Dixie's Pantry - Good Food Source : The online resource for food lovers.

Dixie's Pantry

Dixie, mother of Good Food Source mastermind Lenny, inspired us to create a resource for great mail order foods. Though she is the chicken fried steak maven, this busy nurse practitioner from rural Oklahoma has driven long distances to find more exotic ingredients for her culinary exploits. Now, thanks to the Internet, Dixie has discovered a world of fine food products just a few clicks away; Good Food Source finds the best sites from achiote to za'atar.

Pomegranate Molasses

Pomegranate may be the new, hot “superfood”, but Middle Eastern cooks discovered its health and culinary powers centuries ago. Fresh pomegranates have no equal in the “Beautiful Fun to Eat Fruit” category, but since pomegranate season is short, we always have a bottle of pomegranate molasses in our pantry. A Middle Eastern kitchen staple, pomegranate molasses is a thick sour-sweet pomegranate juice concentrate, and it’s one of our favorite “secret” ingredients in everything from lamb marinades to fresh berry compotes. Pomegranate molasses pairs equally well with meats, poultry and fish cooked with typical Middle Eastern spices like coriander, cinnamon and cumin. It balances rich foods and somehow manages to enhance sweetness and acid in the same dishes. One of the best uses for pomegranate molasses is in vinaigrettes, either for crisp salads or roasted vegetables. We always add a little something sweet to balance the vinegar’s tartness, and pomegranate molasses adds an extra richness to vinaigrette that neither honey nor sugar can match. Since it keeps nearly indefinitely in the refrigerator, get yourself a bottle and experiment with your own favorite recipes.

Pomegranate molasses is available at:

http://www.igourmet.com/
http://www.kalustyans.com/
http://markethallfoods.com/
http://www.zingermans.com/

Arugula, Pear, & Goat Cheese Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette

Sweet, salty, tart, crunchy and spicy, this salad has perfect flavor and texture balance. We also like to make it with sweet/tart apples like Pink Lady if we don’t plan ahead to ripen our pears.

Serves six as a side dish

Vinaigrette:
One large shallot, halved and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
2 tablespoons cider or sherry vinegar
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

In a small bowl combine the shallot, pomegranate molasses, vinegar, salt and pepper and whisk until the salt is dissolved. Whisk in the olive oil and let vinaigrette stand at room temperature until salad is assembled.

Salad:
4 lightly-packed cups arugula
4 cups romaine, torn into bit-sized pieces
2 ripe pears, cored and cut into 1” chunks
1/3 cup pomegranate seeds
3 ounces fresh goat cheese or feta
¼ cup toasted pistachios, coarsely chopped

Combine the arugula, romaine, pears and half of the pomegranate seeds in a large bowl. Crumble half of the goat cheese over the ingredients in the bowl (this works best if the cheese is very cold). Whisk the vinaigrette until uniform and add all but 2 tablespoons of it to the bowl. Gently toss the salad with your hands or salad tongs, coating the ingredients well with the vinaigrette. If the salad seems dry, add the vinaigrette in small increments until it is dressed to your liking. Crumble the remaining cheese over the salad and sprinkle the remaining pomegranate seeds and pistachios over the top. Serve immediately.

FEATURES	RESOURCES	SHARING	OUR SITE
dixie's pantry what's fresh	organics and sustainability recipes culinary culture cookbooks	tell a friend newsletters rss feeds contact us	home about us how we rate