And a happy Monday to all of you. What an interesting, thought provoking weekend. Things will not ever be the same again here in NY now, will they? The sorting out begins, and the hard work follows. Annalena gloats, as 30 years ago, she tried to write an article on the subject of same sex marriage for her law review, and was turned down, with a laugh, since it was a silly topic.
Tempus mutantur, as they said many years ago.
Ok, social commentary done. We are in the throes of NY cherry season, one which Annalena pushes by splurging and buying cherries from Frog Hollow farm, during California's VERY short cherry season. It is a hard one for many people to believe, but California is way behind other states in terms of cherry production: Washington, Michigan, and New York all produce more. NY is in, so is Washington, and Michigan will follow. So if you have a cherry jones (I'm not talking about actresses here, gang), you can have it satisfied for a while. Do Annalena a favor though: DON'T buy the ghastly ones that are available during the winter. They are just balls of sugar, with no taste. If you cannot wait, find a good source of frozen, or jarred, or freeze them yourself.
I have a very mixed relationship with cherries. I love them. I love them RAW as fruit to eat out of hand. And I love SOUR cherries both raw and cooked. I have almost never (in fact, I would say, never), eaten a dessert in a restaurant, involving cooked, sweet cherries, where I have not been disappointed. Something goes wrong: the cherries don't have any flavor, and well.. Annalena says "never again." Sour cherry pie? ABSOLUTELY. In fact, anything with sour cherries, but sweet cherries? Raw and in the hand, please.
Incidentally, here's a little food nerd info for you: did you know that a sweet cherry tree can pollinate itself, but if you want sour cherries, you must have at least two trees, and the pollen must pass from one to the other? I wish I could tell you why, but this is the way it is. More food geek info: cherries, as with all stone fruits, are members of the almond family. This will be relevant later on.
So, on with our story. You all know that Annalena loves making her ice creams. Cherry ice cream, however, has always been a disappointment: big balls of frozen red fruit that tasted like NOTHING. Well, this weekend, this issue may be behind us.
I was reading a recipe for a cherry clafouti in one of the Chez Panisse cookbooks. It explained how, traditionally, the clafoutis (don't ask me about the name origin. I dunno) were made with sour cherries, with the pits left in, so as to give the custard a slight almond flavor. This recipe suggested that one use sweet cherries, pit them, and add a little almond extract.
It also suggested roasting the cherries.
Hmmmm. Roasting fruit seems to be in the air in many restaurants this year, as Annalena has sampled roasted strawberries and blueberries, both of which she has found extremely pleasing. And if you're going to roast sweet cherries, why not roast sours as well?
I did this for a clafouti that we served on Friday night, and it was a success. I finished the clafouti for breakfast on Saturday (not having any on Friday), and the wheels began to turn.... ICE CREAM. Could it be...
It was, and it is. Here we go. First, you need a very generous pound of sweet and sour cherries. Go for an even mix, but if you only have one, ok, work with that.
When you buy the cherries, make sure that the stems are still attached. That is a sign they are still fresh. The stem will separate as the cherry loses moisture and freshness (sort of like us, if you think about it). Now, you have to pit them. I have very few gadgets in my home that serve only one purpose, but I do have a cherry pitter. It looks like something a nun would use to punish a student with, but it does the job. I also use it for pitting small olives, so I guess I have found a double purpose. If you have no such object, you can pit cherries the same way you pit olives: press a broad knife on each one, and separate the pit from the fruit.
Wear something you can stain when you do this, otherwise, people will wonder who's been hacked up in the kitchen when they see you.
SAve those pits. We'll come back to that. Now, take that pound of cherry meat, and stir a third of a cup of sugar into it, and put the fruit on a baking sheet. Fifteen minutes at 350 is what you need. You'll get tons of liquid too. Save it and the cherries, and let them cool.
Let's go to those pits. Remember I said cherries were in the almond family? If you want to add a little extra flavor to your ice cream, put those pits in a sturdy bag, get a rolling pin or something else you can use to beat the hell out of something, and crush the pits. It won't take long, and believe me, you will find this surprisingly satisfying to do. Now, take all that detritus, and put it in a pot with a cup of cream. Bring it to the simmer, take it off the heat, and let it sit for at least an hour.
When you take the cover off of the cream to separate it from the pits, you will get a very strong whiff of the almond flavor that has gone into the cream. These pits are what the French call noyaux, and which the Syrians call mah'lab. The French use them for various purposes, including pie weights, the Syrians use them as a spice ingredient. You should use them too. (Apricot pits will do the same thing and they are easier to work with, but we don't have any yet). Ok, sieve the cream and toss the pits (or, save them for pie weights), and now add another cup of cream, 1/2 cup of sugar, and four egg yolks. Make a simple custard, and then add a cup of whole milk and then the juice from the roasted cherries. Let the custard cool, and when you're ready put it in the ice cream maker.
Keep an eye on it, and when it looks about 3/4 of the way done put in your cherries. You just want them to turn, and not get too frozen.
You'll get a big yield here: about a quart and a half, and I promise you, this may be the best cherry ice cream you've ever had.
Incidentally, there are other flavorings you could use in that custard: vanilla bean is traditional, and lemon is fairly common. For the vanilla, split half a vanilla bean and leave it to sit in the custard like you did the almond pits. For lemon, a few slices of lemon peel.
There you go. There are variations, upon variations within this recipe. Go forth. Be cheery. Eat cherries. And make ice cream.
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