Red Wine Sauce with Fresh Cherries and Black Pepper

This recipe is credited entirely to Jay.

Sometimes he goes and looks in the fridge and finds things that are alllllllmost moldy, and then makes a suggestion as to what I might cook with said things so that we don't waste food. 

Usually I say "I've got dinner covered," in a very condescending way. 

I'm a CATCH, people.  

The other day, though, he suggested a cherry glaze using some fresh cherries that were alllllllmost moldy to go over some leftover pork tenderloin that we needed to eat in a hurry.  We don't like to waste food, is what  I'm saying.

It was a GREAT idea, and so I made this sauce:  A red wine reduction with cherries, black pepper, and butter.  It was really good, really simple, and you could serve it over ANYTHING.  We went with sliced pork and arugula, and it was a great dinner. 

The sauce takes about 20 minutes to reduce, so you could start the sauce, then grill or saute a piece of fish, pork, chicken....whatever!  Your meat will be done when the sauce is, and you'll have a fast easy dinner.  The cherry sauce is kind of like cranberry relish at Thanksgiving, so this would be super delish on a turkey cutlet or HECK, even some grilled turkey sausages!  

In addition to whatever meat you'll be serving this with, you need two good handfuls of cherries, 2 green onions, black pepper, red wine, butter, sugar, and stock.  Beef stock is REALLY good with the deep cherries and wine, but veg or chicken would work fine if that's all you have. Try not to freak out. 

First, pitting the cherries!  It's not SUPER fun like you're thinking, but it's not terrible either.  Just cut a small cut around the middle of the cherry like you're cutting open a peach, then split the two sides open.  

Use your finger (safer than a knife) to ease the pit out of the cherry, and you're done.  This part takes ... 5 minutes if you hurry, 10 if you're slow, like me, so anticipate it.  It's not bad, and you'll make it through, and the end result is worth it.  Stop whining that FOR ONCE I gave you some actual prep to do.  Sorry I'm not sorry.  

Now, in a small pan over medium heat with some cooking spray, add the cherries!  Let them cook for 5 minutes until they start to sizzle a bit.  

Then, pour in the wine and add a sprinkle of sugar - just ½ teaspoon or so to thicken the sauce slightly.  

We aren't making dessert here, kids.  

Let the wine bubble and cook down for 5 minutes, then add the stock.  The sauce will be watery at this point, but WANDER OFF.  Let the stock/wine/cherries reduce for 10 more minutes or so until the sauce has thickened a bit.  There will still be a lot of liquid because as the stock evaporates the cherries cook and reduce their juices so....it's a liquid-fest.  That's a good thing!

While the sauce is reducing, thinly slice the onions.  I added them as an ingredient because the sharpness really offsets the sweet cherries in a great way, no matter what protein you're serving this with.  

Now, if you want to make this in advance it works REALLY well, just simmer the sauce for the first 20 minutes (5 with the cherries, 5 with the wine, 10 with the stock), and turn it off.  When you want to serve, turn it back on to low to heat up.  Right before serving, add a good amount of cracked pepper and the butter.  

Swirl the butter into the sauce to melt, and that's it!  Spoon this over anything - I'm not lying when I say this is a GREAT use for 3-day old sliced pork tenderloin.  

Sprinkle the scallions over the whole dish, and you're good to go.  

I spooned just a bit of the sauce over the meat, then served the rest on the side so that people could add more or not, depending on their tastes.  This was REALLY good, and a great way to add some fruit to a savory dish - one of my favorite things to do for summer!

I still have some more pork so...if anyone's got any bright ideas for what to do with it in the coming days I'd be REALLY grateful.  

This was served over arugula with the sauce and scallions.  The arugula came from our friend Matt - thanks, Matt!  We loved it. 

This is super delicious and easy, and you should probably race to a store for cherries and make it tonight.

That is all. 

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  Shared with my buds @Weekend Potluck.  Check out ALL the incredible recipes, and the hosts:

• Sunflower Supper Club ~ Kim & Julie
• 4 Little Fergusons~ Tonya
• The Country Cook~ Brandie
• Mommy Time Party ~ Tabitha
• The Better Baker ~ Marsha