I miss my Hungarian grandmother, too! I know what you mean about the paprika. I was also thinking of Black Forest cake or cupcakes and maybe a vinegar. You can also use the cherries in a lassi with some honey. Scanned the responses quickly, so hope these are not repeats.

My Hungarian grandmother made sour cherry soup, a simple buttery cake with sour cherries and almonds (or walnuts) and best of all, occasionally a super crispy roast duck with a sour cherry sauce (so much better than orange.) These were possibly the only things she ever cooked not doused in paprika - including scrambled eggs. Miss her. ;)

Maybe add some kirsch brandy to them and use them in drinks?

How about a quick strudel? Melt several tbs unsalted butter. Lay sheet of phyllo on a board, brush w/ butter, sprinkle with toasted breadcrumbs and a bit of sugar. Continue with 4 or 5 more layers. Drain the cherries, reserve the liquid. Place the cherries along one long side, leaving a 1" edge on the short ends. Brush edges w/ more butter. Roll up jellyroll fashion. Move to a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush top w/ more butter and sprinkle w/ more sugar. Pop in a 375 degree oven until nicely browned. In the meantime, reduce reserved cherry liquid until thick - maybe add a bit of tawny port. Serve with a puddle of the sauce & some fresh lightly sweetened whipped cream...mmmmm....

@ merrill-Just wondering what kind of cheese they serve with the cherries?

I'm with Savour, regarding drinks. I think the syrup would be a great substitute to grenadine in adult beverages. Cherry lime rickeys or just syrup and seltzer for a great summer drink. And the cherries themselves would be great baked into muffins, topping pancakes, cake, whatever.

I would make Persian sour cherry rice. You cook the cherries in syrup down a bit, parboil some rice, and layer butter, rice, the cherries, then more rice and more cherries in a big, hot pot. Wrap the lid in a dish towel and cover. Cook on high for about ten minutes, then on low for another 20 or so. It's delicious. Most people eat it with chicken or lamb, but I'm a vegetarian, so I like it by itself or with plain yogurt.

Am I the only one who thinks cocktails? Try one of those cherries in a Manhattan instead of the maraschino ones.

I'd pretty much my favorite topping for vanilla ice cream. I heat up the cherries, spoon them onto the ice cream, and add a little granola for crunch. It is fantastic.

I think of little but the cherry jello recipe in the new york times dining potluck contest these days. also love cherry and apple crumble or pie. i think the crumble might have come from amanda hesser's first book, The Cook and the Gardener, but not positive. Anyway, a crumble is an easy recipe to find. Enjoy and let us know what you make.

You could saute some shallots and garlic and then reduce the cherries with some syrup, and use as a stuffing for a stuffed pork tenderloin or loin.

I've got a jar too. I've been planning to reduce it a bit and make ice cream with it. The other classic would be duck with cherry sauce. When I was a kid we had that every year for passover at my step-father's mother's house. She was crazy as a loon, but an amazing cook. Unfortunately, her son was a jerk and thus the marriage didn't last long enough for me to learn much from her.

I've used tart cherries in juice, just draining the juice, in a clafoutis. Depending on how much syrup there is, you could probably use cherries, syrup and all in the bottom of your baking dish/pie plate, pour your clafoutis batter over, and go with that.

You could simmer the cherries and syrup with a split vanilla bean until the syrup gets a little thicker, and then cool and serve it with cheese -- they make something similar at Babbo with regular cherries as one of their condimenti for cheese, and it's always great.