Recipe: Greek Yogurt Cheesecake with Pomegranate Syrup {GIVEAWAY}

Diamonds may be forever (as I so subtly mentioned to the The.Boy. yesterday...by which I mean I screamed it loudly on a subway car full of people...but whatever).

But pomegranates are a girl's best friend.

All cute and shiny and vibrantly red...,if I could string them on a necklace and wear them as an edible Christmas accessory...I would. I so would.



But since I'm not quite sure how I exactly I would get the pomegranate juice to stay inside the aril after I poked a piece of thread through it (and since walking around with red liquid dripping down your chest is not exactly in vogue at the moment...or ever)...I have no alternative but to carry around a bowl with me wherever I go and snack on them nonstop.

Classy.

(Unless you're the type of pom eater who sucks the juice out of each aril and spits out the seeds. Then maybe you should keep you dinner party pomegranate consumption to a minimum. Just a thought.)

That is, until I try to pry the seeds from the fruit and end up looking like someone being tried in criminal court. I adore pomegranate juice, but man, does that stuff STAIN. (And yes, I do use the submerge it in water and let the seeds float while the pulp rises trick...but I still end up ruining a shirt. Every time.)

Thankfully (for my wardrobe), POM Wonderful has started selling packages of ready-to-eat pomegranate arils, called POM POMS (no but seriously...how adorable is that), which are absolutely perfect for entertaining (in lieu of a candy bowl!), cooking, or healthy snacking.  I can't seem to stop picking up a package every time I go to the store, and POMWonderful and I would like to give you guys the opportunity to as well!

GIVEAWAY!!! TEN of you have the chance to receive a coupon for these cuties.  All you have to do enter is to leave a comment on this post telling me how you eat your #POMPOMS?  For extra entries, tweet me @joanneeatswell and @pomwonderful, with the hashtag #POMPOMS letting us know what your favorite recipe using pomegranates is and leave a comment here telling me that you did so.  The giveaway will run until next Friday, December 14th!



For example, if I were eligible to enter I would tweet something like...my favorite way to eat #POMPOMS is on top of a no-bake greek yogurt cheesecake that is so creamy lusciously awesome (and yet shockingly not all that bad for you, all things considered) you'll want to eat it for breakfast. Dude, it has greek yogurt and pomegranate seeds in it...which makes it pretty much a superfood. do.it. 

Plus methinks with all of the red and white going on here...it is really the ultimate centerpiece for your Christmas table. Edible ornaments. Can't go wrong there.



Before we go on to the recipe, I just want to tell you a little revelatory experience I had at Whole Foods this past week.  Remember a few weeks ago when I told you about how the NYC Bowery location was partnering with Brooklyn Flea and Smorgasburg to showcase various local food vendors?  (Here's a YouTube video that they produced to better describe what they're doing).

Well, from November 26th through December 23rd, they'll be hosting Milk Truck Grilled Cheese.  I had a chance to hang out with one of the awesomely fabulous Whole Foods PR reps this week and give it a try.  I got the three cheese grilled cheese which was stuffed with aged gruyere, aged NY State cheddar and Wisconsin blue...and caramelized apples. (swoon)  Jessica got the classic, which is filled with aged Wisconsin gruyere. And, to add insult to injury....we split the most delicious parmesan-crusted tater tots I've ever had.

These sandwiches were absolutely forces to be reckoned with and if you're in the NYC area, I HIGHLY recommend that you head on over to the Bowery Whole Foods on a lunch break, for dinner, or on the weekends to get some Milk Truck into your life.  I know I'll be back before their run is up at the end of the month!

--

Also, the winner of my Shutterfly GIVEAWAY is commenter number 12 - Jessica who blogs over at Pickles' Mom! Jessica, send me an email at jhbruno87@gmail.com and I'll get you your PROMO code immediately!!



Greek Yogurt Cheesecake with Pomegranate Syrup
Serves 8-10, adapted from Bon Appetit November 2012

Ingredients
For the crust

• nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 1 1/2 cups fine graham cracker crumbs
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted better, melted and cooled slightly
• 1/4 cup sugar

For the filling

• 2 tsp powdered gelatin (I used vegetarian gelatin!)
• 1 1/2 lb reduced fat cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups 2% Greek yogurt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

For the pomegranate syrup

• 2 cups flash-pasteurized pomegranate juice (like POM!)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp light corn syrup
• pomegranate seeds

Instructions

1. Coat the bottom and the sides of a 9"-springform pan with nonstick spray. Using your fingertips, mix the remaining crust ingredients in a medium bowl until mixture holds together when pinched tightly. Pack onto the bottom of the pan in an even layer . Chill until firm, at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.
2. If using animal gelatin, place the gelatin and 1 1/2 tbsp cold water in a heatproof bowl. Let stand until softened, 5-10 minutes. If using vegetarian gelatin, do not do anything to it until you have mixed everything else for the filling as it sets up much more quickly than animal gelatin.
3. Pulse the cream cheese, yogurt, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt in a food processor, scraping down the sides as needed until completely smooth.
4. If using animal gelatin, microwave the gelatin until it dissolves. If using vegetarian gelatin, mix it with 1 1/2 tbsp cold water. Microwave until it boil. Pour whichever gelatin you are using into the food processor while it is running and mix until well blended. Pour into the prepared crust. Tap pan firmly on the counter to remove any big air bubbles. Smooth the top. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and chill for at least 6 hours. Keep chilled until ready to serve.
5. For the pomegranate syrup, bring the pomegranate juice, sugar and corn syrup to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat.  Simmer, whisking occasionally, until the syrup is thickened, shiny and measures a generous 1/2 cup, 35-40 minutes. Let cool. (Alternatively, you can just use pomegranate molasses.)
6. Serve cheesecake drizzled with pomegrante syrup and pomegranate arils.