Cherry-Olive Oil Polenta Cake

The Altitude Adjustment Section
And now for something completely different! It's cherry season. I love cherries but not super sweet and gloppy cherry pie, so here is another option. The additional flavors of lemon zest, vanilla, and a dollop of crème fraîche give it a classy finish.

Ingredients
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup Polenta or cornmeal
2 1/2 cups fresh Bing cherries, (about 1 pound), pitted and halved
Crème fraîche, for serving

Procedure
Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 10" round cake pan with nonstick vegetable spray. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine eggs and sugar. Beat on medium-high speed until light in color, about 4 minutes. Add vanilla, olive oil, lemon zest, and lemon juice.In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to egg mixture, along with Polenta. Mix until combined. Pour two thirds of batter into prepared pan, and completely cover it with cherries. Spoon remaining batter over cherries, allowing fruit to peek through in spots. Bake until top and edges are lightly golden and a toothpick (or fork) inserted in the center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan and cool completely on rack. Cut cake, and serve each slice with a dollop of crème fraîche.

Cherry-Ricotta Doughnut Holes with Chocolate Sauce

The Altitude Adjustment Section
This is a crazy recipe for a great little treat — give it a try with all sorts of fruit! How about banana slices?

Ingredients
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 large eggs
1/2 Tbsp. kirsch (cherry brandy)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
12 cups canola oil, for deep-frying
20 candied cherries, (available in gourmet shops, or you can make your own)
1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened chocolate coarsely chopped

Procedure
In a bowl, whisk ricotta, eggs, and kirsch. In another bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Fold flour mixture into ricotta mixture to form a batter. In a separate bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon; set aside. Meanwhile, heat oil in an 8-quart heavy-bottomed soup pot (the pot should not be more than 1/3 full) over medium heat until it reaches 350° on a deep-fat thermometer.

Divide batter into 2 batches. Take a spoonful of batter (about 2 teaspoons), stuff a candied cherry in its center, and drop it into hot oil; repeat for the rest of first batch. Fry until golden on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove doughnuts from oil with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels. Repeat process for second batch. When doughnuts are cool enough to handle yet still hot, roll them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture until well coated.

To make chocolate sauce: In a saucepan, combine cream with 1/3 cup water; simmer over medium heat about 5 minutes. Add sugar, cocoa powder, and chocolate. Remove from heat; stir until smooth. Transfer doughnut holes to a platter and serve immediately, with 3/4 cup chocolate sauce on the side for dipping. Refrigerate extra chocolate sauce (about 1 1/4 cups) for up to 1 week.

Fast-candied cherries

Ingredients
1 pound fresh cherries, rinsed, stemmed and pitted
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 lemon
1 cup apple juice

Procedure
In a non-reactive saucepan, bring the sugar and water to a boil. Add the cherries and the lemon half. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the syrup is red and slightly thick, about 20 minutes. Cover and let stand 2-3 hours, or overnight. Strain the cherries, reserving the syrup, and set cherries aside. Discard the lemon half and add the apple juice to the syrup. Bring the syrup to a hard boil and cook for 5 minutes. Return the cherries to the syrup, reduce the heat and cook slowly until the syrup is thick, to about 220 degrees if you are using a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and cool. The cherries can be stored for at least six months covered in the refrigerator.

Roast Duck with Two Sauces

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
Roast duck is one of the easiest dishes to prepare. It comes out best if you cook it twice, so serving it to company is a no-brainer. Remember to save the fat, it's one of the best fats to cook in and it will keep in your freezer.

Ingredients
4 5-pound whole ducks (I like Maple Leaf)
Salt and pepper

Procedure
Rinse ducks well inside and out and dry then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Take a fork and poke holes all over to help let the fat out. Preheat the oven to 375. Place ducks in roasting pan, and roast for 1 1/2 hours. Let cool and cut in half. Tear out the rib bones and remove the backbone. When it’s time to serve, place duck halves in roasting pan in 400 degree oven and cook for 30 minutes.

Cherry Cassis sauce

Ingredients
2 cups cherry juice
1 12-ounce jar sour cherries (drain and save liquid)
1/2 cup Orange juice
1/2 cup Cassis (black currant brandy)
1/4 cup Honey
2 tablespoons cornstarch, mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water

Procedure
Combine cherry juice, liquid from cherries and orange juice and cook over medium-high heat for 15 minutes. Add Cassis and honey and taste. Now add the cornstarch mix and cook 3 minutes. Toss in the whole cherries at the end.

Orange Tangerine Sauce

Ingredients
2 cups tangerine juice
2 cups orange juice
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup orange marmalade
2 tablespoons Grand Manier or Triple Sec
2 tablespoons cornstarch, mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water

Procedure
Combine tangerine and orange juice in a sauce pan and cook over medium heat 15 minutes. Add the orange marmalade and the Triple Sec and cook for 3 minutes. Add the water and cornstarch mix to thicken and cook 3 minutes more.

Pear and Dried Cherry Clafouti

The Altitude Adjustment Section
A clafouti is a classic French dessert with a texture somewhere between that of a baked pudding and a pancake. In this clafouti, creamy, custard-like batter is baked over a layer of fanned pear slices; dried cherries stand in for the traditional fresh ones. The mixture puffs up as it bakes and deflates as it cools. Serve leftovers (if you have any!) for breakfast the next morning, hot or cold.

Ingredients
Unsalted butter, for baking dish
1/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 cup dried cherries
1 large Anjou pear, peeled, halved lengthwise, and cored
3/4 cup whole milk
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt

Procedure
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 10-inch ceramic tart dish or 9 1/2-inch pie plate. Dust with flour, and tap out excess; set aside. Put cherries in a medium bowl, and cover with boiling water by 1 inch. Let stand until plump, about 10 minutes. Cut pear lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick slices; fan over bottom of prepared dish. Blend milk, cream, eggs, vanilla, sugar, flour, and salt in a blender until smooth, about 1 minute. Pour batter over pear. Drain cherries; sprinkle over batter. Bake until golden and set, about 25 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes. Cut into wedges. Serve with whipped cream!

Cherry Cheese Tart

The Altitude Adjustment Section
I found this recipe on a great food website I just discovered called Food52. Cherries are delicious right now and this has a no-cook filling so altitude is no problem!

Ingredients for tart shell
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup ground almonds
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 pinch salt

Procedure
Prepare pan by buttering, lining with parchment, and buttering the parchment or an 8 inch tart pan. Preheat oven to 375. Melt butter, and mix in oats, ground almonds, sugar and salt, making sure that all ingredients are evenly distributed. Pat in over the bottom of the pan and bake for 10 minutes until bubbly and beginning to brown. Let cool on a wire rack to room temperature and refrigerate.

Ingredients for cream cheese filling
1 pound cherries, washed, dried, pitted and cut in half
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup creme fraiche or mascarpone
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon lime zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 pinch salt

Procedure
Split and pit cherries and set aside. Put cream cheese, crème fraiche, honey, salt, extracts, lime juice and zest into the work bowl of a food processor and blend thoroughly until completely smooth. Spread filling over crust, and smooth it out evenly. Arrange cherries on top, cut side down. Cover and chill at least 2 hours before serving.

Real Cherry Strudel

The Altitude Adjustment Section
Strudel is one of my fallback desserts. We always have Phyllo dough in the freezer. And now they have modified the product so you can keep in defrosted in your fridge for about 4 weeks without spoilage. So you can whip up a few pieces of strudel any time you feel like it. Now that cherries are in season, try this classic cherry dish.

Ingredients
5 cups fresh pitted sour cherries, about 1 1/2 pounds
(you can also use frozen, but it won’t be quite as good)
3/4 cup plus 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 box defrosted Phyllo sheets
1 cup clarified unsalted butter
vanilla ice cream or whipped cream to garnish

Procedure
In a sauce pan, combine cherries and any juice with 3/4 cup sugar and cornstarch and bring to the boil stirring occasionally. Lower temperature and simmer for 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and cool completely.

Preheat oven to 400. Arrange 3 sheets of phyllo on work surface and let dry for about 15 minutes. Then crumble them into a bowl. Now take one sheet of phyllo and brush with the melted butter, repeat 3 times. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the crumbled phyllo along the lower third of the sheets. Leave a two inch border on sides and bottom. Now top with 1/3 cup cherry filling. Spread evenly. Fold up sides and begin to roll up to enclose filling completely. Transfer carefully, seam side down, to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush top with butter and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon sugar. Cut 2 1 inch vents on the top with the tip of a sharp knife. Continue the same process to make 4 more rolls. Bake in the middle of the over for about 20 minutes or till golden brown and crisp. Let cool 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream. Nice with a light dusting of powdered sugar.

Brown Rice and Wild Rice Salad with Dried Fruit

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
Here is a very creative recipe for a healthy brown and wild rice salad which can work both summer and winter. This time of year, I use dried fruit but in the summer you can go all fresh. The wild rice cooking technique makes all the difference. This recipe serves 6-8 people.

Ingredients
3 cups water x2
1 1/2 tablespoons Tamari sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons unsulphured Molasses
3/4 cup wild rice, rinsed
3/4 cup brown rice, rinsed
1 cup dried sour cherries
1 cup dried mango diced
1 cup toasted pecan halves chopped
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup chopped scallions
5 tablespoons good olive oil
5 tablespoons aged sherry vinegar
4 teaspoons orange zest
Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure
In a medium saucepan, combine the water, Tamari, and molasses, and bring to a boil. Add wild rice, partially cover and simmer till tender, about 45-50 minutes. Drain well and cool. Bring another medium pan of water to the boil and add the brown rice and a teaspoon of salt and cook till tender as well, about 40 minutes. Drain well and cool. In a large bowl combine the 2 rices with all the rest of the ingredients. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Dried Cherry Cookies

The Altitude Adjustment Section
A girl can not live by tofu and Agave syrup alone, so — representing the other side — I would like to temp you with a great cookie recipe form Susan Purdy’s Pie in the Sky. Yes, even cookies are altitude affected. You know how flat they come out sometimes? Not these.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon A.P. flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted room temp butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 room temp eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Procedure
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or spray with pan coating and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, soda, salt, and cinnamon. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter till soft and creamy. Add both sugars and beat well. Scrape down bowl and add eggs and vanilla. Beat till smooth. With mixer on lowest speed, gradually add the flour mixture then oats, chocolate chips, and cherries. The dough will be very stiff — don’t worry! Drop dough onto prepared sheet pan in heaping tablespoons, 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes till golden brown. The longer they bake, the crisper they will get. This recipe makes 55-60 2-inch cookies... or make giant ones!

Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
This is the first meal I ever cooked for my husband. It was stuffed tenderloin of pork with apricots and prunes, and by dessert time — yes, I was dessert — the deal was sealed. Need I say more..?

Ingredients
1 pork tenderloin ( enough for 2-3 people)
8 dried apricots cut into slivers
1/4 cup dried cherries
6 pitted prunes cut into quarters
2 teaspoon thyme leaves
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 teaspoon soy sauce
Kitchen twine

Procedure
Rinse and pat dry tenderloin. Cut it open and butterfly it out so it's flat. Sprinkle opening with salt and pepper, add soy sauce, 1 teaspoon thyme and mustard. Top with chopped dry fruit, close pork around filling and tie closed. Sprinkle with remaining thyme. Place loin on sheet pan and roast in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.

In the meantime make the sauce:

In a small sauce pan melt 1 cup apricot preserves with 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, 2 tablespoon soy sauce, and 2 tablespoons water. Heat and stir and adjust to your taste. If you want spicy, you can add 1 pureed chipolte pepper. 5 minutes before pork is done, brush on some of this glaze. Careful, with so much sugar in the sauce it will burn fast. Serve the rest of the glaze on the side.

Summer Fruit Cobbler

The Altitude Adjustment Section
This time of year, with all the lovely summer fruit falling off the trees and practically hitting you on the head, perhaps it's time to talk about cobblers. And who better to go to than Susan Purdy, the queen of high altitude baking? This recipe was influenced by a cobbler she had made by Peyton at Harry’s Roadhouse, right here in Santa Fe. Once you get the basic technique down, you can use a variety of fruit fillings. So this is how you do it:

Ingredients for dough
1 1/2 cups A.P. flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons gran. sugar
pinch nutmeg
4 tablespoons=1/2 stick butter room temp
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 room temp egg

Ingredients for fruit filling
apple juice or orange juice 3/4 cup to 1 1/3 cup, depending on juiciness of fruit
1 1/2 tablespoons corn starch
1/3 to 3/4 cup light brown sugar, depending on sweetness of fruit
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons grated orange zest
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
6 cups sliced ripe fruit plums, peaches, nectarines or berries pitted and thickly sliced

Procedure
Preheat oven to 425. Find a 10-12 inch deep baking pan or use a 2-4 quart dutch oven or an old cast iron skillet.
Prepare the dough in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse together the flour, powder, salt, sugar and nutmeg. Add the butter and pulse till mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add buttermilk and egg, pulse just till mixture comes together — don’t over mix. Set aside.

Now prepare the fruit filling: In a thick-bottomed skillet, whisk together the apple or orange juice and the cornstarch, then stir in the sugar, lemon, orange zest and cinnamon. Add the cut-up fruit and set over medium heat. Bring to the boil and then cover the pot and let simmer for 10 minutes, until the fruit is tender and easily pierces with a knife. Now transfer fruit to baking dish, if using, while still hot (very important). Take tablespoons of the prepared dough and spoon on top of the fruit. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar and set it on a sheet pan lined with tin foil (to help with sticky clean up) in your very hot oven to bake for 25-35 minutes, or until dough is puffed up and golden brown.