Here?s an interesting take on a traditional dessert, easier ? since there?s\r\nnothing to flamb? ? and quite tasty with the addition of the brewed coffee.\r\n\r\nYou?ve probably noticed that most times when you read a recipe that\r\nincludes bananas, it specifies ripe bananas; that?s certainly true if\r\nyou?re baking with them.\r\n\r\nHere it?s the precise opposite: we start with firm bananas because we want\r\nthem to stay firm once they?ve had their little flash in the pan. So do\r\nmake sure there?s a bit of green on the peel and that the bananas aren?t\r\nquite ripe. The bananas are quickly fried in butter, then brown sugar,\r\ncoffee, and rum are added and reduced to a sauce. \r\nBananas, sauce, and ice cream are then plated up together. \r\nTiming is everything here, so read the recipe through before you begin.\r\n Once you do, it?s almost too late to read the recipe.\r\n\r\n3 large, firm, under-ripe bananas, peeled \r\n3 tablespoons butter, salted or unsalted \r\n1/3 cup packed light brown sugar \r\n1/2 cup strong brewed coffee \r\n2 tablespoons rum, preferably dark \r\nVanilla or coffee ice cream, for garnish\r\n\r\n1. Cut the bananas in half, crosswise. Cut each half in half lengthwise and\r\ncarefully set the pieces aside on a large plate. Have 4 dessert plates\r\nstanding by.\r\n\r\n2. Melt the butter in a large skillet, preferably nonstick, over medium\r\nheat. Don?t use plain cast iron; it might discolor and alter the flavor of\r\nthe sauce. Add the banana slices, cut side down, and fry them for about 20 to 30 seconds. Carefully turn the bananas over, then shake the brown sugar over them. Pour the coffee and rum over the bananas. Increase the heat and quickly bring the liquid to a boil, shaking the pan somewhat to ?stir.?\r\n\r\n3. As soon as the bananas start to lose their firmness, divide the slices\r\nevenly between the plates. Put the skillet back on the heat and reduce the\r\nsyrup until it is syrupy, but don?t overdo it; you want some sauce for the\r\nice cream.\r\n\r\n4. Put a scoop or two of ice cream on each plate, them spoon some of the\r\nsauce over each portion. Serve at once.\r\n\r\nMakes 4 servings

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Bob Tyndall\r\n\r\nBlackJava and GreenMountain Coffee\r\nOwners of Keurig Single Cup Coffee Brewers.

\r\n\r\nThis is the first time in my life I read the recipe with bananas which are not quite ripe. I will certainly try it \r\n\r\nBlackjava, are you a recipe-hunter? :wink:

Actually I collect all kinds of recipes that use coffee as an ingredient.\r\n\r\nYou can download my ebook I put together.\r\n\r\nhttp://www.blackjava.ca/ebook/e-Book-Form.htm\r\n\r\nLet me know what you think of it.\r\n\r\nBob

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Bob Tyndall\r\n\r\nBlackJava and GreenMountain Coffee\r\nOwners of Keurig Single Cup Coffee Brewers.

Another recipe with bananas resembilng with yours (from recipesource.com):\r\n\r\n\r\n4 tb Butter (1/2 stick)\r\n1 c Dark brown sugar\r\n2 Bananas\r\n2 oz Banana liqueur\r\n4 oz Dark rum\r\nGround cinnamon\r\nVanilla ice cream (opt)\r\n \r\n A quintessential New Orleans dessert, and a favorite among most\r\n locals. This dish cannot be prepared in the kitchen. It must be\r\n performed, in front of your guests. Use a chafing dish, and some kind\r\n of portable heat like Sterno. Don't be sloppy, and keep a fire\r\n extinguisher handy. There's no need to burn the house down just for\r\n dessert, but this really must be done right. I learned to cook this\r\n dish from Chef Joe Cahn at the New Orleans School of Cooking, and he\r\n spun dire tales of what befell those who dared sequester themselves\r\n in the kitchen when making Bananas Foster. Seriously, bad gris-gris\r\n will befall you if you deprive your guests of the spectacle. Plus,\r\n they'll talk for years about how cool you are to have made this for\r\n their dessert.\r\n \r\n First, you should make some preparations. Peel a thin strip of peel\r\n from the bananas, and use your knife to slice the banana crossways\r\n into coins. Then replace the banana peel so that it looks untouched\r\n (as best as you can, anyway). This way, you can pretend to "peel"\r\n your bananas, and dump them into the put already cut, as if by magic.\r\n Cheesy, you ask? Well, it still looks cool, particularly if you're\r\n really nonchalant when you do this in front of your guests. If you\r\n insist, you can slice the bananas the classical way, quartering them\r\n by slicing thm lengthwise and then in half. I still think the other\r\n way is cooler.\r\n \r\n Put your ground cinnamon into some kind of non-standard container, or\r\n even a little muslin bag, the better to "convince" your guests that\r\n it is, in fact, not cinnamon but voodoo dust, scraped from the tomb\r\n of Marie Laveau at midnight on All Soul's Day ... some kind of\r\n delightfully corny junk like that. Also, I recommend taking a\r\n cinnamon stick and grinding it fresh in a spice or coffee grinder\r\n instead of using pre-ground cinnamon. Sieve the result through a tea\r\n ball strainer to remove the larger pieces which won't grind finely.\r\n This will maximize the fresh, aromatic cinnamon flavor. If you use\r\n your coffee grinder, it'll also make your coffee taste great.\r\n \r\n Now, to business ...\r\n \r\n Melt the butter and add the brown sugar to form a creamy paste. Let\r\n this mixture caramelize over the heat for about 5 minutes. Stir in\r\n the banana liqueur and rum. Heat until the liquor is warmed, about\r\n three minutes. Add the bananas, cook for about 1 - 2 minutes, then\r\n ignite with a flourish. Here's the best way to do this:\r\n \r\n Using a long, bent-handled ladle, scoop up some of the warm liquor.\r\n Hold it a foot or two above the chafing dish and ignite the liquor in\r\n the ladle. VERY CAREFULLY, pour the liquor into the dish. A column of\r\n flame will descend from the ladle into the dish, which will ignite\r\n with a marvelous *poof*! Keep a pal nearby, subtly wielding a fire\r\n extinguisher. Try not to become a human torch in the process.\r\n \r\n Agitate to keep the flame burning, and add a few pinches of "voodoo\r\n dust" to the flame. The cinnamon will sparkle orange in the blue\r\n flame, and looks really neat.\r\n \r\n Let the flames go out. Serve over ice cream if you wish, but some\r\n hardcores like me like it just like it is. Yum.\r\n \r\n Variations: one may substitute any fruit for this dish that has a\r\n correspondingly flavored liqueur -- peaches, pears, whatever