Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries

Cherries are back! Which, always makes me think of the song, "Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries," written by DeSylva & Brown in 1931. The lyrics go like this:

"Life is just a bowl of cherries.

Don't be so serious;

Life's too mysterious.

You work, you save, you worry so,

But you can't take your dough when you go, go, go.

So keep repeating it's the berries,

The strongest oak must fall,

The sweet things in life,

To you were just loaned,

So how can you lose what you've never owned?

Life is just a bowl of cherries,

So live and laugh at it all."

Maybe we should all spend more time not taking life so serious, and doing things like this:

In addition, with cherries at their peak, why not make the classic French dessert, "Cherry Clafoutis," named from the lingering regional dialect of Provence, Northern Spain, and Northern Italy, known as "Occitan." It's the same as the natural beauty line of products by "L'Occitane en Provence," meaning "the woman from Occitania." Also note, that a "clafoutis" (kla-foo-tee) is only made with cherries. If other kinds of fruit are used, the dish is properly called a "flaugnarde."

This enhanced recipe from Martha Stewart Living caught my eye, because of the addition of kirsh (cherry brandy) and the seeds of a vanilla bean (as opposed to vanilla extract). The recipe turned out perfectly; although, my family thought it should be a little sweeter. So, maybe next time I'll add another 1/4 cup of sugar. In addition to a dusting of powdered sugar, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or a dollop of creme fraiche or whipped cream, makes a nice addition.

Cherry Clafoutis

Serves 8

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 pounds cherries, stemmed and pitted

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Pinch of salt

1/4 cup granulated sugar

4 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

1 cup milk

1 cup heavy cream

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

3 tablespoons kirsch

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 10" porcelain tart dish (I used a 11" deep dish pie pan), and fill with cherries. Set aside.

Sift flour and salt together into a large bowl. Add sugar. Gradually whisk in whole eggs, egg yolks, milk, and cream. Add vanilla-bean scrapings and kirsch; whisk to combine.

Using a sieve, strain the batter over the cherries.

Bake until puffed and browned, about 45 minutes.

Let cool until warm; it will sink slightly. Dust with confectioners' sugar, and serve!

Grandma's Rhubarb Pie!

Rhubarb is one of the first fresh garden products of the season in cold climates. The stalks of these perennials are most often used in pies, which is why rhubarb is sometimes referred to as "pie plant." Although rhubarb is considered a vegetable, in 1947, a New York court decided that because rhubarb was used as a fruit in the United States, it was to be considered fruit, thus reducing tariffs on imported rhubarb. If you've never cooked with rhubarb before, I have a fabulous old-fashion recipe for you!

I feel it's important to preserve recipes from the past. Those personal recipes of honest home cooking are our history, it's what makes us American, it's what makes us family. This recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Pie is from the wonderful Ruth Zylich of Barton, New York. This slightly sweet and slightly tart pie is a favorite of my husband and all of his family. Sometimes it's nice to take a deep breath and revisit the classics from our past.

Ruth's Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Ingredients:

2 cups cubed rhubarb

1 cup cubed strawberries

2 eggs

2 heaping tablespoons flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

Cinnamon, sugar, and 1 tablespoon butter, to finish the top crust

1 double-crust 9" pie dough (recipe below)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the rhubarb and strawberries in a 9" unbaked pie shell.

Mix the eggs, flour, sugar, and salt together and pour over the top of the rhubarb and strawberries.

Place the second pie crust over the top, trim and crimp the edges to seal. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon and sugar. Cut 4 slits on the top and dot with the butter.

Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven to 350 degrees and continue to cook for 45 minutes, or until the rhubarb is done.

Double-Crust 9" Pie Dough

Recipe from America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting work surface

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup vegetable shortening, chilled

12 tablespoons (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4" pieces

6-8 tablespoons ice water

Directions:

Process the flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined. Add the shortening and process until the mixture has the texture of coarse sand, about 10 seconds. Scatter the butter pieces over the flour mixture; cut the butter into the flour until the mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse crumbs, with butter bits no larger than small peas, about ten 1-second pulses. Turn the mixture into a medium bowl.

Sprinkle 6 tablespoons of the ice water over the mixture. With a rubber spatula, use a folding motion to mix. Press down on the dough with the broad side of the spatula until the dough sticks together, adding up to 2 tablespoons more ice water if the dough will not come together. Divide the dough into 2 balls and flatten each into a 4" disk. Wrap each in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 2 days before rolling.

Thanksgiving in May?

This Memorial Day weekend gives me so much to be thankful for! While it is a time to honor and thank all the military and veterans who dedicate themselves to protect our freedom, my kids will finally be out of school for the summer, and my husband will be celebrating another birthday! So, with all this thankfulness over the weekend, I would like to share this recipe for "Bacon-Wrapped Turkey Breast with Cornbread Stuffing," from our friend Joshua Bousel of The Meatwave via seriouseats.com.

This creative recipe may look complicated with the bacon weave and all, but it actually isn't that difficult. I did skip the process of brining the turkey, because in my experience, brining doesn't seem to make that much of a difference and the bacon weave provides enough protection to prevent the turkey from drying out. In addition, I did read reviews that some people had trouble containing the stuffing, so I used toothpicks to seal the ends and tied the whole thing with kitchen twine at about 2" intervals. And finally, the best part of this recipe (besides the opportunity to weave bacon!), is that it can be assembled ahead to be grilled at your leisure. Grilled corn, green salad, and cranberry chutney are perfect accompaniments. It's a festive entree that will give you yet another reason to be thankful!

Bacon-Wrapped Turkey Breast with Cornbread Stuffing

Serves 8-10 (Note: I halved the recipe to great success, but I am providing the original recipe which is for two turkey breasts.)

Ingredients:
For the Brine (optional)
2 quarts ice cold water
1/3 cup Kosher salt
1/4 cup white sugar

2 boneless, skinless turkey breasts (I used 2 turkey breast cutlets instead, to make 1 turkey roll. If making 2 rolls, plan for 2 cutlets per roll and no need to pound it.)

For the Stuffing
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 pound breakfast sausage
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion (about 1 small onion)
1/3 cup finely chopped celery (about 1 small stalk)
1/3 cup peeled and finely chopped Granny Smith apple (about 1/2 an apple)
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage leaves
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
3 cups crumbled cornbread
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

24 slices bacon (about 1 1/2 pounds)

Directions:
For the Brine (optional)
Combine water, salt, and sugar in a large bowl and whisk to dissolve. Submerge the turkey breast in brine and place in refrigerator for 1 hour.

For the Stuffing
Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. When foaming subsides, add in sausage and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Add in onions, celery, and apple and cook until softened, about 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Place sausage mixture in a large bowl along with cornbread, chicken stock, sage, 1 teaspoon of salt, and black pepper. Mix to thoroughly combine.

For the Bacon Weave
Create a bacon weave by laying 6 strips of bacon out horizontally side by side. (I did this on a big piece of plastic wrap.) Interlace 6 more pieces of bacon vertically with horizontal bacon, as you would make a lattice-top pie. Repeat with the remaining 12 slices of bacon to make a second weave.

The Assembly
Remove the turkey breasts from the brine and pat dry with paper towels. Butterfly turkey breasts open and pound out to a square of even thickness. Lay each breast on one bacon weave. Spread half of the stuffing in an even thickness over each of the breasts, leaving about 1/2 an inch edge with no stuffing. Roll tightly into a cylinder with bacon on the outside. (I found the plastic wrap made this step much easier!) Wrap turkey rolls tightly in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to firm up, about 1 hour to overnight.

For the Grill
Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and arrange the coals on one side of the charcoal grate. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Clean and oil the grilling grate. (At this point, I removed the turkey roll and the plastic wrap, toothpicked the ends closed, and tied the roll with kitchen twine at about 2" intervals.)

Place turkey rolls on cool side of grill, cover, and cook until an instant read thermometer reads 150 degrees when inserted into the thickest part of the turkey.

If bacon has not colored or crisped sufficiently, quickly sear over hot side of grill until desired doneness. Remove from grill and let rest for 15 minutes.

Cut turkey into 3/4" slices and serve immediately.