Cherries

I am blessed with a friend who has a cherry orchard in Eastern Washington. Most years, including this year, we get a 20 pound box of bing cherries. (She also grows Rainiers, but I find them too sweet or cloying.) Usually we just eat our way through the fresh ones, as they keep very well given they were picked the day before we get them, but I just got the new cherry pitter recommended in Cooks Illustrated and I'd like to try some recipes. Does anyone have any favorite uses for these gems? I will likely pit some and freeze them. And if I find lots of great uses, next year I will buy 40 pounds.

[Jenise]

Lucky YOU! Most of just have to settle for buying them from the Indian across from Video Impact and Mr. Toad's.

Here's one of my seasonal favorites:

http://www.wineloverspage.com/forum/village/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=33148&p=280041&hilit=cherry+confit#p279866

Thank you, Jenise. Your response has me wondering what the tie is between goat cheese and cherries. Today's recipe from Epicurious is Goat Cheese Ice Cream with Roasted Cherries. While the roasted cherries sound interesting, not so sure about the goat cheese ice cream.

It's a cherry paradise here in the "big mitten". We have some wondrous cherries throughout the state. We would sometimes stop at the farmer's markets on the way home from family trips at the bridge (Mackinaw). They were so good you could snack on them right out of the bag in the car.

Haven't specifically stopped for any in years but if you love cherry pies, muffins or just nibbling off the stems, it's pretty much a goldmine.

Jeff

[Jenise]

Thank you, Jenise. Your response has me wondering what the tie is between goat cheese and cherries. Today's recipe from Epicurious is Goat Cheese Ice Cream with Roasted Cherries. While the roasted cherries sound interesting, not so sure about the goat cheese ice cream.

I think the match is the tang, with a contrast coming from the salty and sweet in each ingredient respectively. The ice cream does sound odd, but it must work: I've been seeing a lot of goat cheese ice cream lately. Will Michael eat goat cheese?

Michael will eat many things when not warned against them. He had a pizza at lunch in Bellevue this week and didn't ask about the cheese until on the way home. He said he thought it was feta; I am almost certain it was goat cheese. The mushrooms got him and the cheese didn't send him away.

Cherry sorbet! This recipe ultimately comes from David Lebovitz, a desserts guru:
http://thecosmiccowgirl.wordpress.com/2009/06/10/fresh-cherry-sorbet/

I made this with less-than-perfect cherries. The texture was very good, but the flavor was generic-fruity. With good cherries, this would be a rare and wonderful treat.

[Jenise]

Michael will eat many things when not warned against them.

I had sensed that about him, not that as a hostess I'd ever try to fool him with something he'd stated to me he disliked. That's your job.
Hey guess what, I've got a tomato ripening already. And a rhubarb plant for you.

Jeff, that sorbet sounds great. I will try that soon. Thank you.

Three years ago we put in a North Star varietal cherry (a tangy type) in the back yard. This year we were able to get about two pounds of cherries off of it, while leaving the birds a few as a treat. Wifey and I decided to enjoy the fruit fresh, as is, with a California bubbly rather than incorporating it into another recipe.

Next year we make pies.

[Jenise]

Ron, I'll be quite envious! Making, or even eating, as I'm sure that I've never had one, a cherry pie from fresh cherries is near the top of my foodie bucket list.