Share Our Holiday Table: Pom Pie Delight

More than 17 million children struggle with receiving regular nutritious meals every day.  This doesn't happen in some far off land.  It happens right here in the USA.  During the season of lavish parties, gifts, and merriment, many are struggling with receiving the most basic of needs.  

How you can help: go to the Share Our Holiday Table's donation page and PLEASE make a donation. 

How I'm helping: When my friend, Gaby, asked if I'd like to participate in a progressive blogger dinner to raise awareness of childhood hunger in the US, I jumped at the chance. I love this community I'm involved in and am always thrilled when I have the opportunity to join others in such a wonderful event.

My contribution is dessert, my favorite part of any meal.  I'm not a big fan of overly sweet desserts so it took me a while to Frankenstein this dessert from various other recipes I had in my file and tweak it a bit.  The shortbread crust is just buttery enough to pull it together beautifully; the tangy cream cheese is lightened up with whipped cream; and it's topped with a wonderfully tangy sweet Pomegranate Mousse that just tastes like silk in your mouth.

Crust:
2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup cold butter, cubed [2 sticks]
3/4 cup pistachio nuts [optional]

Place flour & sugar into a food processor and pulse twice. Add chilled butter and pulse several times until the texture is grainy.  If you don't have a food processor, use a pastry blender or 2 forks to get to the grainy texture. Add nuts at this point. Press all the ingredients into a 9x13 pan or less than 1/2 the ingredients into a 8" tart pan. Bake at 350 for 15 - 20 minutes.  Let cool.


Cream Cheese Filling:
1 8oz package of Cream Cheese, room temperature
16 oz of heavy whipping cream, whipped with 3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 - 1/2 cup of sugar, suit to taste
1 tsp vanilla

Blend Cream Cheese with sugar until well combined.  Add vanilla, fold in whipped cream.  Pour on cooled crust and refrigerate until set.

Pomegranate Mousse topping:
8 oz PomWonderful 100% pomegranate juice
1/3 cup sugar
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Zest from 1 lemon
1/2 package of gelatin
8 oz heavy whipping cream, whipped with 1 tablespoon sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine PomWonderful Pom Juice, sugar, juice, and zest in a medium sized saucepan. Reduce until half or until it reaches a syrup consistency [should coat the back of a spoon].  Let Cool. Once the Pom syrup has cooled, fold into whipped cream.  Pour over cream cheese filling and refrigerate until set.

Decorate with Pistachio nuts & pomegranate arils, if available.

For more recipe ideas, please visit the talented and lovely blogs of my foodie friends.


December 14: Dessert
Gourmet

• Little Bo Bakes (read the post)
• Hunter Angler Gardener Cook (read the post)
• TableFare (read the post)
• Cooking On the Side (read the post)

Family Friendly

• Devour The World (read the post)
• Hoosier Homemade (read the post)
• For the Joy of Food (read the post)
• Daydreamer Desserts (read the post)
• The Food Junkie (read the post)

Vegetarian

• Deliciously Organic (read the post)
• Jeanette's Healthy Living (read the post)

Gluten Free

• Tartelette (read the post)
• Cook It Allergy Free (read the post)
• Gluten Free Girl
• The Blog (read the post)

December 13: Sides
Gourmet

• The Urban Baker (read the post)
• Heather Christo (read the post)
• We Like to Cook, and Eat (read the post)
• Plum Pie (read the post)

Family Friendly

• What’s Cooking (read the post)
• Dine and Dish (read the post)
• The Evolving Cook (read the post)
• Katrina Runs for Food

Vegetarian

• My Kitchen Addiction (read the post)
• Taste as You Go
• Flamingo Musings (read the post)

Gluten Free

• The Whole Gang (read the post)
• Jenn Cuisine-- A mostly gluten free cooking blog. (read the post)
• Creative Cooking Gluten Free (read the post)

December 10: Entrees
Gourmet

• What’s Gaby Cooking (read the post)
• Food Blogga (read the post)

Family Friendly

• Life in Recipes (read the post)
• Bluebonnets & Brownies (read the post)
• Foodie Tots (read the post)

Vegetarian

• The Peche (read the post)

Gluten Free

• The Sensitive Pantry (read the post)
• Nourishing Meals (read the post)

December 9: Soup
Gourmet

• edible cville (read the post)
• The Runaway Spoon (read the post)
• A Girl, A Market, A Meal (read the post)

Family Friendly

• Ladles and Jellyspoons (read the post)
• Two Dollar Dinners (read the post)
• All About Alton Brown (read the post)
• Cookie Central's Great American Bake Sale (read the post)

Vegetarian

• Good Life Eats (read the post)
• Feed Our Families (read the post)

Gluten Free

• Celiac Teen (read the post)
• Celiacs in the House (read the post)
• Gluten Free Life with Jen (read the post)
• And Love it Too! (read the post)

December 8: Salads
Gourmet

• The Bitten Word (read the post)
• girlichef (read the post)

Family Friendly

• Food For My Family (read the post)

Vegetarian

• Glugle Gluten-Free (read the post)

Gluten Free

• Add a Pinch (read the post)
• Gluten Free Diva (read the post)

December 7: Drinks
Gourmet

• Food Woolf (read the post)
• The Gringo Chapin (read the post)
• Neo-Homesteading (read the post)
• Three Many Cooks (read the post)

Family Friendly

• Fat Wuz Here (read the post)

Vegetarian

• Lexies Kitchen (read the post)
• Simply Sugar and Gluten Free (read the post)

Gluten Free

• Gluten Free Easily (read the post)

December 6: Appetizers

Gourmet

• The Italian Dish (read the post)
• Recipe Girl (read the post)
• Neo-Homesteading (read the post)

Family Friendly

• Family Fresh Cooking (read the post)
• Giving Up on Perfect (read the post)

Vegetarian

• Two Peas and Their Pod (read the post)
• Smith Bites (read the post)

Gluten Free

• La Fuji Mama (read the post)
• Wenderly (read the post)