Brandied Bananas

While at Architect’s house for dinner last week, we decided to try something new for dessert so we made Brandied Bananas. The recipe calls for setting the liquor mixture on fire and you won’t see any photos of that because I dropped my camera during the igniting process – perhaps due to my absolute excitement about getting the perfect shot! I was a little wary about this ignition business right on the heels of the flood incident, but all was fine.

Anyway, this recipe is from Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade Cooking 2, page 206, under the Everyday Dinners category. I don’t know about you Sandra, but I don’t set a dish on fire everyday, at least not on purpose.

I'm just saying.

Regardless, this was delicious and is a relatively easy option for a somewhat hoity-toity dessert.

Bandied Bananas
4 bananas (make sure they're not too ripe, in fact just past green would work best)
2 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons of brown sugar
½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
½ cup of tequila
1½ Tablespoons brandy
1 pint of coconut or vanilla sorbet (I like Ciao Bella)

Peel bananas and cut each in half crosswise, then cut each half in half again, lengthwise. I a large skillet, melt butter over low heat and place bananas in skillet, cut sides down, and cook for five minutes. Turn and cook for five minutes more. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon, allow that to melt for just a little, then transfer the bananas to serving dish in a single layer.

Pour the tequila and brandy into the same skilled and heat over medium heat, making sure to scrape any bits up with a spatula.

When the liquid mixture is hot, use a long match to carefully ignite the mixture in the pan. When the flames die down, pour the mixture over the bananas. Place four banana pieces in an ice cream dish, add a scoop of sorbet and spoon some sauce over each serving.

We hated it.