Day 39 - Page 68 - Pickled Cherries, Page 95 - Cherry Tomato Salad w/ Soft Tofu, Page 99 - Peas w/ Horseradish

At this time of year -

this is an indispensible tool -

and the recipe called for 2 pints of pitted cherries. Chang writes, "I cribbed this recipe from Bertrand Chemel, who was the sous-chef at Cafe Boulud while I was there." The pits were cracked with a hammer and slightly mashed so the almond-y flavor is released from the nuts. It smelled divine. (This would be a great ice cream flavor).

A brine was made by wrapping the pits into a cheesecloth sachet and boiling it with water, rice vinegar and sugar. It took on a subtle nutty aroma. For optimum pickling the cherries are best stored for a week but I couldn't wait to try them with the last bits of foie gras torchon.

For the salad the cherry tomatoes were lightly dressed in a sesame oil and soy sauce vinaigrette and spooned over a round of tofu. The snap peas were cooked for a couple of minutes - just until they turned bright green - in a reduced ramen broth. Preparation for both dishes was easy and quick. I really liked the tomato/tofu combination.