Aki pulls out ingredients just for fun. Today she joked about making some southwest kimchee. It turns out, it became more of a spiced slaw, yet her spice of choice, an ancho chile puree sparked several ideas. I tasted the chile paste and immediately thought of tart cherries. If that was where my mind went, I might as well follow. I took the chile paste and mixed in some honey, salt, and banyuls vinegar. I then added a fair amount of dried tart cherries and a touch of warm water. 
I let the mixture marinate and then heated the mixture to a boil, allowing the juices to mix and blend. Finally, I reserved half of the cherries whole and pureed the rest with the residual juices. The tart glazed cherries provide some texture and bite, while the puree provides a silky medium to spread the sweet, sour and spicy flavor profile.
These two bases influenced an antelope tartare dish to which we added some jalapeno (of course), shiso leaves, gound candied corn and goat cheese milk. I am constantly inspired by little tastes and am thrilled to be able to follow them into fruition.
