From Beverly:  My daughter was born two days after Christmas, so when she was young we always celebrated twice -- once on her "Actual Birthday" (Dec. 27) and again on her "Birthday Party Day," usually the first Saturday in December. This system worked quite well -- and it kept the celebration going all month long.  We've decided to take the same approach with President's Day (yesterday), and George Washington's Birthday, which is actually today!
      Maybe it's just an excuse to drown ourselves in cherries, but we think George is worth a whole day all to himself. It's true fresh cherries are pricey in winter (but they do help with the February blahs!), so we've got a variety of cherries for you in a selection of recipes that we think Martha would have found easy to make and George would have found delightful to eat.
      Take our Rustic Cherry Tart. It's made with cherry pie filling, but a few extra flavorings and a good-quality refrigerated pie crust mean it's just as wonderful to eat as it is to look at. Who can resist cherries with chocolate? Or a cherry port sauce over chicken breasts?
         If you have favorite recipes with cherries, let us know at  tellus@kitchenscoop.com. And we've love it if you'd forward this edition to your friends using the "share" button at the end of the newsletter.