Bananas Foster

Besh Big Easy, p. 195

8 tablespoons butter

½ cup lightly packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch ground nutmeg

3 tablespoons orange juice

6 bananas, peeled, halved lengthwise and then crosswise

½ cup dark rum

[Vanilla ice cream]

It's helpful to have your ingredients measured and ready to go before you start fryin' stuff.

Heat the butter and brown sugar in a large skillet over high heat, stirring until they have melted into a caramel. Cook 3 minutes more, stirring constantly. Stir in the cinnamon, nutmeg, and orange juice, then add the bananas. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring gently to coat the bananas and spooning the sauce over them.

Caramel goodness.

Remove the pan from the heat and, holding the skillet away from you, carefully add the rum. Return the skillet to heat and cook for another 3 minutes. Be aware that the alcohol may ignite if you’re cooking over an open flame. If you’re into the pyrotechnics, use a match to burn off the alcohol. Serve immediately on individual plates, spooning the sauce over the bananas.

The final effect isn't very photogenic. But it tastes great!

My Rating: 4/5 "By the way, you're supposed to serve this over vanilla ice cream. Besh mentions it in a sidebar in the cookbook but not in the actual recipe. Before I made this I had no idea that you could do Bananas Foster without setting it on fire, so I didn't just for the novelty of letting the rum seep in. It was nice. The big hangup here is that it's great out of the pan but the leftovers aren't so nice, so you'll need to halve the recipe or call some friends if you want get the best effect possible."