Bananas Foster - NOW WITH REAL FIRE!

A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, RJ and I used to go to this semi-fancy restaurant on a semi-regular basis.  This was back when we were fiscally irresponsible much younger, and one of the main appeals of this place was it's tableside dessert selection.  We fell in love with Bananas Foster and have never looked back.  Except to wonder maybe whether we could be retired now if we would have invested all that money we used to spend eating out.  Whatever.

Anyway, I messed with this recipe at home for years until I could create a reasonable facsimile.  Here it is.  This recipe makes two servings, but it is easy to halve it or double it or whatever.  It's RJ's #1 all time favorite dessert.  

WHAT YOU NEED:

2 bananas, sliced

4 pats of butter or margarine

1/2 cup brown sugar

a couple dashes of cinnamon

one shot banana liquor (99 Bananas or Banana Schnapps)

one shot rum

4 scoops ice cream, divided into 2 dishes

WHAT YOU DO:

Melt the butter in a skillet over low to medium low heat.  Add in the brown sugar and cinnamon and stir it up, then drop in the bananas.  SLOWLY add in the banana liquor and let it get all bubbly and gooey, stirring it as needed.  Now here comes the extra super exciting and dangerous part.  If you have a gas cooktop like I do, you might want to turn the heat all the way off first, then pour in the rum.  Turn the heat back onto low, and now you've got some options.  If you used a rum with high alcohol content (I used 151 here) it will probably ignite on its own.  If you used a lower alcohol volume rum, you can a) light it with a long match, b) tilt the pan carefully until the pan meets fire and ignite it that way, or c) just let it cook without lighting it on fire.  It makes no real difference in the taste, but it's real pretty and show-off-y to have your dessert on fire before you serve it.

After the fire goes out, let it cook for about another minute, and it will be all bubbly warm brown gooeyness.  

Turn off the heat, and let it cool for 10 minutes or so.

I have also found that it is a good idea to scoop the ice cream into the serving dishes beforehand and chill  the ice cream in the dish while you are waiting for everything else to cool.

Pour it over your ice cream and serve immediately.

It will be good in your mouth.

I promise.