booty….
Pour into two martini glasses and garnish with the leftover pomegranate seeds. Enjoy!
