My cher-ry a-more

I love cherries, and my life has been just bowls of them, that's for sure. But with the abundance, especially now, of fresh ones, it's easy to forget just how good the ones that come in a can are.

That point was driven home at a friend's home the other night, when a talented young man we know whipped up a cherry reduction sauce that made an otherwise excellent New York strip steak into a meat to remember. I've had such sauces atop duck breasts, adding a sweet note to the slight gaminess of the bird. The cherry sauce had almost the effect of a fine red wine as an accompaniment.

Cherry reduction sauce

Ingredients

1 can pitted tart cherries, drained

1/2 cup reserved cherry juice

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons port

1 teaspoon cornstarch

Instructions

Pour the juice into the saucepan, setting aside the cherries. Whisk the sugar, port and cornstarch into the juice until smooth, then bring to a boil over moderate heat, whisking constantly and boil until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat, stir in cherries and cool.