Orange Scented Bananas Foster Food

BANANAS FOSTER

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a heavy skillet over a medium-high heat. Add the brown sugar. Stir together and cook for a minute or two. Pour in the cream and stir it around to combine.
• Peel the bananas and slice them on the bias inside the peel. Drop the slices into the pan. Next, add the chopped nuts and stir them into the sauce. Then - and this is where you need to be a little careful - stir in the rum. Let it start to bubble, and then carefully use a long lighter to ignite it. (Be sure to have a lid handy in case you need to extinguish the flame.) Let the fire burn and go out (it'll only take about 30 seconds or so), and then stir in the cinnamon at the end. You may also cook the mixture without flambeing it.
• Spoon it over a couple of scoops of vanilla ice cream and enjoy immediately.
• Spoon bananas Foster over French toast, waffles or crepes. Substitute peaches, pears or cherries for the bananas. Of course, then it probably wouldn't be considered bananas Foster.

BANANAS FOSTER SUNDAES

Steps:

• In an 8- or 9-in. cast-iron or other ovenproof skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat. Stir in brown sugar, orange juice, cinnamon and nutmeg until blended. Add bananas and pecans; cook until bananas are glazed and slightly softened, 2-3 minutes, stirring gently., Remove from heat; stir in extract. Serve with ice cream.

BANANAS FOSTER

Steps:

• Add the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and cream to a large skillet or saucepan over medium heat.
• Allow the butter to melt and continue to whisk while cooking until the sugar has melted and the sauce is smooth (about 3 to 5 minutes). You don't want to cook on too high heat or it will heat too quickly before the sugar fully melts.
• Add the bananas and allow to cook 2-3 minutes, to lightly soften the bananas.
• Remove the pan from heat and pour the rum over the bananas and sauce. Using a long lighter, ignite the rum. Gently shake or swirl the sauce around until the flames burn out, about 30 seconds. The flames will burn blue and can sometimes be very subtle.
• Spoon warm bananas and sauce over ice cream and serve immediately.

BOURBON BANANAS FOSTER

Steps:

• Put the bananas in a 10-inch heavy skillet with the butter, brown sugar, liqueur and nutmeg and set over high heat. Once the sugar starts to dissolve, begin spooning the sauce over the bananas, flipping them after 1 minute. Remove from the heat when the sauce begins to thicken and bubble. Carefully pour the bourbon into the pan and ignite with a long match or stick lighter. Continue to cook until the flames die out and the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Serve immediately with ice cream, waffles or crepes.

BANANAS FOSTER

Steps:

• Prepare a grill for medium-high heat.
• Heat a cast-iron skillet over direct heat. Melt the butter until it begins to brown, then stir in the sugar and cinnamon until the sugar melts. Stir in the salt. Add the bananas in an even layer and cook, turning the bananas once to coat in the sauce, until lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes per side.
• Remove the skillet from the heat and add the rum. Light the sauce with a lighter and allow it to flame. Once the flames have extinguished, baste the bananas with the sauce. Add the orange zest. Serve warm over vanilla ice cream.
• (Alternatively, you can cook the bananas over medium-high heat on a stovetop.)

CLASSIC BANANAS FOSTER

Steps:

• Peel the bananas and slice them about 1 inch thick on a long bias. Heat the sugar, butter and cinnamon together in a medium skillet over medium heat until bubbling. Add the bananas and stir gently to coat. Add the rum and carefully ignite the alcohol with a stick lighter. Step back and let the alcohol burn off. Continue to cook, stirring gently, until the sauce has thickened a little bit and the bananas are slightly softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Divide the bananas and sauce between 2 small bowls. Top with ice cream and serve immediately.

ORANGE-SCENTED BANANAS FOSTER

Steps:

• Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium high heat.
• Add brown sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon sticks and boil 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Add bananas and remove pan from heat.
• Add triple sec, dark rum and ground cinnamon; carefully ignite.
• When flames subside, add orange juice and stir to combine. Discard cinnamon sticks.
• Scoop ice cream into bowls or balloon wineglasses. Spoon bananas and sauce over and serve.

BANANAS FOSTER

Steps:

• Cover a baking sheet with plastic wrap or foil. Using a serrated knife, cut ice cream package in half lengthwise through the cardboard. Wrap one half in plastic wrap and freeze for another use. Halve the remaining piece lengthwise. Flip the ice cream, with the 2 pieces still together, so the cut side is up, and cut it crosswise into 4 equal sections - you'll have 8 pieces of ice cream.
• Place a crepe on the work surface and place a piece of ice cream in the center. Fold the crepe over the ice cream to enclose completely. Place the filled crepes on the prepared baking sheet. Continue with the remaining ice cream and crepes and freeze until just firm. (This recipe can be prepared up to this point 1 day in advance. Wrap carefully in plastic wrap before freezing. Allow to soften slightly before proceeding.)
• Peel and slice the bananas on a sharp angle into 2-inch pieces. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon juice and cook, stirring, until smooth and just at a simmer, about 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and add orange liqueur. Return skillet to high heat and stir until smooth. Carefully fold in bananas. Remove the skillet from heat and add the rum. Return the skillet to the heat, and shake the pan back and forth to warm the rum and coat the bananas. (If working over a gas flame the sauce may ignite; continue to cook until the flames subsides.)
• To serve, place 2 filled crepes on a plate crisscrossing each other and spoon banana mixture over the top. Garnish with sifted confectioners' sugar and a sprig of mint, if desired.
• Whisk the flour, sugar, and salt together in a bowl. Gradually whisk in the milk, water, eggs and vanilla extract, and continue whisking until smooth. (The batter can be made to this point a day ahead and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before adding the butter.) Stir in the butter. Set aside for at least 30 minutes to rest. (The crepe batter may be made in a food processor blender: Pulse the dry ingredients, then add the wet, process until smooth, and then stir in the butter.) Pour the batter into measuring cup with a spout.
• Have a plate near the stove to stack the cooked crepes, or 4 plates, if you plan to serve the crepes immediately. Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat until a drop of water bounces and sizzles briefly around the pan before evaporating. Pour a scant 1/4 cup of batter into the skillet and quickly swirl it to coat the pan evenly. Cook until the batter sets, about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. The crepe will blister in the middle, and the edges will look dry and slightly crispy. Using your fingers or a spatula, carefully pick the crepe up by its edges and flip it over to cook the other side, about 15 to 30 seconds. Repeat with the rest of the batter, stacking the crepes on the plate as you go.

BANANAS FOSTER SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large skillet, melt butter. Stir in the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Cook and stir until sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Stir in cream. Add bananas and extract. Serve warm, with waffles, pancakes or vanilla ice cream if desired.

BANANAS FOSTER II

Steps:

• In a large, deep skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in sugar, rum, vanilla and cinnamon. When mixture begins to bubble, place bananas and walnuts in pan. Cook until bananas are hot, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve at once over vanilla ice cream.

BANANAS FOSTER SUNDAES FOR 2

Steps:

• In a large nonstick skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat. Stir in the brown sugar, orange juice, cinnamon and nutmeg until blended. Add banana and pecans; cook until banana is glazed and slightly softened, stirring lightly, 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in extract. Serve with ice cream.