Sparkling Sour Cherry Aperitivo Recipes

SPARKLING SOUR CHERRY APERITIVO

Steps:

• Purée one 24-oucne jar sour cherries in light syrup (with syrup) in a blender until smooth. Strain into a medium bowl, pressing to extract as much liquid as possible. Bring cherry mixture and 1 cup sugar to a boil in a large saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar; reduce heat and simmer, occasionally skimming any foam from surface, until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, 20-30 minutes. Let cool. Mix in 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice. Cover; chill until cold, about 2 hours.
• DO AHEAD: Syrup can be made 1 month ahead. Keep chilled.
• Divide 3 tablespoons chilled sour cherry syrup among 6 glasses. Top off syrup with one 750-milliliter bottle of chilled sparkling wine, dividing evenly, and stir to combine. Garnish drinks with lemon verbena or mint sprigs, if desired.

SPARKLING CHERRY JUICE

Steps:

• Place the cherries in a saucepan off the stove, pour the sugar over the top and let them sit for 2 hours. Add the water, and stir to mix the cherries, sugar and water together until the sugar dissolves.
• Bring the cherry mixture to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Strain liquid into another pan, pressing cherries with a spoon to extract all the liquid, and discard the cherries. Simmer the liquid over low heat until it is syrupy and coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and let cool. Pour syrup in a jar and store in the refrigerator.
• To serve, place 1 to 2 tablespoons of syrup in each glass, fill glasses with chilled sparkling water and stir to mix.

PERFECT SOUR CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Press the bottom pie crusts into 2 pie pans.
• Combine cherries, 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, and cornstarch in a saucepan. Let sit until sugar begins to draw out the cherries' juices, about 10 minutes. Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Lower the heat; simmer until the juices thicken and become translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in butter and almond extract until well mixed. Pour into the bottom half of the pie shells. Cover with top crusts, crimp the edges to seal, and cut vents into the top with a sharp knife.
• Bake in the preheated oven until crust is golden brown, 45 to 55 minutes.

SOUR CHERRY PRESERVES

Steps:

• Place a round wire rack in the bottom of a large stockpot. The rack should fit as snugly as possible and should stand 1/2 to 1 inch above the bottom of the pot. Stand the three jars on the rack, and add the lids; it is not necessary to add the screw bands. Fill the pot with enough water to cover the jars by 1 to 2 inches; an additional 1 to 2 inches of space should remain below the rim of the pot so the water doesn't overflow. Bring the water to a simmer (180 degrees), and simmer the lids and jars 10 minutes or until you're ready to fill them. Place 4 small plates in the freezer.
• In a medium stockpot, combine sour cherries, 1/4 cup sugar, and lemon juice; place over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until sugar has dissolved, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in one-third of remaining sugar, and cook, stirring, until it has dissolved, 1 to 2 minutes. Add sugar in two more batches, stirring each batch until sugar has dissolved.
• Bring the mixture to a full boil, and cook, stirring frequently, 10 minutes. Place a candy thermometer in the mixture, and cook, stirring frequently, until the temperature registers 220 degrees. 30 to 40 minutes. While cooking, skim any foam that floats to the surface.
• With the temperature at 220 degrees. perform a gel test: Remove one of the plates from the freezer, and place a spoonful of the jam on it. Return the plate to the freezer, and wait 1 minute. Remove plate from freezer, and gently nudge the edge of the jam with one finger. If the jam is ready, it will wrinkle slightly when pushed. If it is not ready, it will be too thin to wrinkle. If the jam does not wrinkle on the first attempt, cook two or three minutes more, and repeat the gel test.
• Once the jam has gelled properly, remove stockpot from heat. Using canning tongs, remove a jar from the simmering water, and empty the water back into the stockpot. Place the jar on a clean surface, and insert a canning funnel. Using a ladle, pour the jam through the funnel into the jar; fill to within 1/4 inch of the rim. Remove the funnel; wipe rim with a clean damp towel. Using tongs, lift a lid from the hot water; place lid, sealant side down, on the filled jar. Screw down the band, and tighten firmly, being careful not to force it. With the tongs, stand the filled jar in simmering water. Repeat with the remaining jam and jars, making sure the jars aren't touching sides of pot and are spaced 1 inch apart.
• Raise the heat to high, cover stockpot, and bring the water to a boil. Process jars in the boiling water for 10 minutes. Using the canning tongs, transfer the jars to a wire rack to cool completely. Let jars stand 24 hours. Check cooled jars for slight indentation in the lid that indicates a vacuum seal. Store jam in a cool, dark place up to 1 year.
• Use only two cups sugar, and add one cup of juice from the thawed cherries in step two.

SOUR CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Press one of the pie crusts into a 9 inch pie plate. Stir together the cherries, tapioca, sugar, and almond extract in a bowl. Let the mixture stand for 3 to 5 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the other pie crust into 1/2 inch strips to make a lattice top. Pour the cherry mixture into the pie shell. Lay the strips across the pie in a lattice pattern, and pinch the edges to seal.
• Bake in the preheated oven 40 to 50 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Allow to cool before serving.