A New Gadget

I made these delicious macerated cherries with my new cherry pitter.  I like to serve the cherries with thick yoghurt, however, they are good with icecream and chocolate sauce or with this Panna Cotta

A gift from our friends Tina and Frank. As Ray so correctly observed ' just what the woman who has everything needs - a cherry pitter'. Obviously, I do not have everything.

It looks like this and opens up to hold the cherries.








It can pit four at a time and has two sizes of compartments, it will also pit olives.




It is a great gadget, a pile of cherries pitted in no time.















There is a a story behind the mini juicer. I am addicted to my freshly squeezed orange and grapefruit juice, so addicted, that whenever I go away I take a juice extractor with me. The one time I didn't was a trip last year to New Zealand. It was a few days before I was able to track one down. Frank and Tina were there to witness the desperation, this little juicer fits over a bottle and into a handbag. Perfect gifts!

Cherries Macerated in Marsala Wine Syrup

Ingredients

500 g cherries

4 tablespoons Marsala / Boronia

1 tablespoon castor sugar

1 vanilla pod or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method

Combine Marsala and sugar  in a saucepan, add seeds scraped from the vanilla pod and bring to the boil, stir and simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat.

Wash cherries, remove stalks and pit the cherries.

Add cherries to saucepan with the syrup and stir to mix. Allow to stand at room temperature for a few hours.

Serve with icecream, cream or thick yoghurt.