Michael Allan Mallory: Cherries Jubilee

I was so excited when mystery author Michael Allan Mallory wrote me to say he wanted to do Cherries Jubilee for our Warm Up with Flaming Food celebration this month. I assured him that my vintage version on 1/1 was nothing anyone would actually want to make and eat...This, however, looks fantastic. -AA

Cherries Jubilee

I don’t normally set food on fire. One is supposed to avoid that in the kitchen. So when the opportunity comes to intentionally put a match to food and watch it burst into flame without scrambling for the extinguisher, it’s a moment not to miss. Finding the right dessert to set ablaze was a challenge. One could experiment with blazing brownies or getting pyrotechnic with apple pie, but I decided to go with something standard, a dessert I’d never tried before. Cherries Jubilee. They offered the perfect blend of fire and tasty treat--sweet cherries, ice cream and dancing blue flames. This recipe differs from the recipe at the beginning of the month with the addition of fruit juice and cherry or cranberry extract.

Ingredients:

½ cup white sugar

2 tablespoons corn starch

¼ cup water

¼ cup orange juice

1 pound of fresh or frozen pitted Bing cherries.

¼ teaspoon cherry or cranberry extract

¼ cup brandy

Vanilla ice cream.

Mix sugar and cornstarch in a wide saucepan. Stir in the water and orange juice. Bring to a boil over medium high heat and whisk until thickened. Add the cherries. Return to a boil then reduce heat. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add ice cream to bowls.

Turn off heat and add the cherry or cranberry extract. Now pour in the brandy and ignite with a long match or lighter. Gently shake the pan until the blue flame goes out. Spoon the cherries over the ice cream.

Michael Allan Mallory is the co-author of the just released Killer Instinct, which continues the adventures of mystery’s first zoologist sleuth: Lavender “Snake” Jones. Michael volunteered at the International Wolf Center in Ely, Minnesota, as part of his research for this book, which features wild wolves and a murder investigation in Superior National Forest. Zookeeper Snake Jones made her debut in Death Roll. Michael’s short stories have appeared in several mystery anthologies, including the forthcoming Deadly Treats, Anne Frasier’s invitation only collection coming this Halloween. http://www.snakejones.com/