Bay Pickled Cherry and Goat's Cheese Dip

I was in charge of making my sister's birthday dinner and wanted something interesting with which to kick it off, but also something easy and very portable.

I used to make a truly delicious warm goat's cheese dip, topped with apricot preserves and pickled hot red peppers which sounded like a good idea for this celebratory dinner, but this would have required turning the oven on to very high, which was not happening due to the heatwave, even with the joys of US air conditioning.

I guess this is the summer version of that recipe. I had cherries on hand, and I always pickle some with bay to use over the course of the summer (excellent in ham sandwiches) so this was easy to put together

Makes about 2 cups of dip.

1 cup of fresh cherries, stems removed, pitted, and halved

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

3/4 tsp table salt

2 tsps + 1 Tbsp honey

3 bay leaves

1 Tbsp finely chopped rosemary needles

1 8 oz log of your favorite creamy goat's cheese

1 16 oz package of Philadelphia cream cheese

Measure the vinegar, salt, two teaspoons of the honey into a small saucepan along with a quarter cup of water. Toss in the bay leaves. Bring to a rolling boil.

Place the cherries in a heat safe container with a lid.

As soon as the liquid in the pan has come to a rolling boil, pour it over the cherries. Cover, and let cool. Once cooled to room temperature, place in the fridge overnight.

The following day, whip the cheeses, rosemary, and remaining honey together until well combined.

Place in your serving container and topped with drained cherries. Tastes best at room temperature.