Ambrosia has always fascinated me, not the food of the Greek gods, rather the good ol’ American buffet speciality. (And maybe by fascinated I should clarify– repelled.) I remember a few family BBQ’s at my grandma house. All the food would be lined up on the dinning room cum buffet table: potato salad, crocks of baked beans, ears of corn, and way down, at the end of the table, a Melmac bowl full of ambrosia.
You would think this salad would be endlessly pleasing to a child’s palate, mandarin orange segments, chunks of pineapple, dried coconut, mini-marshmallows tumbling about. Sounds pleasing enough. But it was the “dressing” that turned me off every time. The thick, globby, preservative-laden dressing, or sauce…maybe covering is the best choice of words for the concoction, which was so dense you could not even see what it concealed. Sometimes it [...]

Sunday morning, polenta and roasted cherries, what could be finer? I’ve said it before, I love polenta. It’s versatility cannot be matched: served soft and flavored with mascarpone or parmesan cheese, made with chicken broth and a bit of fresh sage, or served firm and fried. The possibilities are both endless and delicious. One of my favorite ways to eat polenta is made with milk, and served with pure maple syrup as a breakfast porridge. But what is the summer time equivalent of this cold winter fare? Substitute the maple syrup for some warmed, roasted cherries, and there you have the perfect summertime breakfast.
Dying your fingers a sanguine shade is the only negative aspect to preparing this sumptuous sauce. Pitting juicy fresh cherries is a bit of bear in terms of mess, but well worth the disarray for the sake of flavor. A bit of booze (cognac to be exact), [...]