French Fridays with Dorie
Despite the appearance of this Whole Cherry Clafoutis, when an already less-than-prolific food blogger observes a posting schedule even more sparse than usual it might give off the mistaken impression that he or she has decided to pack it in and move on to other projects. This has not been the case with me.
For the last several weeks (it’s actually been months that seem like weeks) I have been working with the lovely and patient Kita (of PassTheSushi.com) to ready Sis Boom Blog for it’s next phase of life. A phase that has me move from the relative ease, comfort (and obscurity) of Google’s Blogger platform over to the the more complicated, self-hosted confines of WordPress where the many things I have planned for this blog can be more easily accommodated.
In a perfect world these sorts of things will happen seamlessly in the night as IT and programmers technicians work tirelessly to update various templates, DNS servers, RSS feeds and email subscriber services. When you wake up in the morning you get your cup of Sis Boom I am hoping it will be waiting for your in your reader or email in box as always.
If you get your Sis Boom Blog on the blog itself (and I do recommend it!) you should notice the wonderful new thematic blog design that Kita and I have been working on these past weeks (or months) when we would rather have been cooking or writing.
As I post this Whole Cherry Clafoutis now I don’t even know how long it will be up or whether you will get it one, two, or three times. We are ‘thisclose’ from pulling the the switch which will, even then, unleash further a flurry of activity requiring us to button up said RSS and email feeds, update links, reformat posts, and more. It’s an awful lot of work for what really amounts to a labor of love (as opposed to money.)
But still, very much worth it and I hope you will agree once you see it.
So I apologize in advance to my subscribers, RSS readers, Facebook followers, and any others who you end up getting a few extra emails or notifications than they should. I know what this is like as I’ve been on the receiving end of this which makes it all the more frightening now as I attempt to do the same maneuver. So should your RSS reader display for you every single thing I have ever posted again I hope you won’t unsubscribe on a whim. Why not instead take a moment to scroll back and see how truly dreadful my photos were when I started this project?
“Whole Cherry” Clafoutis
I wish that transferring 3 plus years of blog content to a new platform was as easy to accomplish as this Whole Cherry Clafouti was to make. There really is nothing to it which was a good thing because I didn’t really have any time to eat it anyways. Keeping the pits in is supposedly how the French make it easier on themselves. I find it makes for a truly democratic dessert as it has everyone fumbling around trying to take pits out unnoticed at the table. The cherries stay plump and flavorful by doing this so why not risk it?
I didn’t need any convincing and was more than happy to leave them in.
If you tell your guests there are pits in the cherries then they will be careful when they eat it. It’s that simple. And just in case they aren’t you can do what I did and set out a stack of my husband’s business cards on the table next to it. He’s a dentist and would be more than happy to repair any cracked or broken teeth. If you have insurance, of course.
Recipe is from Dorie Greenspan from Dorie Geenspan's book Around My French Table
This is what you will need:
- 1 lb (450 g) sweet cherries, stemmed but not pitted
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
- Pinch of fine grain sea salt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup of whole milk
- 1/2 cup of heavy cream
- Icing sugar/confectioners’ sugar for dusting
This is how you make it:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Ensure that your oven rack is centred in the oven. Generously grease a 9 inch pie or quiche pan with butter. Place the washed and dried cherries into the prepared baking dish in a single layer.
- In a medium bowl whisk the 3 eggs until they are light and frothy. Add in the sugar and beat with a whisk for a minute or so until the sugar has dissolved. Add in the pinch of salt and the vanilla and whisk well. Add in the flour and beat the mixture vigorously until the flour is well incorporated and smooth. (Dorie makes a note here to comment on the fact that generally when incorporating flour you want to be very gentle but this recipe is the exception- use some muscle!).
- Gradually pour in the milk and cream and whisk until well incorporated. Rap the bowl against the counter to release any air bubbles and then pour the batter over the cherries in the prepared baking dish.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes until the clafoutis is puffed up and golden brown and when a sharp knife blade inserted into the centre of the clafoutis comes out clean. If you hit a cherry, try again!
- Remove from the oven to a cooling rack and allow the clafoutis to cool to room temperature. When you are ready to serve, dust the clafoutis with icing sugar by using a fine mesh sieve.
Love your new home! I had someone turn down a slice, because they were afraid they’d forget about the pits mid-nosh. I had their slice the next day for breakfast.. I don’t think they would have turned down yours in that gorgeous pie plate, though.
Wow! Your blog looks terrific!!! I think Kita may have mentioned you in a G+ Blogger’s conference yesterday. She spoke of her new client and his interest in learning the inner workings of WP (she was impressed!). I hope the transition continues to go well!
Yeah. That was probably me! I don’t know if that made it harder or not for her though! lol. I had to miss the conference so I hope there is a replay!
You are going to LOVE wordpress. Looking great so far! I’ve always wanted to have the nerve to make clafoutis with WHOLE cherries. You’ve done it for me. As far as your pictures, you can size them when you export them to fit across. When you do the vertical pictures, just make sure to put 900 or so on the bottom dimension. If not wordpress shrinks the picture. I hope you don’t mind my tip. I had to learn that when I switched over to wordpress too. I have to size 570 across so it’s the same as my text across and then for verticals I have to change the bottom dimension to 900. Then you get those nice huge photos (if you like that kind of thing).
Welcome to the wordpress self-hosted world. I love Kita’s work – you’re in good hands.
I haven’t made clafoutis in ages. My grands made it a lot when I was a kid and I’m probably ready to start making it myself. 🙂 Now that I AM a grand.
Oui, je parle. Best of luck with WordPress. I am sure you’ll like it. SmartyBart does! We already enjoy your funny, clever and very smart site. Now it is even better. And he’d probably like a bit of this clafoutis. I know I would. It looks divine!
Very nice, Trevor!
I notice a slightly almond flavor too when the pits are left in. It’s a small difference but worth the hassle of having pits in my opinion. The new look is fabulous too. GREG
Thank you and I agree… the flavor is a bit different with the pits so it makes a great experiment. I actually thought that the table-side discussion of the pits added to the romance of the meal for my guests. I wouldn’t think of doing it any other way.
Welcome to your new home – it looks great! Although I removed my pits (mostly for my daughter who would not be able to navigate them), I would love to try this “pits in” sometime to see the difference.
Congratulations on your new site…looks wonderful ;). I like the whole cherries in your clafoutis and a happy belated Bastille Day;)
I had big break out plans (pun intended) for Bastille Day this year but they never materialized amid this internet construction debris. Perhaps I will do something special for it in December when things calm down?
Congratulations on taking the dive. So far, it looks fabulous! Like almost everything, I am sure it will be even more divine with any future tweaks.
Ha! That is a compliment like my grandmere used to make! I’m impressed!
The Cherry: a Sonnet
A ripe cherry, in whole or part, is sweet
Yet some feel fear when the fruit contains a pit
Why hesitate to bite into that soft meat?
When in truth its popping won’t hurt a bit
To be sure, ’tis best to wait til the cherry’s ripe
Else a bitter taste may linger on the tooth
There is a cherry to please every type!
Examine your head if you think I speak untruth
When that sweet juice runs freely down your chin
Sticky, sweet, & unctuous all at once
You won’t care if the pit was out or in
If you do, I will think you’re quite the dunce
Your cherries must be eaten without fear;
These are the pleasure of life the wise hold dear.
“Without fear” is the crux, indeed
And yet some will cave in and run away
When they should eat, posthaste – Godspeed
Mehopes the’ll try another day
Trevor, I think I’ve read this week’s Post three times in three different places but this is the first time I’ve been able to leave an “official” comment. Good work. Love the quotes from Julia and Auguste in the upper right corner. Don’t remember those from your old Blog. Your clafoutis looks delicious but I’m much more interested in checking out your blog. Congratulations.
Just trying to drive comments to THIS instance where they will remain in perpetuity! Oh yes, my protoges Julia and Auguste. They always showed such great potential.
Bravo! On all fronts. The blog design and lay out, the dessert, the photography. You make me want to come back for seconds on everything. Never have tasted a clafoutis but you make it look delicious, as usual. Putting this one on my list of yet another recipe of yours that I must try. Would you suggest a dessert wine to go with this? I also have to say I love the new color palette on your blog. Just typing on this luscious taupe is a pleasure. Well done, my friend!
I can’t claim much knowledge of dessert wines but this would be the sort of thing that would pair nicely I”m sure. In the past when I’ve tried to serve them the bottles get wasted so I’ve stopped trying on my heathen dinner guests. Maybe you can try this and make a suggestion? Please invite me over for a slice. And a glass.
You brave man. Pits AND WordPress? I wish I would have the patience to figure it out. So I guess, I’ll just eat this, because I am good at avoiding pits. But I never could figure out WordPress.
Love your new look, Trevor! I’ve thought of changing over to word press, but I’m a bit of a coward. I was also a coward to leave the pits in my clafouti! Yours looks utterly delicious! Love the pie plate.
Your clafoutis looks fantastic, especially in that pie plate!
the site looks great – although your last site looked great as well! the clafoutis looks even better
Love the new look. ANd the clafoutis.