Got some green bananas from the grocery store today and cooked them
the way you said. I've never eaten Bananas Foster, so I didn't know
what to expect. Maybe I did it wrong, but I wasn't impressed.

What impressed me was how the rum instants burst into flames when it
hit the pan. I always had to use a match when I used electric and it
was never so spectacular!

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

"sf" > wrote in message
...
>
> Got some green bananas from the grocery store today and cooked them
> the way you said. I've never eaten Bananas Foster, so I didn't know
> what to expect. Maybe I did it wrong, but I wasn't impressed.
>

You did it wrong. You probably left out the banana liqueur or substituted
what you had - like Ripple. Did you use real vanilla ice cream or perhaps
baked beans?

> What impressed me was how the rum instants burst into flames when it
> hit the pan. I always had to use a match when I used electric and it
> was never so spectacular!

Yeah alcohol and heat - who'd a thunk it?

On Sat, 20 Apr 2013 21:54:00 -0700, "Paul M. Cook" >
wrote:

>
> "sf" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > Got some green bananas from the grocery store today and cooked them
> > the way you said. I've never eaten Bananas Foster, so I didn't know
> > what to expect. Maybe I did it wrong, but I wasn't impressed.
> >
>
> You did it wrong. You probably left out the banana liqueur or substituted
> what you had - like Ripple. Did you use real vanilla ice cream or perhaps
> baked beans?

Dave doesn't use banana liqueur, says it ruins the dish.
>
> > What impressed me was how the rum instantly burst into flames when it
> > hit the pan. I always had to use a match when I used electric and it
> > was never so spectacular!
>
> Yeah alcohol and heat - who'd a thunk it?
>
That statement not only shows once again how ignorant you are, it also
shows you can't read.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On 2013-04-21, sf > wrote:

> Dave doesn't use banana liqueur, says it ruins the dish.

Dave! You musta done it wrong. Banana liqueur is essential and
should not be left out. Perhaps a better brand of liqueur. I've made
Bananas Foster several times and it always comes out excellent.

----------

Brennan's Original Bananas Foster

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup banana liqueur
4 bananas, cut in half
lengthwise, then halved
1/4 cup dark rum
4 scoops vanilla ice cream

Combine the butter, sugar, and cinnamon in a flambé pan or
skillet. Place the pan over low heat either on an alcohol burner or on
top of the stove, and cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Stir
in the banana liqueur, then place the bananas in the pan. When the
banana sections soften Bananas Fosterand (sic) begin to brown,
carefully add the rum. Continue to cook the sauce until the rum is
hot, then tip the pan slightly to ignite the rum. When the flames
subside, lift the bananas out of the pan and place four pieces over
each portion of ice cream. Generously spoon warm sauce over the top of
the ice cream and serve immediately.

----------

Bananas need not be green. Yellow with no black spots is best.

Hard to mess up this dish. First time we (ex GF) made it, we were a
bit tippsy to begin with, yet it still came together flawlessly and
easily. Use real vanilla ice cream, pure cane brown sugar, fresh
ground cinnamon. Myer's rum is a good choice. DO NOT use one of
those crappy flavored rums! (shudder)

Enjoy =D
nb

On 21 Apr 2013 10:46:27 GMT, notbob > wrote:

>On 2013-04-21, sf > wrote:
>
>> Dave doesn't use banana liqueur, says it ruins the dish.
>
>Dave! You musta done it wrong. Banana liqueur is essential and
>should not be left out. Perhaps a better brand of liqueur. I've made
>Bananas Foster several times and it always comes out excellent.

With all due respect to you & Mr. Brennan-- If you need the liqueur,
you're not using ripe enough bananas. . . IMNSHO.<g>

-snip-

>Bananas need not be green. Yellow with no black spots is best.
>

I don't mind the black spots as long as they are still firm. Green
bananas need liqueur.


>Hard to mess up this dish. First time we (ex GF) made it, we were a
>bit tippsy to begin with, yet it still came together flawlessly and
>easily. Use real vanilla ice cream, pure cane brown sugar, fresh
>ground cinnamon. Myer's rum is a good choice. DO NOT use one of
>those crappy flavored rums! (shudder)

I like the dark Meyers-- but I've used 'the Kraken' & nobody ever
complained. [bought it for the bottle- drank it for the flavor.]

Jim

On 21 Apr 2013 10:46:27 GMT, notbob > wrote:

>
> Bananas need not be green. Yellow with no black spots is best.

I took his "under ripe" to mean green, so I picked green that was just
barely starting to turn yellow. Big mistake.
>
> Hard to mess up this dish. First time we (ex GF) made it, we were a
> bit tippsy to begin with, yet it still came together flawlessly and
> easily. Use real vanilla ice cream, pure cane brown sugar, fresh
> ground cinnamon. Myer's rum is a good choice. DO NOT use one of
> those crappy flavored rums! (shudder)
>
I have dark Meyer rum that I used and thought it was very good. No
complaints about the sauce at all. The part I didn't like was the
banana, which seemed fibrous and reminded me of a badly cooked
plantain. Remember, I've never eaten (or even seen) Banana's Foster -
so I had absolutely no idea what I was supposed to be emulating, just
guessing. I had no idea how long to cook the banana, so I added the
rum when it had some caramelisation on it. I didn't add any cinnamon,
but frankly - I don't think it needed any. I'll give this sauteed
banana thing another try in a day or two... or maybe even tonight.
Thanks.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On 21/04/2013 1:57 AM, sf wrote:
> On Sat, 20 Apr 2013 21:54:00 -0700, "Paul M. Cook" >
> wrote:
>
>>
>> "sf" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>>
>>> Got some green bananas from the grocery store today and cooked them
>>> the way you said. I've never eaten Bananas Foster, so I didn't know
>>> what to expect. Maybe I did it wrong, but I wasn't impressed.
>>>
>>
>> You did it wrong. You probably left out the banana liqueur or substituted
>> what you had - like Ripple. Did you use real vanilla ice cream or perhaps
>> baked beans?
>
> Dave doesn't use banana liqueur, says it ruins the dish.


I have only had banana liqueur a few times and it was foul. I know that
some liqueurs and cordials range in quality. Some are good and some are
bad. I have never had a good banana liqueur.


>>
>>> What impressed me was how the rum instantly burst into flames when it
>>> hit the pan. I always had to use a match when I used electric and it
>>> was never so spectacular!
>>
>> Yeah alcohol and heat - who'd a thunk it?
>>
> That statement not only shows once again how ignorant you are, it also
> shows you can't read.


;-) open flame and alcohol vapour. And let's not forget that the
alcohol vapour that ignites so easily and burns doesn't meant that there
is less alcohol in the dish after the flambee. ;-)

On Sun, 21 Apr 2013 08:47:40 -0400, Dave Smith
> wrote:

>On 21/04/2013 1:57 AM, sf wrote:
>> On Sat, 20 Apr 2013 21:54:00 -0700, "Paul M. Cook" >
>> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> "sf" > wrote in message
>>> ...
>>>>
>>>> Got some green bananas from the grocery store today and cooked them
>>>> the way you said. I've never eaten Bananas Foster, so I didn't know
>>>> what to expect. Maybe I did it wrong, but I wasn't impressed.
>>>>
>>>
>>> You did it wrong. You probably left out the banana liqueur or substituted
>>> what you had - like Ripple. Did you use real vanilla ice cream or perhaps
>>> baked beans?
>>
>> Dave doesn't use banana liqueur, says it ruins the dish.
>
>
>I have only had banana liqueur a few times and it was foul. I know that
>some liqueurs and cordials range in quality. Some are good and some are
>bad. I have never had a good banana liqueur.
>
>
>>>
>>>> What impressed me was how the rum instantly burst into flames when it
>>>> hit the pan. I always had to use a match when I used electric and it
>>>> was never so spectacular!
>>>
>>> Yeah alcohol and heat - who'd a thunk it?
>>>
>> That statement not only shows once again how ignorant you are, it also
>> shows you can't read.
>
>
>;-) open flame and alcohol vapour. And let's not forget that the
>alcohol vapour that ignites so easily and burns doesn't meant that there
>is less alcohol in the dish after the flambee. ;-)
>
I've had the dessert at Brennan's with the whole table side show. They
used ripe bananas. Delicious!
Janet US

On 21/04/2013 10:26 AM, Janet Bostwick wrote:

>> ;-) open flame and alcohol vapour. And let's not forget that the
>> alcohol vapour that ignites so easily and burns doesn't meant that there
>> is less alcohol in the dish after the flambee. ;-)
>>
> I've had the dessert at Brennan's with the whole table side show. They
> used ripe bananas. Delicious!

I can tell you from experience, and from seeing them done on a TV cook
show, that under ripe bananas cooked in the butter and sugar soften and
get sweet. The reason for using slightly under ripe bananas is that
they do not turn completely to mush.

On Sun, 21 Apr 2013 08:26:50 -0600, Janet Bostwick
> wrote:

> I've had the dessert at Brennan's with the whole table side show. They
> used ripe bananas.

How fast was the banana cooked and did they caramelize or not?


--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On 21/04/2013 12:34 AM, sf wrote:
>
> Got some green bananas from the grocery store today and cooked them
> the way you said. I've never eaten Bananas Foster, so I didn't know
> what to expect. Maybe I did it wrong, but I wasn't impressed.


Green? I suggested slightly under ripe.
The core of the dessert is the butter, sugar and rum. I prefer other
fruits done in this manner.

> What impressed me was how the rum instants burst into flames when it
> hit the pan. I always had to use a match when I used electric and it
> was never so spectacular!


It is best to do it with the lights low so you can see the flames.
Alcohol tends to burn mostly blue. Doing it with the lights on makes it
hard to see the flame. You miss out on the pyromanaical thrill and the
visual warnings about where it might be hot when you think the flames
have stopped.

On Sun, 21 Apr 2013 08:55:52 -0400, Dave Smith
> wrote:

> On 21/04/2013 12:34 AM, sf wrote:
> >
> > Got some green bananas from the grocery store today and cooked them
> > the way you said. I've never eaten Bananas Foster, so I didn't know
> > what to expect. Maybe I did it wrong, but I wasn't impressed.
>
>
> Green? I suggested slightly under ripe.
> The core of the dessert is the butter, sugar and rum. I prefer other
> fruits done in this manner.
>
> > What impressed me was how the rum instants burst into flames when it
> > hit the pan. I always had to use a match when I used electric and it
> > was never so spectacular!
>
>
> It is best to do it with the lights low so you can see the flames.
> Alcohol tends to burn mostly blue. Doing it with the lights on makes it
> hard to see the flame. You miss out on the pyromanaical thrill and the
> visual warnings about where it might be hot when you think the flames
> have stopped.
>
Okay, I'll try it again with riper bananas this time. It was the
banana part I didn't like, everything else was fine.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On 4/21/2013 8:58 AM, sf wrote:
> Okay, I'll try it again with riper bananas this time. It was the
> banana part I didn't like, everything else was fine.
>

Getting the bananas at the right moment is critical. Not too green and
not too rancid. You should see the bananas that I use for banana bread.
Disgusting!

It also helps to use a lot of butter and sugar. I wouldn't make it with
any booze cause we don't keep any in this house - we're boring
non-drinkers. :-)