Sweet as Cherry Pie

Everytime I make a cherry pie I sing this song. Everytime I ever made a fruit flan, you know the ones, unbaked with kiwis and strawberries and the like, all shiny with glaze, anyway...everytime I made a fruit flan I would sing strawberry fields forever. Everytime, for like twenty years.

Anyway, I love mid summer for its peaches and cherries. I will admit to a guilty pleasure that my local corner store has in the form of pre made cherry pies.  I have no idea who makes them, they are packaged discretely in brown boxes ( unlike the porn in my 'hood , which is in the store windows) But regardless, as good as the mystery pie is, nothing beats fresh made, it goes without saying.

The one thing that you may not have that you def will need is a stoner. No, not the guy you sat beside in college, a cherry stoner, or pitter as they seem to be called now. Now, if you are having a pie emergency and have cherries but no pitter, you can use a chopstick..it is messier slower and a pain in the butt, but if you must McGyver it, thats how. That said, I sure wouldn't want to have to do a whole pies worth that way

 Here's a pretty one..

Alright, stop your whinging, I know its a little bit of work to pit he cherries. But if you want to go buy a can of cherry pie fill, please , just don't. Listen, Im no chefy snob , I cheat, I actually have powdered stock mix in the cupboard, I am not always a purist. But if it makes a dramatic difference, well you just have to respect your palate.

S0, pit the darn cherries, and get over yourself, its just a few minutes work :) When I worked at The Senator ( diner, steakhouse, jazz club) I used to sit in the back alley on a milk crate and pit a couple of baskets of cherries and peel a bushel of apples, in one sitting. 

My chef never understood how someone with so little patience could do things like that.

I am not going to talk about pie crust. I'm just not in the mood, maybe another time :) I would cover a cherry pie. You can make a lattice top, but I think a fully covered cherry pie is better, save the lattice work for smaller berries like the blues and rasps.

As far as baking a fruit pie, they are basically all the same. I use about 325F. Preheat your oven to 375F and when you put your pie in, turn down the heat. Now the pie is done when you see bubbles. And I like to see bubbles right in the centre of the pie, not just on the edges.  The starch that you use, whether it be flour or tapioca or corn starch, has to come to a boil ( more or less) to become an effective binding agent and give the juice of your delicious pie the correct viscosity.

Class dismissed...heres your recipe

Ingredients

2 cups pitted fresh dark sweet cherries, such as Bing or Lambert
1/3 cup bottled cherry juice (or apple or pomegranate or any similar juice)
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 pastry for a double-crust 9-inch pie
1 tablespoon butter, cut into small chunks

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F 

In a bowl, mix the cherries, cherry juice, almond extract, brown sugar, white sugar, and flour until the sugar has dissolved; allow to stand while you prepare pastry dough, about 15 minutes.

Line a 9-inch pie dish with a pastry crust, and fill with the cherry filling; sprinkle small chunks of butter over the filling. Top with the remaining crust, and crimp the edges to seal; cut several steam vents into the top crust with a sharp paring knife.

Reduce oven to 325F and bake until the cherry filling is bubbling and thickened and the pie crust is browned, 35 to 40 minutes. Allow to cool( if you can) before serving.