Pomegranate Kir

"Last year for a gala family party we started off with a variation on the Kir Royale featuring pomegranate juice instead of creme de cassis," says Lou Seibert Pappas, the Palo Alto, Cal.-based author of The Christmas Cookie Book and The Christmas Candy Book (Chronicle Books). "It makes a pretty drink that is lively," she says. "We savored these with a warm crab dip, smoked salmon canapes and vegetable crudite with yogurt herb dip, then we relished a fondue dinner in the dining room."