Vanilla-Black Pepper Ice Cream

As far as Valentine’s Day gifts go, I generally prefer a simple bunch of well-intended tulips to other, more showy items. That was, until this little gem happened to cross my computer screen: The most perfect ice cream maker I’ve EVER seen. Daintily clad in bright red with whimsical ruffles, this machine will remind you, lest you ever forget, that making ice-cream should always be a festive occasion. It was love at first sight, I tell you. I didn’t even bother dropping hints; I came right out and pleaded, blathering on about all of the wonderful things we could make. And all this to a man who doesn’t even like sweets! Thankfully, I married a most obliging fellow, who quickly typed in the order (no doubt to spare himself from more recipe talk!) and even threw in some tulips to boot.

Cuisinart Perfection

Earlier this week there was a knock at the door and there she was, patiently waiting for me on our front stoop with the UPS Man.  I let her freshen up and relax in the freezer for the night before getting to work on the following evening. First order of business? Vanilla-Black Pepper Ice Cream. Molly Wizenberg writes about it in her book, A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table, which is a collection of charming short stories and equally pleasing recipes. Having been introduced to the wonders of peppercorn in lending chai tea lattes their fiery bite, I was ever so intrigued to see what it could do for ice cream. The only problem being that her recipe called for eggs. Opinions are split on the matter of eggs in ice cream, but I'm decidedly opposed. All I need to make me perfectly happy are milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla frozen into icy deliciousness, along with the occasional chocolate chip and/or drop of peppermint extract for variety. Add eggs into the mix and it becomes way too much, at least for me.

I substituted my family’s basic vanilla recipe instead and added the suggested amount of black pepper towards the end. I was a little worried that not heating the pepper over the stove might have negative consequences but the results were as she promised they would be: Bright vanilla flavor followed by a gentle hint of heat. A fine treat on its own or served up alongside a slab of chocolate cake. Oh and it also pairs nicely with Girl Scouts Thin Mint Cookies, but then again, doesn’t everything?!

Vanilla-Black Pepper Ice Cream

Adapted from A Homemade Life

1 3/4 cups whole milk

2 cups cream

2/3 cup sugar 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper (or to taste)

Whisk together milk, cream, sugar and vanilla in a medium-sized bowl until the sugar is completely dissolved. Pour into the base of your ice-cream maker and let the machine take it away. Depending on your machine it should take 20-30 minutes. Add pepper roughly five minutes before the ice-cream is completely frozen to your liking.

 

Tulips in "burgundy" - Our wedding color :)

Ricotta Dumplings

Oh Valentine’s Day, I still don’t know what to think about you. I love you for your friendly red and white decorations, the familiar taste of candy hearts and the timeless thrill of receiving flowers (humble tulips please, not red roses!). But you irk me too. A day to declare your love? Really? How insincere and ostentatious of you. After all, shouldn’t we be saying it every day? And don’t get me started on how commercialized you’ve become.  Shame, shame, shame.  At the end of the day though, your invitation to indulge in a lavish meal never fails to win me over.

When we first started dating, Konrad and I hit the Valentine’s Day restaurant scene with gusto: Soiree, West Side Lounge, Upstairs on the Square and others. I’d don my favorite strappy red dress, Konrad a shinny red tie and out we’d go. Then something changed; we wised up to the ridiculously inflated prices and got annoyed. We’ve been feting the occasion at home ever since. The results might not be quite as gourmet, but its still fun and pretty darn tasty too. Last year, Risotto Stuffed Red Peppers were on our menu followed by Chocolate Stout Cake with ganache frosting.  I forget what came the year before that except that it ended with Chocolate Orange Cake made by yours truly, which is really the most important part anyhow.

Celebrating a couple days early, this year savory Ricotta Dumplings, peppered with minced chives, graced our table. We served the little darlings, dressed in a festive red pepper sauce, following a simple salad. For dessert, we munched on chocolate-covered cocoa nibs and popped Anne of Green Gables into the DVD player. Another plus to the holiday? The ability to sweet talk suitors (or husbands) into watching movies they ordinarily wouldn’t under the guise of romance. In this case though, Konrad gets extra points for laughing at all the right places and sticking through both parts. Admittedly it was a half-hearted affair (sorely lacking home-baked treats!), thanks to my third-wheel of a migraine that tagged along (and for most of the weekend!), but an enjoyable time nonetheless. 

Oh Valentine’s Day, you get me every time.

My Furry Valentine

Chocolate Walnut Banana Bread

 

I spent the better part of last night pouty and all around grumpy. Grumpy because another snow storm was raging outside but no matter how many inches or feet we got, I’d still have to work in the morning. I know, I know. Life could be worse, but I was having a moment. I wanted a real snow day: the exciting and fancy-free kind where school is canceled, obligations are cast aside and you’re left with an entire day to bide your time at home (Making snow angels, baking bread, sipping cocoa and curling up with a book were exactly what I had in mind, and in that order). Well, it wasn’t going to happen no matter how much I frowned and stamped my feet.  

I decided that banana bread spiked with chocolate and walnuts was the best bet for redeeming the situation. I cued up the mixer and got the butter, sugar and eggs swirling while I whisked together the dry ingredients. The recipe calls for all-purpose flour; I used unbleached and subbed in a bit of whole wheat. Cheating just a bit, I zapped our very yellow and perfect bananas in the microwave until they were soft and mashable before adding them to the batter. Once everything had been incorporated, I poured the mixture into a loaf pan while pausing briefly to add layers of mini chocolate chips and walnuts. After baking for an hour, the bread emerged triumphant. With a dense texture perfectly punctuated by chocolate bits and nuts, I speak with authority when I tell you that it can stand its own against the worst cases of grumpiness. 

By morning the storm had passed and with it my grumpiness. Its amazing what sweets and sleep can do for your outlook. As expected, I did end up working, but it wasn’t so bad. I got to work from home and ignore our snow-covered car for most of the day. Besides, since the snow had stopped falling, it didn’t feel like snow day anyway. I set up shop on the couch with Kitty beside me and tapped productively on my laptop til closing-time, fueled by toasted banana bread and bottomless cups of coffee.

Go-To Feta Dish

We spent the weekend with Konrad's family in New Jersey. Visiting the in-laws is always a tasty and cultural experience. Being Romanian/Hungarian, they are introducing me to all sorts of new customs. Still fumbling like the European impostor that I am, I greet everyone with kisses on each cheek, remember that “da” means yes (tragically, about the extent of my Romanian speaking skillz), and look for meals to be served in courses.

The first is a homemade “supa,” which is usually soured with borș and consumed with a dollop of sour cream mixed in. This is followed by a larger, more substantial, second course, such as the Goulash his father prepares over an open fire in the backyard or the sausage which he smokes himself. Being the lone vegetarian, I am given papanash, which are tender ricotta dumplings. Before all this begins though, we are greeted with a spread of crusty bread, butter, and feta cheese to nibble on. Purchased from their local Greek store, the feta is some of the best I’ve had since a college backpacking trek landed us in Santorini, and could be a meal in itself for me. 

Inevitably, there is a bit of a battle when we leave. Konrad’s mom graciously sends us off with seemingly infinite bags brimming with treats. This never fails to overwhelm Konrad who, flexing his engineering degree, is doing his best to meticulously pack the trunk as if he were putting together a jigsaw puzzle. He can get rather cranky, but is more appreciative when we get back and unload everything. Her provisions often last us for at least a week and almost always include a fresh block of feta cheese. Thanks to his mom, we are rarely without a ready supply of it. 

At home, our go-to feta dish is Orzo with Roasted Vegetables, a creation by none other than the lovely Barefoot Contessa herself. To prepare, chop up a selection of peppers, onions and eggplant, toss with olive oil, and roast for a little under an hour. Just before the vegetables finish, prepare the orzo. As it cooks, whisk the juice from two lemons with olive oil, salt and pepper. Drain the orzo and in a large bowl mix the vegetables and pasta together. Allow to cool before stirring in the lemon dressing and topping with scallions, basil and a good bit of crumbled feta. "Foarte bun!"

Rosemary Enthusiasm

I read once that that flowers and greens had special meanings in Victorian times. Roses suggested love, ferns implied fascination, ivy signified friendship, bay leafs stood for faithfulness and basil meant hatred.  

The list goes on, but rosemary was said to represent remembrance. It also happens to be one of Konrad’s favorite things. So, when his birthday rolled around earlier this week, this recipe for Rosemary Olive Oil Cake seemed particularly fitting. After all, birthdays are a time for reflection as well as for celebration and indulgence, right?  I think so, anyway. Besides, the recipe didn’t seem overly sweet, which I was sure would be a win. I’m not sure how anyone can not enjoy sugar or how I managed to marry such a person, but such is Konrad.  

The cake itself was pretty easy to make; the only special ingredient being spelt, which I never did find. I substituted some whole wheat flour and let the cake cook a little while longer. There was some nervous nail biting on my end, wondering if I'd botched my husband's birthday cake, but everything came out fine. The olive oil and eggs made for a moist consistency and the uneven chocolate bits provided a fun, rich texture. The best part, by far, though was the crackly sugar top. I used regular brown sugar for the cake but added turbinado on the top and it worked perfectly.

As for the signature ingredient, I have to tell you that I am not the biggest fan of rosemary. I like it, I just don’t love it.  At first I thought the flavor was too much, but it’s actually grown on me. I keep going back for more and more tastes, which usually means something good. Konrad was happy though, and that’s what I was hoping for. Perhaps you need to be a rosemary enthusiast to enjoy a cake like this or maybe the cake will turn you into one. I haven't decided yet!

Milk Punch

We lost our cute tree last night and our apartment is feeling rather empty this morning. The poor fellow had gotten hopelessly dry and it was time to let him go, or else I might have had him up until March. Apparently, other people have come to similar conclusions. Lately, our neighborhood has resembled a wasteland of abandoned Christmas trees: Trees line the streets like guests who have overstayed their welcome and been unceremoniously tossed out on their backsides. I like to think we're better than that. So, we did things a bit differently; we sent ours out with a drink.

Ever since I saw this recipe for Milk Punch on SmittenKitchen, I’d been itching to make it. In truth, I wasn’t ready to let go of the holidays just yet. I needed one more night. So, I mixed up a batch and cued the holiday tunes. After dinner, we carefully removed the glass bulbs, garlands and lights from the branches in between sips of punch and tucked them away downstairs. Made with bourbon, milk punch is a lot like eggnog but without the eggs and served slightly frozen. I still think I prefer the latter with its insanely rich texture and long history in my family, but the former was certainly a pleasant treat (especially on an otherwise bland, post-holiday, Wednesday night!).

It was just what I needed to close out the season and the perfect send-off for our friend. At the end of the night, we escorted him downstairs and left him to catch his ride (sadly, to the recycling heap with the DPW truck this morning). The last I saw of him, he was tipsily leaning against a phone pole and swaying a bit to keep warm. Is it too early to start counting the days until next Christmas? (Apparently not, its 352 to be exact. Thanks, internet!)

 

Red Cabbage

I do my best to channel my mom's cooking skills in all that I do. Well, my mom's and my brother's, that is. I usually do pretty decently: The results aren't spectacular but, in most cases, respectable. This I am okay with. I like that there is room for growth, it gives me something to work towards. It just might be that I have met my match in red cabbage, though. It's an old family recipe that someone somewhere said would bring good luck if consumed on New Year's Day. My mom used to make it every year and, when I was a kid, my grandmother would serve it at the stroke of midnight on New Year Eve.

I'd been looking forward to making it for our first year as marrieds. Alas, things didn't quite go my way. To begin with, I started the process about 24 hours too late. My mom always slow cooked her's for hours, if not days. Fail 1. The four hours I simmered mine didn't quite measure up. It also helps when you have the right ingredients. Remembering that the stores were closing early for the holiday, I ran to Shaw's (Russo's was already closed, sigh...) on my way home. I did my best to mentally rundown the recipe, but ended up with apple cider instead of apple cider vinegar. Fail 2. By the time I realized the mistake, everything was already closed. I used a combination of white vinegar and apple cider and then tossed in the requisite "handfuls" of brown sugar and cloves (I love the way my mom wrote recipes!). The substitution seemed to work fairly well and a familiar aroma began to waft through our cozy apartment.

I set the timer for half-hour increments to remind me to stir the cabbage as it simmered on LOW and curled up on the couch with my work. Apparently cabbage requires more attention than I thought. It made sure I knew about it and fast. By the time I noticed the smell overpowering the air, the entire bottom layer of cabbage was charred black. Fail 3. If this were baseball, I'd be out. Honestly, I'm surprised that our fire alarms didn't go off. The pot is still soaking in our sink and I'm not entirely sure it will ever look the same.  Luckily, I was able to salvage most of it and try again in a separate pot, stirring it faithfully every five minutes. Eventually it cooked down to something resembling my family's dish, but it just wasn't the same.  Nonetheless, we served it for dinner along with my mom's mashed potatoes (hello, condensed milk!), brussels sprouts, filet mignon for Konrad, and some prosecco to toast.

It was a nice start to a new family tradition, even with all the blunders. My mom used to laugh when I putzed around the kitchen, like the year I baked her a mother's day cake that didn't rise. It 'tickled' her, she said. I'm sure where ever she is, she was laughing last night and that makes me smile too. And who knows? Maybe there's hope for me and the red cabbage next year. 

Mum’s Red Cabbage 

1 medium red cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
1 medium onion, diced
1 cup apple vinegar
4 cloves
2 “handfuls” of brown sugar, which I equate to a 1/4 cup
2 tablespoons butter 

Heat butter in base of tall pan over medium heat. Sauté onion. Add vinegar, cloves and sugar. Slowly add cabbage.  Reduce heat to low. Cook for several hours. Stir often (my addition!)

 

Eggnog

What to do when you’re homesick at Christmastime? Make all of your favorite family recipes, of course. At least that’s been my strategy lately. I hail from a long line of bakers and this is what we do for the holidays.  Tackling one recipe a night (more or less), I've slowly amassed a collection of time-honored sweets: My brother’s rocky road, Grandmother Mom’s pecan balls, Aunt Candy’s almond-frosted shortbreads, and the almond biscotti recipe I found in college (as well as a few fun additions: Sparking Berries, peppermint bark & Double Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies!).

As always, the pièce de résistance was my mom’s signature eggnog recipe. To be clear, homemade eggnog is nothing like what you find in grocery stores. Made from eggs cooked overnight in whiskey, and stirred with whipped cream, milk, vanilla and nutmeg, it is a potent cup of creamy deliciousness. Each of these recipes congers up fond memories of Christmases past, but none so much eggnog. Just the scent of it alone takes me back to sipping bits of it as a young girl, the cheer of family gatherings, laughter-filled card and dice games, and late night chats with my mom. Over the years, circumstances inevitably changed - family was scattered and loved ones were lost - but these recipes continue to be a core part of the holiday season for those of us who are together.

It was both comforting and thrilling to carry these traditions forward and share them with my ‘new’ family this year.  Looking ahead, I expect that things will continue to change and my holiday traditions will evolve as Konrad and I blend our families' customs. Nonetheless, I think its safe to say that at least eggnog will continue to be a part of Christmas for us -  I couldn't imagine the holidays without it!
 
Mum's Eggnog
6 eggs
2 cups whiskey
2 cups whipping cream
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup whole milk 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Separate eggs. Beat yolks with 1/2 cup sugar until fluffy. Stir in 1 cup of whiskey. Refrigerate 3-4 hours or overnight.

Just before egg yolks are ready, beat egg whites with 1/4 cup sugar until stand. Mix egg whites with the yolks and stir in the remaining cup of whiskey. Let sit one hour or longer.

Beat whipping cream with remaining 1/4 cup sugar and vanilla. Fold into egg mixture and add milk.

Serve with a garnish of freshly grated nutmeg.

Maple Pecan Tart

Among many other things, I am thankful for maple sweets. I love all things maple, so when I found this recipe for a Maple Pecan Tart, I was smitten. A decadent pecan tart made with real maple syrup? Nevermind the fact that it also called for straight up corn syrup (the evil ingredient we try to avoid), it had Thanksgiving written all over it. Nothing that we consume on holidays counts anyway, right? Despite some minor cooking issues, it was definitely as tasty as I'd hoped. The crust and pecans were browning well before the filling had set, so I covered it and baked everything on reduced heat for double the time. Crisis averted. We shared it with Konrad's family and it was enjoyed by all, or at least so they said ;)

Pink Lady Cake

It was prettier before the cover smeared the frosting :(

So, it seems that birthdays change as we get older. It certainly helps when they fall on a weekend, so you can treat yourself to a lavish dinner out or toast drinks with friends, but weekday birthdays are pretty lackluster. This year mine fell on a Tuesday and promised to be especially uneventful. I expected to be at the office late and that the husband would be away on business. He purposely scheduled it so that he would be back the same day, but it was unlikely that I'd see him before eleven. Figuring that I'd be on my own, I got to thinking about what I should do. The obvious self-pampering options - facial, mani/pedi or hair appointment - weren't as enticing as they might have been since I'd had the works done a few weeks earlier for the wedding. I decided, instead, to bake a cake. I suppose it sounds pretty sad to be making your own birthday cake, but baking is something that always makes me happy. Besides, it was a great excuse to try a recipe for Pink Lady Cake that I'd been eying for months. So, that's what I did. The day turned out somewhat differently though. Konrad ended up catching a nasty cold and, after a sleepless and fever-ridden night, had to cancel his trip at the last minute (poor guy!). By the time I got home that night, he was feeling a bit better though and even had a present (a fun new camera!) and my favorite flowers waiting for me. So, we made dinner, had some cake and spent the rest of the evening looking at our newly posted professional wedding photos. All in all, it was a quiet but not a bad start to my thirty-second year :)

Roasted Butternut Squash with Chickpeas

This is my new favorite recipe: Roasted butternut squash mixed with garlic, chickpeas, red onions and topped with a zesty lemon tahini sauce (I followed Deb’s lead and nixed the allspice). I absolutely love it.  So much so that I went out and purchased extra squash after our voluminous farm share provisions ran out (noteworthy because we'd sworn off squash until next year!). This last time we substituted green onions, what we had on hand, and tossed in extra parsley. I dare say the combination made it even better.  Hearty, tasty and healthy, it’s the perfect fall dish.

Married!

So, here's something I never thought I would do. A week ago today I married my longtime sweetheart, Konrad. The day was perfect in every way: We were surrounded by our closest friends and family, blessed with a radiant New England fall day and both the ceremony and reception came off blunder-free. Well, blunder-free except for the small matter of Fr. George mixing up our vows, which we will laugh about for years. At the end of the night, a good friend took the opportunity to jokingly remind me how opposed I once was to the institution of marriage. Ever the sentimentalist, this got me thinking of the bygone days. Its true, my eighteen-year-old self would certainly not approve. But then again what did that girl know about life or love? I haven't lost any of myself in the exchange. On the contrary, I've gained a life partner. Circumstances change and people change, so I am letting myself off the hook. Life is full of the unexpected, and I hope that I will always be open to what ever might come my way.

Sixth Harvest

The sixth installment of our farm share arrived today! We got macintosh apples, sweet corn, buttercup squash, red kuri squash, cabbage, red kale, leeks, russet potatoes, onions, tomatoes, beets and green leaf lettuce. As I unpacked everything, I got to thinking about how, in just six short weeks, the program has completely changed the way we eat. Our fridge is literally overflowing with fresh produce! Knowing that we only have a limited amount of time to enjoy everything definitely curtails our inclination to snack when we're out and makes processed foods seem increasingly unappealing. It has also made us more purposeful shoppers since we usually only go to the grocery store to pick up items to complement our weekly rations. I will be very sad when the program ends. In the meantime though, with fresh leeks and potatoes on hand, Potato Leek Soup is on our menu tonight!

Ikea Cinnamon Bun Love

We have a love/hate relationship with Ikea. We love it for its fun and affordable, if ubiquitous, furnishings and do-it-yourself philosophy. The possibilities are endless, but therein lies the problem. This is no place for the indecisive, which means Konrad and I are doomed every time we step foot in the place. Inevitably, we are always there til the bitter end, weighing options in the aisles amid the screaming children, until tired sales associates chase us out. We are those people. Thank goodness there are cinnamon buns waiting at the store bakery to sweeten the madness.

Lately, we've been spending a lot of time here. Our wedding is just a few weeks away and the fact that family will be staying with us has provided the much needed motivation to finally fix up the spare bedroom/study, which has served as a wasteland for empty boxes and orphaned items since we moved in. High time too, seeing as the promise of this extra room is what prompted us to move to the 'burbs in the first place. After three Ikea trips in the past month, two rounds of merchandise returns and one U-Haul rental, we've come away with a comfy futon, the big black mirror that we've been eying for years, a dissertation-writing worthy desk for me (which my crafty fiancee salvaged and revived from the depths of the "as-is" discount section), and lots of yummy cinnamon rolls, of course.

Konrad spent the better part of Sunday afternoon putting everything together (one of the many reasons I'm marrying him!) while I worked on the seating chart. The room is slowly starting to feel like a place where you might actually want to spend some time - at least our cat, Kitty (Lady Katherine de Bourgh), thinks so!

Rainbow Chard

Ever heard of rainbow chard? Me neither. We had no idea it was until it ended up in our farm share this week. Trolling the web for inspiration, we came across a great new culinary resource in The Bitten Word. Working from this recipe, I subbed in walnuts for pine nuts (what we had on hand) and sauteed the chard in olive oil with garlic, nuts and basil. The recipe said to mix the basil and nuts with the chard after removing it from heat, but I added everything to the pan before the chard was quite done, and let it cook together for a few minutes before serving. I also left out the butter just because its a bit too rich for my liking and the recipe didn't really need it. We topped everything with freshly grated parmesan cheese and served it on a bed of toasted pearl couscous prepared with vegetable broth. The combination of ingredients resulted in a dish with great texture and wonderful flavor, which is something that we'll definitely be making again.Turns out that rainbow chard is pretty fabulous, at least in this entree!

Insect Encounters

Anyone who knows me will tell you, I'm not an outdoorsy girl. Don't get me wrong. I absolutely believe we should do everything we can to conserve our resources and preserve our natural habitats. I am fully committed to doing my part, but that doesn't mean that I have to enjoy spending extended periods of time in the great outdoors. I don't like dirt, and, most of all, I don't like insects. So, when an enormous grub fell out of the farm share corn that I was shucking last night and into my hands, I was pretty horrified. I started to rethink my enthusiasm for farm produce before I got to thinking about the alternative - cooking with conventional fruit and vegetables, many of which are likely to have been genetically modified and saturated in toxic pesticide. All things considered, I guess the occasional insect encounter is a fair price to pay for produce that is grown the way it should be. Nonetheless, the trusty kitchen tongs have become my new favorite tool. Anything leafy that comes our way will first be inspected using those... at least for a while.

Farm Share

Today was the start of a farm share program on campus, which I'm super excited about. I've been wanting to invest in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) for a while and jumped at the chance when my school announced that it would be hosting a program with Warner Farm this fall. Each Tuesday, for the next eight weeks, we'll receive a share of the harvest. The fun part is that we don't pre-select what we receive; we get what the farm sends us. I think it will be a great incentive to learn how to prepare different vegetables - ones that we don't ordinarily buy. At least, that's the plan. As expected, there was a big box waiting for me at the pick up site, brimming with fresh produce. This week, we received sweet corn, beefsteak tomatoes, red peppers, jalapenos, red leaf lettuce, rainbow chard, eggplant, butternut & spaghetti squash, macintosh apples and strawberries. Now we just have to figure out what to make :)

Lemonade

It occurred to me that summer was almost over and I hadn't made any real, honest-to-goodness lemonade. Being that it was already Labor Day, I decided I best do something about that. I went old school for the recipe and pulled out the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. Following the age-old instructions, I made a simple syrup (subbing in turbinado sugar) and then let it cool before adding lemon juice, lemon zest, equal parts water and plenty of ice. The result? Predictably, summer in a glass. Pure happiness!

Multi-tasking Carafe!

Tomato Salad

On Thursdays there is a farmer's market in the center of town. I stopped by to wander around and stock up on fresh tomatoes, with every intention of talking Konrad into making us tomato salad (salata de rosii) for dinner - a simple Romanian dish that he introduced me to when we first started dating. He makes it by combining crusty bread, feta cheese, olive oil, salt, pepper, and diced tomatoes. It's easy enough to make, but I never make it as well as he does. Hearty yet refreshing, it was the perfect meal for a hot summer night.

Cherry Cake

I made a cherry cake for my mom the other day. This is what I do when I am especially missing her: Bake her favorite things. I used this recipe from Joy of Baking but reduced the sugar and added extra almond extract. I've never been a huge fan of cherries, so I had pretty low expectations. The cake was actually kind of amazing though, with a rich texture and delicate flavor. All in all, I'm sure that my mom would have been "tickled," which is what she always used to say whenever I'd do anything in the kitchen :)