Spumoni Sundaes with Hot Fudge and Amaretto Cherry Sauce

Sundaes always make me think of long summer days growing up in the midwest.  At the peak of summer in Ohio, the sun sometimes didn't dip below the horizon until almost 9:30pm, which meant lots of daylight hours to laugh and play, especially after school was out for the summer.  Those days, it was pretty safe to roam around the neighborhood, and I spent my time playing kickball in the street with the boys or riding bikes with my girlfriends.  My mom always told me I had to be home by the time the streetlights came on, and I would grudgingly drag my feet back home to end the day.  

Other evenings, my mom would load us up in the minivan (oh yeah, we did have two minivans in my lifetime) and we would head to the ice cream shop for cones or sundaes.  Hands-down, my favorite places to go were Honey Hut Ice Cream and East Coast Custard, and if you grew up in Cleveland, I really really hope you have been to one or both places.  (It is no coincidence that the Yelp review for Honey Hut has 5 stars for reviews.)  

Ghiradelli chocolate for Espresso Hot Fudge Sauce. (Can you read upside down?)

When my family would go for ice cream, sometimes I would be in the mood for just a cone (with two scoops of course), but often I would want a sundae.  Thinking back, might have just wanted the sundae for the maraschino cherry on the top, but the hot fudge sauce on the frozen ice cream didn't hurt either.  Actually, I think I gravitated towards the sundae because aside from a banana split, it was the most indulgent thing on the menu.  Even as a child I was a smart girl. 

Now I don't know if it was these childhood memories or just the appeal of chocolate, cherries, and ice cream, but when I saw this Spumoni Sundae with Hot Fudge and Cherry Sauce in Bon Appetit last summer, I swooned.  

Plus, I can rarely turn away chocolate.    

I cannot resist this. 

Espresso hot fudge sauce?  Warm amaretto cherry sauce?  Pistachio and vanilla ice cream?  Check, check, and check.  Yes, I would like them all please.  And if you can serve them to me in a pretty sundae glass that would be great.  I can even say please and thank you if you want.  Pretty please...? 

This warm amaretto cherry sauce is to die for.

A Recipe for Sweet Cherry Preserves

It is cherry season!  I have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the first cherries at the farmers markets, and finally their happy red faces have appeared.  They are juicy, sweet, and voluptuous, with smooth shiny skin and soft flesh inside.  They are just absolutely perfect.  Some of them are even so red and ripe that they are almost a deep crimson violet color.  

Here in San Diego we get the common Bing variety of cherry, but we also get neon-colored and super sweet Rainier cherries, and as well as Lapin Cherries.  I buy them all.  I love them all.  I am an equal opportunity cherry eater.  

Now last year when cherry season rolled around, I didn't quite get my act together.  I bought lots and lots of cherries, and snacked on them.  Often.  Cherries are just the ideal size for popping in your mouth one at a time, and then of course, you can't eat just one.  They are sweet enough to feel like an indulgence, but they are also really healthy - a win-win in the snack world.  

But yet, there were those pesky pits... and that was when I realized something was missing from my life.  Specifically, I didn't have a cherry pitter, and clearly everyone should own a cherry pitter.  (Am I right friends?)  Now I should have used this as a good excuse to go shopping (as though I need an excuse), but because of aforementioned lack of getting-act-together, I lagged behind and the cherry season passed me by.     

Almond Amaretto Cookies

For at about the last year, I have been drinking coffee every morning at work.  That jolt of caffeine gets my engines revving and makes me feel so much more productive.  Most of the time I set our espresso machine for a ‘mild’ Americano; unless I am desperate I won’t stoop to drinking drip coffee from the break room since it tastes like old tires and has waaaay to much caffeine for me to handle.  Even still, there are times when I overdose on my drug of choice and it feels like my little heart is just racing away. 

On the weekends, however, I have a very different experience with coffee and caffeine.  To get my fix, I often make myself some tea at home, where I can put my feet up and languish over my breakfast.  Or, later in the day I might stop at Starbucks to relax with some java (don’t hate me, I am a loyal patron).  I thoroughly enjoy savoring the coffee, and it is time for me to be alone with my thoughts, to people watch, or to read a book.  A coffeehouse is also one of my favorite places to meet up with friends.  It is like a home away from home where we can gripe about work, laugh over embarrassing moments, and recount our daily adventures.