Spiced Cherry Glaze over Grilled Porkchops

My mom says, "What do you want to have for your early birthday dinner?" 
And the first thought that popped into my mind was "Cherries."   Why? Because they are tart and sweet and luscious and rich and scream "Celebration!" with every bite!!

So I made this sauce, and Mom grilled up some AMAZING porkchops - still not sure how she's so good making really good food, and we added steamed asparagus and a salad with romaine, baby spinach, and ripe gorgeous yellow/rose Bartlett pears (made fabulous with some fantastic sharp salty gorgonzola for those of you not in the Whole 30 right now)

I intended the sauce for the chops. 

I maybe poured it over everything on my plate. :ahem:

Spiced Cherry Glaze
Into a small saucepot on medium low heat, add:

1/2c water
1/2c dry red wine
3/4c dried tart cherries
1/4c Polaner all fruit seedless raspberry (they don't use any added sugar)
1/2tsp each: cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice

Bring the mixture to a low simmer.  Stir every 5-10 minutes to make sure it's not sticking to the bottom.  Add a little water and wine (equal parts) if you need more volume, or let the sauce reduce down until it is thick enough to coat the spoon for a glaze. 

I followed the above recipe and simmered until the cherries were rehydrated- soft and plump.  I then took all the liquid and used it to marinate about 2lbs of porkchops for 30min before my momma grilled them to perfection.  I then added the all the same liquids and spices to the rehydrated cherries to make a second batch of sauce with them and it came out fantastic - so one could probably use as little as 1/4c of tart cherries for this and it would do beautifully. 

I think fresh fruit would also work well, but I would reduce the water by 1/2 and leave the wine at the same volume.  Cherries, blackberries, raspberries or peaches would be best I think, and you could try brandy instead of wine. I would strain the mix if using blackberries since they are so seedy.  Experiment and let me know how it turns out!