Pomegranate Orange Cocktail with Candied Pecans

October 17, 2020

We are always looking for small ways to bring moments of joy into our everyday life. We are especially overjoyed when we can take something that is infused into our daily routines and elevate it to something worthy of cherishing. Without fail the first place we turn is food. We find that food can be the most satisfying way to care for yourself and to bring a touch of magic to something that we get to do anyways. It can be intentional things such as baking cookies for no reason or taking the time to simmer a pot of soup all day on the stove but it can also be wistfully simple such as plating your roasted chicken beautifully, lighting the special occasion candles, or putting on a lovely playlist for cooking tacos on Tuesday. Over the years in our pursuit of joyful living and eating we have discovered that one of our favorite ways to bring some spark and some fun to the day is through small diversions into luxury.

For us, small luxuries should be simple and intentional. Beautiful dishes, vintage flatware, a raspberry at the top of the sundae, a macaron from our favorite patisserie. Each one of these say that our lives are worth the effort and we are worth of the joy that comes with it. In our quest of intentional luxury, this afternoon we languished in the incredible crisp fall sun and put together the simplest but most magnificent fall flavored cocktail. This cocktail is as simple as it is rewarding and instantly elevates an ordinary afternoon into one of laughter and relaxation. To top it off we made the most satisfying batch of candied pecans to enjoy with our cocktail. The entirety of our efforts took less than 20 minutes and the results were remarkable.

Pomegranate-Orange Cocktail

1 oz. Orange Juice (fresh squeezed if you can manage it)

1 oz. Pomegranate juice

1 oz. Vodka

Squeeze of lemon juice

Choice of garnish (pomegranate seeds, orange peel)

1. Mix chilled orange juice, pomegranate juice, and vodka together. Add splash of lemon juice to taste. Pour over ice. Garnish with pomegranate seeds and orange peel. It’s worth it.

Candied Pecans

½ cup Salted Butter

1 ½ cups Brown Sugar

1 tsp Cinnamon

Salt to taste

24 oz. Raw, Unsalted, Pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper. 

2. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar and stir into butter until dissolved approximately 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add cinnamon to the butter and sugar mixture. Add pecans and mix until coated. 

3. Pour entire mixture onto the sheet pan and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of salt. Bake until crisp around 5-7 minutes. Use your nose and be careful not to allow them to over caramelize or burn. 

4. Let cool until warm and taste for salt level. Add more if needed. 

5. Cool completely and serve.