Crazy about Cherries

Spanish chef Solís and food expert Gosalbo, with help from the Northwest Cherry Growers, offer up more insight into and recipes for cherries than anyone could seriously require. Gosalbo starts with a voluminous overview, covering the fruit's origin and migration, its botanical makeup and tips for pruning and cultivation. Solís has plenty of ideas for the fruit itself, ranging from the decadent Warm Foie Gras with Cherry Vinegar Reduction to a simple but satisfying Fruit Salad with Cherry Vinaigrette, as well as mad-scientist concoctions like Cherry Ravioli with Cheese Soup, or grilled tuna belly in a cherry jam-like sauce that also contains melons, eggplant and red wine. Other of Solís's dishes require an insane amount of prep time (Ratafia-Cherry Ice Cream calls for alcohol infused with cherries over 40 days outdoors in the sun). The duo lean heavily on the Northwest Cherry Growers for recipes, and they tend to steal the show with practical basics: cherry pie and cobbler, Caesar-Style Cherry Chicken Salad and a tangy Cherry Balsamic Sauce that pairs well with just about anything grilled. Cherry fanatics will certainly want to peruse, but anyone without unfettered access to a cherry orchard probably won't need this volume in their collection. Color photos.