Excerpted from Pamela Wakefield and DeeDee Stovel’s Let’s Get Together.

Any occasion will be a spectacular celebration when you serve this exquisite rosy cocktail. The tang of the pomegranate is perfect with the light, fresh Prosecco, which is a dry sparkling wine made from grapes grown in the Veneto region of Italy. Pomegranates are being touted as the cure for just about anything and everything. The seeds are a lovely glossy red, and some specialty markets now carry fresh pomegranate seeds. Look for pomegranate juice in the juice aisle or fresh juice section of your supermarket.

Pomegranate Cocktail

Ingredients

• 1 (16-ounce) bottle chilled pomegranate juice
• 2 (750-ml) bottles chilled Prosecco
• 1⁄4 cup pomegranate seeds

Instructions

1. Combine the juice and Prosecco in a large pitcher. Carefully stir in a tablespoon of the pomegranate seeds.
2. To serve, pour into champagne flutes and spoon a few seeds on top.

NOTE: Removing the seeds from pomegranates takes a little care, as pomegranate juice stains. A plastic cutting board is a good choice for the de-seeding. Work close to the sink, with a large bowl of cool water ready to catch the seeds. Using a sharp knife, cut partway through the fruit. Using your thumbs, pull the fruit open, holding it under the water in the bowl to minimize the splatter. Pry the seeds away from the membrane. Discard the skin and membrane and drain the seeds. Pomegranate seeds can be refrigerated in a plastic container for several days or frozen.