Merry Christmas!

Original title, huh?

Well, it has been a lovely holiday here in clear and sunny, but cold, Northern California. Santa visited in full effect and I have some wonderful new toys to play with while I enjoy the rest of my vacation time.

It was also a day of good food and drink, and I have a new favorite drink to make at home. Pomegranate martinis are very in vogue right now so perhaps they're almost a cliché, but they're red and Christmas-y so who cares? While I've had them while out, though, I've never made them myself. I got some nifty new martini glasses and a shaker as a gift -- I'd needed one at Thanksgiving and didn't have one, so my wish was granted by Santa Mom -- so I whipped up a few batches.

If you do a Google search for pomegranate martinis, the first result you get is courtesy of the Oprah juggernaut, with a side helping of Rachel Ray mania. But you know what? The damn recipe is so good that I don't care. I rimmed the glasses with red sugar for that extra touch (and substituted orange Curaçao for the Cointreau, as I found I didn't have the latter) and they were a big hit. I probably had a few more of them than might be deemed seemly, but hey, I wasn't going anywhere!

Now that I've got the shaker and glasses, I may be a martini-making machine. I don't like gin, so I'll only do the vodka-based kind, but if anyone has any suggestions of some to try for New Year's, perhaps, please do share.