Cherry Lemonade

It's cherry season, and we're inundated with my favorite fruit: Door County tart cherries. Here's something I threw together while pitting three grocery bags full of them:

Ingredients:

• Two cups pitted tart cherries, fresh or frozen
• One cup of lemon juice (This was about five large lemons for me)
• One cup of sugar (or a cup-for-cup substitute), to taste
• Eight cups of water

Use a blender to puree the cherries, then run the result through a fine strainer. You can use the strainer again for the lemon juice if you don't want pulp in the final product.

In a large pitcher, combine the strained cherry puree, lemon juice, water, and finally the sugar, and stir until combined. This mixture will settle a bit in the fridge but usually recombines with a good stir or shake.

Lemon Cherry Cheesecake

FOUND IT: A google search led me to a website called "Fleur de Sel."

We made this recipe for my mother in law's birthday. I had been saving it to make again once we had fresh cherries, but this year there wasn't much of a cherry season. I'll save it for next year, I guess.

Ingredients:

• Nine graham crackers
• 1 cup toasted almonds
• 4 1/2 tbsp melted butter
• 2 8 oz packages of cream cheese, softened
• 3 ounces of white chocolate, melted
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• juice and zest of one lemon
• 8 ounces sour cream
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups cherries, pitted
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/3 cup sugar

Combine the graham crackers and almonds in a food processor, then add the butter. Line an eight inch springform pan with this mixture, including the sides. Bake it at 325 until golden, about ten minutes.

In another bowl, combine the cream cheese, 2/3 cup sugar, vanilla, eggs, lemon zest and lemon juice. Once they're combined, add the melted chocolate. Pour this mixture into the crust and bake at 325 for 40-45 minutes, until " the edges are set but the middle still jiggles when you give it a shove."

For the sour cream topping combine the sour cream, 3 tbsp sugar and vanilla and allow to rest at room temperature until the cheesecake has baked.

Combine the cherries and 1/3 cup sugar and wait for a few minutes, then add the cornstarch and cook over medium heat for about five minutes or until the juices start to thicken.

When the cheesecake comes out of the oven let it rest for 5-10 minutes, then spread the sour cream mixture on top. Return it to the oven and bake for five more minutes. Once it's cooled again, spread the cherry mixture on top. Allow to cool overnight.

Lemon Squares

FOUND IT: In the August 2012 issue of Cooking Light

The same night we made the BBQ chicken sandwiches, we served these lemon squares as a light, somewhat summery dessert. Our guests had also brought dessert but pretty quickly set theirs aside and had seconds of these.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 3 tbsp pine nuts
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• Cooking spray
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 tsp grated lemon rind
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 eggs
• 1 egg white
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar

Toast the pine nuts by placing them in a 9x9 pan in a single layer and baking them at 350 for five minutes or so.

Place the toasted pine nuts, the 1/4 cup of powdered sugar, the 3/4 cup flour and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and oil and process until the mixture "resembles coarse meal."

Coat your 9x9 dish from before in cooking spray and press the processed mixture into it. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Combine the 3/4 cup sugar, 2 tbsp flour, lemon rind, lemon juice, eggs and egg white in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth. Pour this mixture over the crust and bake at 325 for 20 minutes or until set. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack, then cover and chill them for two hours. Sprinkle evenly with the remaining powdered sugar before serving.