Cherry Bounce, Part II



From Mrs. F. A. Hagen, Atlantic St., Plymouth, Mass.



The finished product! It's now resting quietly in the cellar, ready in a few months to come out for a gala occasion.


Here is the recipe I used. There are several "out there", but this is the one that inspired me. It's in the Yankee Cookbook, 1937/1963.

Cherry Bounce

6 pounds cherries (as I couldn't get either wild or sour cherries, I used black cherries)
2 fifths whiskey (Berkshire Mountain Distillery NE Corn Whiskey)
3/4 lb. white sugar (down from one pound, as the cherries were sweet)
1/2 c. water (a gill)

Cherry Bounce, Part I



After four weeks...



Clear liquor poured off to set aside.



Pitted the cherries and cracked them.



Putting the cherries through the food mill.

The cherries. I did try mashing them by hand, but not enough juice was extracted. This was laborious, but it worked well. I also added a tablespoon of the sugar in order to get more juice from the cherries.

Allowing the cherries and pits (in separate jelly bags) to drain. An hour or so.

I went to the trouble of pitting the cherries because I wasn't about to throw out 6 pounds of cherries once the cordial was made! The cherries made a gorgeous black cherry-whiskey jam. I'll likely post the recipe some time soon.

Part II:

1. Pour off the clear liquor; set aside.

2. Pit cherries; add 1 tbl. sugar. Put through food mill. Scoop into jelly bag.

3. Crack pits in mortar and pestal. Place in a different jelly bag.

4. Pits at the bottom of strainer, cherries on top. Allow to drain until most of the liquid seems to be out. Save cherries for jam or other use.

Dissolve the remaining 3/4 pound of sugar in the half cup of water and bring to a boil. Stir in the drained juices and the reserved clear liquor. Bottle and let stand at least several weeks.

Just a little too much to fit into the bottles...no problem!

Enjoy!



7th Annual Steelyard Cruise Night: 2012



Ruby made her debut last night.

                                                    



That's me on the running board, knitting a sock.

                                       

My first car show as an owner! We had an amazing evening. Everyone was friendly and very helpful, and we got some good tips on polishing her paint (it's original) and other general advice. We saw some spectacular cars. My favorites were a 1956 baby blue Cadillac convertible and a 1902 Packard. One look at the Packard tells you why cars were once referred to as horseless carriages.

One more shot of my baby.

Very steampunk. Looked quite original inside, but loaded with every mod con you could think up.

 

 

1956 powder blue Caddie convertible.



Luxurious little touch under the hood!



1902 Packard

From the Pantry: Hamburger Roll

We've been on a bit of a binge lately--sort of. We had the back yard re-fenced. The squirrels are no longer able to snap off cheap plywood pickets as they scramble along. We've been nice enough to provide them with a highway


interspersed with hurdles. They seem to like it.

Then there's Ruby, our 1937 Plymouth. The coffers aren't empty, but as we're even going on vacation this year, a thing we seldom do, it's budget time.

You see one of the results, above. Last week I made a cinnamon apple custard pie with a pre-baked crust. As long as I'm going to make pastry, I figure that I might as well make two crusts. It doesn't go to waste in this house.

We had about half a pound of hamburger in the freezer, and a few other bits and pieces, so it was 30s / 40s style comfort food. My husband had seconds and finished off the leftovers the next day for lunch. I expect I'll be making it again!

Hamburger Roll

1/2 pound ground beef
8 thin slices onion, finely minced
1 tbl. tomato paste
Season to taste with grated Parmesan, Worcester sauce, sea salt, black pepper, and truffle oil


1 crust recipe for your favorite pie pastry (made ahead and allowed to rest at least an hour)


Let the meat cool. Roll out the pastry into a rectangle and spread the meat thinly over; press in lightly and roll up. Decorate with cut-outs and brush with light cream. Bake at 425 F until lightly browned--I think it took about 45 minutes. Let it cool 5 minutes, and slice with a serrated knife.
 
If you have meat and pastry scraps left over after making this, turn them into cocktail sized pastries. I used a ravioli cutter and got seven triangle-shaped bites. Bake them half-way, about 6 minutes, and then cool. Freeze them, and you'll have quick appetizers. They take about 10 minutes in a 425 F oven.