Blondie's Mom's Manhattan Bananas And Tart Cherries

Remove about 1/4 cup of the thawed cherry juice to use later.

Set thawed cherries aside in another bowl.

Cut bananas in half lengthwise, then cut each half in half crosswise. This will give you 8 pieces.

Toast cashew halves, then set aside to cool.

Place a large sauté pan over medium high heat.

Add, butter, brown sugar, cassia (or cinnamon), anise and salt and bring to a simmer.

Add reserved cherry juice and bring to a full boil.

Add bananas.

Add bourbon.

Add both the vermouths and the bitters and cook bananas for about 2 minutes, carefully turning them over once.

Remove bananas and divide among 4 bowls.

Reduce the sauce to 1/2 to 3/4 cup and add the reserved cherries.

Add two scoops of the ice cream to each bowl between the bananas.

Divide the sauce with the cherries and spoon over the ice cream.

Sprinkle cashews over and serve immediately.

*If your cherries don't yield enough juice, you can put additional cherries in a juicer or press them through a sieve.*