Cherries and Christmas Drinks!

I know it's August, and still a little too early to be thinking about Christmas but sometimes you just have to plan ahead! It's toward the end of cherry season, so I stocked up on a couple of pounds and made my Grandma Shirley's "Christmas Drink."

I removed the stems and rinsed the cherries (they have one of the highest percentages of pesticides and chemicals on them). I had about 7 pounds. 2 large (about a gallon each) containers held 3ish pounds each, then one half gallon to hold the rest.

Once divided up into their respective containers, I covered the cherries with 2 cups of white granulated sugar (1 cup for the smaller jug). I could eat them all just like this....

Then.....fill up with a liquor of your choice! I chose brandy because the sweetness of it will lend well to the drink. Stir to dissolve sugar and seal it up!

And now......we wait.......about 3 months or so. I continually stir the mixture to make sure the sugar is dissolved. My Grandma called it her "Christmas Drink" because that's when it was ready to be enjoyed!!

Food Porn

Just a quick post about some yummy mushrooms I made the other day. The Man had to work on his car all day in 40 degree weather. So, I thought I would treat him to a steak dinner.

Delicious Rib Eye steaks. Pat dry, rub with olive oil and a small sprinkling of spices. Allow to get to room temperature.

I found some baby portobello mushrooms, rinsed them and de-stemmed them....(I'm sure that's a technical term) I set the stems aside.

 Butter, garlic and white onions. The perfect trio of flavor!

The smell of this combination makes the house smell so good! People will walk into your kitchen asking "what are you making??!!" Random people.

Melt the butter, then sauteed the onions and garlic until fragrant.

 

Then, added the mushrooms and sauteed them along with the onions and garlic. Tossed them around.

Then....I forgot I was documenting this process.......

I removed the mushrooms from the pan. I had some bell peppers on hand, so I sliced some of them up along with the stems of the mushrooms. Then sauteed that bunch with the left-over butter/onion/garlic still in the pan.

I stuffed the mushrooms with some garden vegetable cream cheese I found in the fridge, then piled the whole lot into a pyrex dish.

Everybody in the pool!

 I put them in the oven so the cream cheese would get nice a gooey and warm, then topped with toasted panko crumbs!