Cherries with pits.  I know every year or so, I have a cherry with a pit in it, and that’s that.   For some reason, when we were growing up in Arizona, fresh cherries were not in our household.  Cherry flavored items were always a favorite between my brother and I, but there was nerve a huge demand for the actual product.   So, in many ways, this cherry season, where I got myself a big ole’ bag of the damn things, will be my first real cherry season.

The more fresh cherries I eat, the more I realize the difference in opinion that many share between actual cheery flavor and cherry flavored items, which are growing further and further apart in my mind now that I’ve been given the opportunity to really take on fresh cherry flavor.    These are begging to be paired with some foie gras.  There’s something about the creamy, savory flavor which hits the tart acidity of cherry – it’s a pretty rare hit between two vastly different items going really well together.

Which of course, leads me to Starburst candies, and how red is pretty much the best one of the four.  You know it; I know it, let’s move on with it.

It’s amazing that with all the places I’ve been able to eat, I’m still getting used to having simple items such as fresh cherries, figs, jalapenos, ginger, garlic, curry – amazing (amazing) flavors which I haven’t truly experienced until the last few years of my life.    My comfort level with foreign cuisine has skyrocketed – although frankly, I’m still a little worried about what to eat in all these foreign places which I’m planning on hitting.    Asking for the proper item is the hardest part, usually.   Getting to experience genuine, authentic new flavors is really an exciting element of travel – hopefully I’ll hit some nice ones.  Hopefully not like this.

Dudes.  All tickets booked.  Good to go.   Tee-niner.

Ramekin. 

2 cups Chocolate Chex Cereal.

2 cups Wheat Chex Cereal.

3 tbsp Cinnamon.

2 tbps Sea Salt.

Warm In Oven.

This would be even more terrific if it got all cold and rainy again.  Warm food when it's cold outside really enhances certain elements, I believe sweetness as one of them.   Kind of has hints of the Barcelona Bar from Vosges.   Must somehow combine this with panna cotta.

For some reason, my body has just been craving ridiculous amounts of grains.   I feel like I'm stockpiling food on my body as an insurance policy for my upcoming trip.   One tends to lose weight on vacations, due to the erratic meal times and lots of walking and activities (usually).  

I remember going to White Castle once when I was young.   Our family was vacationing with some family friends on the outskirts of Chicago, and during the course of that vacation, White Castle was consumed at some point.   At least, that’s how I remember it today.  It could be different tomorrow.    In any case, there has always been a vague recognition of what a fresh “slider” tasted like.

Since we don’t have them on the WEST SIDE, we have to rely on the overly expensive, frozen versions (conveniently located in my grocer’s freezer).  This food abomination can be seen below.

They are more or less, kind of gross, but they definitely have a certain something about them which keeps me coming back.  They’re wicked unhealthy, too, so they are only purchased every few months.  However, a few nights ago, I noticed the “official” way to cook them is pretty bizarre.  So bizarre, that it must be tried.

Instead of tossing them in the microwave, what you’re supposed to do is boil some hot water, put the water in a pan, place the burgers (sans wrappers) on a sheet above the boiling water.  This entire contraption goes into a 325 oven for 10 minutes.   This effectively gives you a steam cooker in your oven, and lets the burgers warm up nice and slowly, and allows them to absorb a lot of moisture.    The end result is, well, damn near perfect, honestly.

The steam cooking solution allowed them to cook nicely, and produced a much better flavor.  The overall texture was the best part, as the bun was able to get soft and fluffy, while the cheese and meats fused together for some sort of cheesemeat entity, which was terrific when nice and warm.    The whole process does end up taking about a half hour though, which is pretty rough when you just want a quick 60 second snack.  However, the results are (dare I say) almost worth it?