From Eating to Cooking and Back Again

I was 30 until I started cooking; up until then, I just ate.  A few things conspired over the course of that year to change my opinion and interest in cooking; chef-quality friends, boredom of cold cereal, cheese & crackers, the necessity to feed my child something fresh & nutritious and last-but-not-least the daily inspirational  moments I spent with Giada and Barefoot Contessa watching them peel, chop, bake, simmer and boil their way through a meal.  All these elements culminated to miraculously turn cooking into this magnificent outlet for the fusion of art & chemistry.  (Not that all my dishes are a success - simply ask the raccoons, squirrels and birds on my patio how many of my charred cases of "magnificent outlets" they've feasted upon late in the evening after I've long since tossed said cases out my screen door in annoyance).

Never deterred by these charred episodes, I do still continually experiment by trying out new recipes and by modifying older ones and I still find myself attempting to master some of the classics (a.k.a. Mom's recipes).  Oddly enough, some of the classics intimidate me and I have found that I have put them off for  fear of ruining what, in my minds eye, should have a very specific look, taste and texture.  That being said, I had yet to try good old-fashioned cherry pie.

Well, after having watched our neighbor's dog, Oliver, over the long weekend they returned from their getaway and surprised us with a precious gift of cherries fresh picked from their backyard.  It was now or never - no more excuses for putting off this baking classic.  I spent the next hour pitting the plump little red orbs (I now know exactly how Cherry Tomatoes acquired their name...just look at the photo; if you didn't know they were the fruit couldn't they easily be mistaken (minus the stems) for the vegetable?).

INGREDIENTS

I winged it on the amounts but essentially the ingredients consisted of:

4-6 C. Sour cherries

2-4 T. Flour

1-1/2 C. (Lots of) sugar to make the "sour" part of the cherries palatable

1/4 t. Almond extract 

Pie crust

Here are the TIPS I've learned from making my first cherry pie:
1) You can allow the pitted cherries to sit in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 2-3 days before making the pie.  Just be sure to use them before the start turning brown.
2) Add more sugar than you think you'll need (probably 1-1/2 cups for a 9" pie)
3) Drain the cherries before pouring them into the pie mold as this will help prevent a soggy bottom
4) Let the pie REST FOR A FEW HOURS before you slice it.  Otherwise all the juices rush to fill the space left from the slice you removed and there's hardly any filling left in the other slices.  Oops.

Despite the learned lessons described above, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and I loved the sweet, tart treat.

Bon Apetit!

xo,
Jennifer