Pickled Cherries

Enjoy the deep rich flavor of cherries with a little "zing".  The hardest part of this recipe is pitting and stemming the cherries - be prepared for stained fingernails!   I used a few drops of hot sauce instead of red pepper flakes and I substituted cardamon pods for coriander seeds.  I also added a pinch of salt.  This recipe is from Bon Appetit, June 2011

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 pound fresh cherries, stemmed and pitted
• 1 large rosemary sprig

Preparation

• Bring first 5 ingredients and 3/4 cup water to a boil in a medium stainless-steel saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar.
• Reduce heat to medium; simmer 5 minutes.
• Using a fine-mesh sieve, strain into a medium bowl; return liquid to pan.
• Add cherries and rosemary to saucepan.
• Simmer until cherries are tender, 3-5 minutes.
• Transfer cherries and rosemary to a 1-qt. mason jar.
• Pour in enough pickling liquid to cover cherries.
• Cover and chill.
•  Can be made 1 month ahead. Keep refrigerated. Strain before serving.

Tomato and Sweet Corn Pie

Awesome use of fresh tomatoes, onions, corn, and basil from the farmers market! This recipe is adapted from The Best Remedy (previously Eat Make Read).

Serves 6

1 9-inch pie shell (I definitely recommend homemade - try this recipe with white flour or this one with spelt or whole wheat flour)

2 yellow onions, sliced and caramelized (recipe here)

3 cups tomatoes - either 1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved, or 3-4 regular tomatoes, cut in half horizontally, squeezed to remove excess juice, and roughly chopped

2 ears of corn, kernels removed, about 2 cups1/4 cup basil (about 8 leaves), sliced

1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated (or a combo of cheeses - gruyere, monterrey jack, or mozarella would all be good)

1/2 cup mayonnaise (if you're not a mayonnaise person, you could try greek yogurt mixed with a small amount of white vinegar)

1 teaspoon (or more to taste) of Sriracha

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Place pie shell in oven and cook for 8-10 minutes or longer until lightly golden. If you are starting with a frozen crust, you’ll need to cook it a little longer. If you are using a homemade crust, freeze the crust first, then line the crust with aluminum foil and pre-bake it for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes.

3. Sprinkle the bottom of the pre-cooked pie shell with caramelized onions. Spread the chopped tomatoes and corn over the onions. Sprinkle the sliced basil over the tomatoes and corn.

4. In a medium bowl, mix together the grated cheese, mayonnaise, Sriracha, a sprinkling of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Spread the cheese mixture over the tomatoes.

5. Place in oven and bake until browned and bubbly, about 35 minutes.