I had two drinks in mind when I decided to preserve a pound of cherries from the farmer’s market this week – a Manhattan, and a Last Word. Ok, a Last Word doesn’t require a cherry, and I’ve only seen it served that way on occasion, but it is my favorite classic cocktail with maraschino, and I’m going to serve mine with a cherry.

I prefer rye (instead of bourbon or whiskey) in my Manhattan.  While I think the maraschino cherry (with hints of cherry and almond) would go nicely with the well-balanced Last Word, I wanted a rounder, fatter flavor for my Manhattan cherries, so it wouldn’t get overpowered by the rye. I remembered a recipe a friend had shared for brandied cherries, and decided it was worth a try.

So, here’s my cherries two ways. Each half-pound of cherries makes a pint. Make sure to sterilize your jars and simmer your lids, even if they’re going straight to the refrigerator.

I did have the good fortune to borrow a cherry pitter. You could give it a try manually, with a chopstick, but this tool allows you to push the pit straight through while keeping the cherry more or less intact.  Though, as you can see, there’s a fair bit of splatter from the process, so you’ll want to keep a sponge handy.

MARASCHINO CHERRIES

1/2 lb cherries, pitted
1 cup maraschino liqueur

Bring cup of maraschino liqueur to a simmer. Add cherries, turn off heat, and let sit until cool. Scoop cherries into jars, and then pour liquid over the cherries. Seal with lids and bands. Refrigerate.

BRANDIED CHERRIES

1/2 lb cherries, pitted
1/4 cup brandy
1/4 sugar
1/4 cup water
cinnamon stick
dash of lemon juice

Combine water and sugar in a saucepan, bring to a boil. Add cinnamon and lemon, stir until sugar has completely dissolved. Add cherries, simmer on low for 5 minutes. Turn off heat, remove cinnamon and add brandy. Let cool, scoop cherries into jar, and pour liquid over them. You can top off with more brandy if necessary. Add lids and bands, refrigerate.

Last Word
1 oz Gin
1 oz Green Chartreuse
1 0z Maraschino Liqueur
1 0z fresh squeezed lime juice

Combine in shaker over ice, shake well, until frosted. Strain into 4 oz glass, serve with maraschino cherry.

Rye Manhattan
2 oz rye
3/4 oz sweet vermouth
1 dash aromatic bitters

Combine in tall glass over ice, stir well. Strain into glass, serve with brandied cherry.

With its boast of 300+ days of sunshine a year, Hvar’s main source of income are the German and Italian tourists that flood the hotels, demanding beer and gelato. But, on a good day, if you shared a rented flat in a 4th floor walkup, a cross-island breeze could pick up the scent of the lavender fields. Vendors in the town market hock lavender oils and satchels. The finer stuff is sold to perfume makers.

Scents store memories in a way that is more visceral than a photograph or ferry ticket. When I smell lavender, I remember the balcony of that rented flat, terra cotta tiled rooftops, the carvings of St Mark’s lion into Venetian-era buildings.

My lavender plant is in full bloom. It’s hard to walk buy and not grab some. For some people, lavender reminds them of soap and grandmothers, but thankfully my grandmother didn’t wear lavender. So I keep trying to find new ways to add lavender in my cooking.

Dog Days of Summer is a cocktail invented out of necessity last summer. Necessity for gin, mostly, but also lavender. It requires a lavender simple syrup, lemonade, gin, and St Germain.

Dog Days of Summer

• 2 tsp lavender buds
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• St Germain Elderflower liqueur
• Hendricks Gin
• Lemonade

Bring sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan, until sugar dissolves. Add lavender, reduce heat to low, and let simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat to cool to room temp, then strain. A tea strainer works great for this. Syrup can be made 1 day ahead.

In a cocktail shaker, combine 2 parts gin (I prefer Hendricks), 1 part St Germain, 1 part lemonade over ice. Shake well, until shaker is thoroughly frosted and some ice has dissolved.

In a Collins glass,  pour gin mixture over ice, and top with lemonade. 50/50 will be nice & stiff, 2/3 lemonade to 1/3 gin for an afternoon drink. Stir in 1 tbsp of lavender simple syrup. Garnish with lemon.

Now, one more idea for that lavender plant, if you’ve got one. Bread! I’ve been making no-knead bread on a fairly regular basis over the last month, at least a loaf a week. It’s so simple and easy, just combine the ingredients, and bake the next day.
No-Knead Bread with Lavender and Fleur de sel

• 4 cups bread flour, unbleached
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp instant yeast
• 2 cups warm water
• 1 tbsp lavender buds
• sea salt

Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add water, stir with wooden spoon until flour is fully mixed. Dough will be stringy. Wrap bowl with plastic wrap and let set overnight, 14-16 hours.

When you wake up the next morning, you’ll see the dough has doubled in size and is dotted with holes (if not, your yeast isn’t working. try again with new yeast). Shape the dough, working it into a ball, then folding lengthwise, and then in half again. Re-cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 2 hours.

Pre-heat oven to 450F. Put your dutch oven and the cover (unless the handle is plastic!)  in the oven as it heats up.

Unwrap the dough, which will have risen. Twist the dough, place in the heated dutch oven. Sprinkle with lavender buds, then fold them in. Sprinkle with sea salt.

Bake, covered, at 450f for 30 minutes. Remove lid, and continue to bake for another 30 mins. Crust will brown and harden.

You’ll notice the sea salt gives the crust a pretzel-like taste, and the lavender offsets the salty with a sweet floral taste. Let cool one hour before you slice it up. Add butter, enjoy!