A friend once told me that he hated brunch. I was incredulous. I really love brunch. It's one of my favorite meals to eat and to cook. When we invited friends over this weekend, I reached into the archive of recipes I had collected to try at some point, and decided to make a Dutch Baby with Caramelized Cherries (posted to Food52 by arielleclementine). A Dutch Baby is also known as a German Pancake, and is essentially a giant crepe-like confection baked in the oven. This recipe gave me the chance to use my new cherry (and olive) pitter and was really, really tasty:

Ingredients

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 cups fresh cherries, pitted and halved
1/2 lemon
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2/3 cup whole milk, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2/3 cup flour

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Melt butter in 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat.
Add brown sugar, cherries, and a squeeze of juice from half a lemon and stir to combine.
Simmer until the cherries have released some juice, and the sauce is thick and shiny, about 5 minutes.
While the cherries are caramelizing, place the eggs, milk, vanilla, salt, and flour in a blender and blend for 30 seconds on low speed.
Increase the speed to high and blend for one minute more.
Pour the batter on top of the cherries and transfer to the preheated oven.
Bake for 20 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the cherry juices are bubbling happily.
Serve immediately with a simple dusting of powdered sugar.

This is the rare recipe to which I did not make any modifications. It did not need it, but since I had some good maple syrup on hand, I did warm some to pass at the table. I served this with individual Leek, Lemon and Feta Quiche s, and a fruit salad. My love of brunch continues.