Place butter in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Heat until butter begins to bubble and froth a bit, whisking constantly. As soon as you see brown bits starting to form on the bottom of the pan, remove from heat and add your chicken broth, salt and pepper. If you don't use a low sodium chicken broth, you might not need any additional salt. So, season to taste and stir.

Put the pan back on the burner, raise the heat and bring the broth to a boil.

Take the pan off the heat, add the couscous, stir and cover. Set aside for 10 minutes. If you want to plump up your cherries, add them with the couscous. Otherwise you can add them at the end.

While you're waiting for the couscous to finish, toss the sliced shallots with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in a 450 degree F oven for maybe 5-7 minutes, until they are slightly tender and the edges have begun to char. I did this in my toaster oven so it went pretty quickly. In a large oven, it might take longer. Keep a watchful eye. You don't want these to burn, just char.

When the couscous has had it's 10 minutes to set up, fluff with a fork and stir in the cherries (if you haven't already added them) the pine nuts and the shallots. Serve.