All-american cherry pie

4      cups          Fresh tart cherries
   1 1/3  cups          Sugar
   2      tablespoons   Plus 2 teaspoons
                        - quick-cooking tapioca
   2      tablespoons   kirsch -- optional
                        Pastry for 9" double-crust
                        - pie shell -- unbaked
   2      tablespoons   butter


450 degrees. Sort, rinse, stem and pit cherries. Mix cherries, sugar,
tapioca and kirsch in large bowl; let stand for 1 minutes.2. Pour fruit
into unbaked pie shell and dot with butter. Cover with top crust (slashed
to allow steam to escape) or lattice pastry. Bake 10 minutes at 450
degrees. Then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking
until golden brown, about 40 more minutes. Cool on wire rack.Nutrition
information per serving: 501 calories; 22 g fat; 8 mg cholesterol; 496 mg
sodium; 38 percent calories from fat. From the Chicago Tribune 7/1/93.