I like to keep things simple. Not many people have the time necessary to complete an Iron Chef challenge when they make their meals, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy 5-star food!
This dessert is an excellent example of a quick and easy luxury. It'll take 15 minutes or less to make and you'll end up wanting to lick the bowl clean. There is NO shame in that. Trust me! I've been there. Last night.
What you'll need:
- 1 stick of salted or unsalted butter, both work well
- 1/4 cup of brown sugar, light or dark, doesn't matter
- 2 bananas
- 1/4 cup of dark rum
- 1 shot of any flaming liqueur, I use 99 Bananas
- Vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt
You MUST make this is a stainless skillet. Do NOT use nonstick pans. Not sure about cast iron, but...yeah, no, just use a stainless skillet. It works!
Start by preparing the bananas. Once you get the butter/sugar mixture going, you won't be able to step away safely. Peel each banana and cut them in half. Then split each half lengthwise. Kinda difficult to describe properly, but they'll look like this:
Honestly, you can cut them up however you want, but the smaller the pieces, the faster they'll cook. Not necessarily the best thing. You'll end up with alcoholic baby food if you cook the bananas too long.
Next, melt the butter in the skillet over medium-high heat. Once the butter has completely melted, add the brown sugar and stir to break up any clumps. You should keep stirring to prevent the mixture from overflowing, since it will bubble and foam.
Add the sliced bananas and make sure they lay flat. Spoon the sauce over the top as they cook. Cook about 2 minutes on each side, continuing to spoon the sauce over the bananas. They'll start looking crusty as the caramelized sugar will cling to the bananas.
And now here's the fun part! Pour in about 1/4 cup of dark rum and a shot of flaming liqueur.
IF YOU'RE COOKING ON A GAS RANGE, TURN IT OFF NOW!
I completely forgot to turn off my stove last night...and consequently, I have no cool "look at the flames" picture for this blog. And I finished off my bottle of 99 Bananas with this batch, so I couldn't make an extra batch just for effect.
With a kitchen match or grill lighter, set the mixture on fire. Hold the pan with an oven mitt and gently shake the pan to help the flame eat up all the alcohol, and the flame will go out on its own. If you see a sheen of blue in the pan, keep gently shaking, that's fire.
If you happen to forget to turn off the gas when you do this, your flame will NOT go out and will probably end up scorching anything 2-3 feet above the pan. Like a vent. Or a cabinet. Or your eyebrows.
Immediately spoon the bananas and sauce over a bowl of vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt!
And there you have it, one of my favorite guilty pleasure desserts. Quick and easy and oh so delicious!
I...have no clue what I'll be cooking next. So I've decided to take suggestions or requests! Feel free to comment on my blog and tell me what you want to see me cook--especially if you have that certain dish that's causing you problems!
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