Sunday, June 03, 2007

Clafoutis De Cerises

If you've read Ken's blog, you know that we recently harvested a bunch of cherries from a tree just outside our yard in the vineyard. We don't know who it belongs to, but we've never seen anyone pick from it. There are lots of little land parcels around that are owned by people who don't live on them. Some tend their lots, others never do. And I'd say that nearly half the people who live out here have fruit trees in their yards - we have apples, pears, and plums.

All that is to say that we didn't feel bad going out and harvesting some cherries before they went bad. And we only took a couple baskets full. The tree is still loaded and the birds will get most of the fruit.

My clafoutis de cerises, fresh from the oven.

So, Ken made some cherry preserves and I made a tarte aux cerises and a classic French clafoutis. The latter is simply cherries baked in a custard, which is made from eggs, milk, cream, sugar and a bit of flour. It's a real easy dish to make, the hardest part being pitting the cherries. Of course, in the classic recipe, the pits are left in. They say it makes the cherries taste better, but I think it's just a way to avoid having to pit them. Besides, biting into pits and spitting them out at the table is no fun.
at

10 comments:

  1. All Blog Spots03 June, 2007 08:21

    nice blog

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous03 June, 2007 10:01

    Nice clafoutis ;)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Papadesdeux03 June, 2007 19:17

    Wouaai... I too tired from thinking about business politics at Ken's end. Much rather look, uh, eat that cherry clafoutis,

    ReplyDelete
  4. mpabner03 June, 2007 22:02

    This is one thing we do NOT have in common. I have never been a fan of cherries. When I was little, I like Shirley Temples. Now, cherries just do nothing for me. The dish looks beautiful, however.

    ReplyDelete
  5. wcs04 June, 2007 06:55

    Thanks, everybody. Cherries are a fleeting thing, only here briefly during the spring. It was the same in California, but like many things, I think they're better here. Maybe it's because we picked them from the tree ourselves and used them right away. Although I do remember those times when we'd hit a good batch of Calif. cherries; they were very good. But the local Bay Area orchards are fewer and fewer these days. :(

    ReplyDelete
  6. susan04 June, 2007 23:56

    Good thing you got those cherries before the storm hit. This winter and spring in Northern California must have been just what the cherry trees like, because we're having a bumper crop and they're delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous05 June, 2007 00:02

    Yes, the cherries this year are awesome. Did you soak them in brandy for the clafoutis? I remember making a prune one, and you soaked them in brandy first (but that might be because the prunes are dried).

    ReplyDelete
  8. wcs05 June, 2007 08:38

    susan, ginny, glad you're having a good year in California. I didn't soak the cherries in brandy first, but I'm making a second clafoutis today and I added a splash of kirsch to the batter... mmmmmm !

    ReplyDelete
  9. Harriett05 June, 2007 16:16

    The Clafoutis heard round the world.... sort of.

    Thank you so much for this picture. It inspired Tom to make a Clafoutis de pomme for my birthday.

    Please continue with the "inspiratinal" photographs.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Cheryl05 June, 2007 17:29

    Happy Birthday, Harriet!

    ReplyDelete

Tell me what you think!