Sour Cherry Liqueur

It's officially sour cherry season! I got my first quart at the market today, and I simply can't wait to turn them into this lovely aperitif. Originally posted last July, sour cherry liqueur is back!

Want to do something awesomely cool and really flippin' easy along with me? Make sour cherry liqueur. It's the height of sour cherry season, and markets are bursting with those tart little bubbles of juice. The season's pretty short: I was thinking of hitting up a u-pick next week to get some sour cherries out in the countryside for cheap, but they said they'll be gone by Sunday. So grab some now, like, now now, and put them to use in a way that'll keep well into the fall.

My dear friend Dellie had D and me over for an early Thanksgiving dinner last November, and her mother served this liqueur as an aperitif. I was totally blown away: it was sweet, very sweet, but also tart and zingy. It tasted strongly and distinctly of sour cherries, and sipping it sent waves of summer nostalgia down my spine. I sauntered into the kitchen where I found the always-graceful Mrs. S pulling a whole turkey out of the oven to rest. What better time to bother someone for a recipe? She said to come knocking again when it was sour cherry season, and she'd give me the rundown. Unlike most other things, I didn't forget this promise, and last week, I emailed Mrs. S begging her recipe. She graciously obliged, and her instructions were so thorough that I can easily share them with you. Granted, you won't be tasting the fruits of your labor until the fall -- but if you feel like preserving some of summer's bounty in this unusual way, I can promise that your patience will be well-rewarded.

Update! I've stirred (and tasted) the sour cherry liqueur twice now, and it is freakin' amazing!

Sour Cherry Liqueur adapted from Mrs. S's recipe

For this recipe, you will need a crock of some sort: Mrs. S's crocks are salt-glazed antique crocks made in central Va. over 100 years ago, for preserving & storing foods. I'm not that fancy; I just used a relatively large ceramic pitcher. You can use anything that is dark glass or ceramic of some similar sort.

The quantities used really depend on the size of your crock, so the instructions below are in proportions instead of absolute amounts.

Cherries: clean & pit the cherries, except that for every cup of cherries, leave about 1/8 of the cup unpitted (adds character & depth to the liqueur) Sugar: use about 3/4 cup sugar for every cup of cherries (cherries should be tightly packed). I used organic cane sugar, but white sugar is just fine. In fact, I can't promise that my cane sugar will work -- I just assumed. Here's hoping!

Fill the crock 1/2 - 2/3 full of cherries & sugar (in proportions above), and stir. Then fill to the brim with white rum, and stir. Cover tightly with plastic wrap (using a rubber band to secure it) and foil (to shut out light), and store in a dark, cool place. Stir with a wooden or plastic non-reactive spoon about once a week. The sugar may take about a month or so to fully dissolve. Taste from time to time: cherries that are very sour may require additional sugar once the first batch has dissolved completely.

It should be ready mid-September. The cherries will have lost much of their color, and the sugar will have all dissolved. The flavor should be pretty rich. You can pour into decorative (dark glass) bottles and cork, but leave a few pitted cherries in each bottle. The "extra" cherries are great on pound cake, over ice cream, or however you would use canned cherries.

You could add cinnamon sticks, if you like, but Mrs. S likes the purity and simplicity of cherries.

So pack your crocks and get ready to wait -- let's do this thing!

Tamarind Ginger Fizz

My beverages of choice? Water and wine. Every once in a while I can get into a good beer, and I'll drink pretty much any cocktail mixed by the geniuses behind the bar at Restaurant Eve. But when I grab something to drink, it's almost always either a tall glass of ice-cold water, or a spot of vino.

If I'm going to indulge in other liquid calories, I want something interesting, something that makes me go "hmm." I want something refreshing and zippy. I definitely want some lime. And I want there to be something delicious around the rim.

Enter Tamarind Ginger Fizz, the most quaffable drink of spring (and summer...) and only the second drink to take up real estate on NDP. (Remember the first one? Boy was that fun.) It checks all the boxes on my drink checklist: intrigue (the tamarind), refreshing and zippy (lime, seltzer, and mint), and something delicious around the rim (an addictive blend of chili, sugar, and salt). Also, it's beautiful. Isn't it?

I can imagine serving this on a warm afternoon on my deck. If I had a deck, that is. Still, I can imagine drinking this at my kitchen table, peering out the window, after a long hard day of making this drink and taking its beauty shots. It's the sort of drink that feels luxurious all by itself -- deck optional.

Surprise! This is yet another fabulous recipe from Food52, my new go-to source for fun things to make. And guess what? The Food52 editors have selected my rhubarb shortbread recipe as a finalist in last week's "your best rhubarb" contest! I'm on a roll, y'all - give this lady another win! If you've got an account, go vote for me now. If you don't, make an account. It's quick and easy, and it'll be the best thing you do for your cooking life this year, guaranteed.

Tamarind Ginger Fizz adapted from wanderdash on Food52

note: I had sweetened tamarind pulp (homemade), which is about 2/3 tamarind and 1/3 sugar, so I changed the proportions here to about 1 cup tamarind pulp and 1 cup sugar. I still found it very much on the sweet side. If you're using unsweetened tamarind pulp, I recommend starting with 1 cup sugar, which you'll use to make the ginger syrup, and then adding more to the final drink if it isn't sweet enough.

3/4 cups ginger, peeled and roughly chopped 1 1/2 cups sugar 1 cup water 3/4 cups tamarind pulp 1/4 cup lime juice, freshly squeezed 1 cup mint, stems removed 6 sprigs mint, for garnish 1.5 liters seltzer water 1 wedge lime

For the rim sugar: 2 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon kosher salt 2 tablespoons chili powder

In a small saucepan, combine ginger, 1 cup sugar, and water. Bring to a boil over high heat, and cook about 5 minutes, until ginger has softened and syrup has thickened. Transfer to a heat-safe container, and refrigerate until ready to make the drink.

Meanwhile, make the rim sugar: combine chili, salt, and sugar with a fork until uniformly distributed.

When ginger syrup has cooled, combine half of it in a pitcher with tamarind and mint leaves. Muddle the mint in the pitcher to break up the leaves slightly.

Slide a lime around the rim of each glass, then dunk glasses one by one into the rim sugar, moving them back and forth to evenly coat them. Squeeze the lime into the pitcher and toss the wedge in.

Add the seltzer to the pitcher and mix well. Then pour the drink into glasses, holding the solids back with a spoon. Garnish each glass with a sprig of mint and serve.