Cherries in Red Wine Syrup

I was catching up on reading blogs this week and came across an entry by Diane at 2 Stews.  She was discussing vanilla ice cream that she had made as well as a hot fudge sauce and cherries in wine syrup. She adapted a syrup recipe from David Lebovitz.com.  I needed a dessert for the evening but since I was making a somewhat involved entre I didn't think I would have time to make my own ice cream. 

I had just gotten three pounds of cherries and after reading her post...well, I bought ice cream and made the Cherry Wine Syrup.

With one lick of the spoon, I was in epicurean heaven! 

If one lick of the syrup was delightful...

Oh my, I could hardly wait to put it on ice cream.

Guess what I am going to do with the remaining three pounds of cherries?  Yep, I am going to make some more!

Cherries in Red Wine Syrup

(Adapted from David Lebovitz.com)

Makes 2 cups
1 pound fresh cherries, stemmed and pitted
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 cups red wine
2 teaspoons corn starch or potato starch
2 tablespoons red wine or 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Optional: 1/2 tablespoon kirsch liqueur

Put the cherries and sugar in a large, wide saucepan.

Mix one tablespoon of the red wine with the corn or potato starch in a small bowl until it's dissolved and set aside.

Add the rest of the wine and the vinegar to the saucepan. Bring the heat up to a boil, then reduce the heat so it's at a low boil and cook, stirring frequently, for about 12 minutes, until the cherries are completely wilted and softened through.

During the last moments of cooking, stir in the starch slurry and let the mixture boil the additional minute or so, to thicken the juices.

Turn off the heat and stir in the almond extract and kirsch, if using.

Storage: The cherries will keep up to one week in the refrigerator. They can be frozen for up to six months.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

 
This was a delight on a warm summer evening.  What better way to end the work week than to treat yourself to ice cream with a special syrup!  Thank you Diane and David! 
 

 

It is Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum.  Thank you Michael for hosting us!  Visit Michael soon as well as all of the bloggers who are sharing summer delights!