Do you know what things will taste like before you've ever tried them?

I’m not talking in the sense of children who refuse to taste something. I’m talking in the inventive sense—of thinking of a new combination of a meat and a fruit and some set of spices. I’ve thought of things, and then I’ve adjusted the balance of flavors in my mind, to get to where I want to go, and I find I have a pretty good sense of it.

Actually, what I’m really looking for is stories. Describe this process. What ingredients did you have in mind? What did you try? Did your mental image work out in reality? Or did it flop horribly? And extra points to people who can describe the food in such a way that we can taste and feel and smell it!