The Bidwell Market has been well stocked with cherries for the past few weeks. They've looked absolutely gorgeous, but I procrastinated buying them for two reasons: one, I had no idea how to pit those little stinkers, and two, even once I had pitted them, I didn't have a clue what I'd make with them. Cherry pie was an obvious choice, but seemed so cliche.
On a recent Friday afternoon, I strolled through the front door of a suburban retail cooking store where lo and behold, there was a cherry pie kit for sale. Pie plate, recipe, and cherry pitter all included! Heaven knows I don't need another pie plate, but I couldn't resist the cherry pitter. The next weekend at the Bidwell Market, I picked up a pint of sour cherries (mainly because I like a culinary challenge) and took them home to play with my new pitter.
Cooking with really good, fresh ingredients makes life so easy. You really don't need to do much more than wash your seasonal produce to make it taste good.
I wanted a dessert recipe that wouldn't make me sweat in the kitchen, but definitely made it clear that the cherries were the star. Here's my take on a super simple cherry sauce. Last night, I served it on grilled nectarine halves with fresh whipped cream. Tonight, it will be dressing a piece of pound cake.
Superstar Cherry Coulis
1 pint of sour cherries, stemmed and pitted ˑ juice of 1/2 lemon ˑ 2/3 cups sugar ˑ 2 tsp cognac ˑ 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract ˑ 1/4 tsp almond extract
Combine cherries, lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan. Stir over medium heat until cherries are soft, about 15 minutes. Transfer mixture to a blender. Add cognac, vanilla & almond extract. Puree until smooth. Chill for at least 1 hour.
Editor's Note:
If you don't own a pitter and haven't made up your mind about whether or not you'd like to add another gadget to your collection, here's a simple tip for pitting cherries with a ubiquitous household object, the paper clip.
Open a paper clip into the easily achieved "S" shape. Push the top of half of it into the cherry. Hook the pit, and pull it out. Sometimes a minor scooping motion works as well. This may take some practice and is not as fast as a real pitter, but will do the trick nonetheless.
It is also good method if you wish to present your cherries in their whole form, as, unlike a pitter, it leaves a hole on only one side.
Don't forget to print out BR's guide to WNY Farmer's Markets and seasonal produce. It makes it easy to, at a glance, see what's in season and plan ahead for what you'd like to make with your purchases.