Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith
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Yesterday I had some of my kids and grandkids over for a cookout to celebrate my grandson Zephen's 18th birthday. I had the usual fare:
Grilled rockfish, fried rockfish, fried soft shell crabs, fried oysters, shrimp on the barbie,etc.
For dessert I decided to create a new dish, and called it Bananas Zephen.
He loves bananas, and cream soda.........so:
Bananas Zephen
Start with a full hand of banatinis. They are the small/baby bananas sold in many groceries and Asian markets. I like type that come in flat double row hands with about a dozen per row. Any baby banana will work. Get them a bit on the green side. Split the hand with a sharp knife and make two single fan shaped hands. See photos.
Set the gas grill at medium, and grill the bananas until blackened on both sides. Test the end one, and if it will come out easily and sort of mushy when you cut a slit through it, they are done. Slit each banana and pop them out into a glass dish. Set on the warmer shelf, and turn off the grill.
While all this is being done, set a sauce pan on the side burner ( or have someone inside do it on the stove), and cook the Zephen sauce.
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup dark rum
juice of one lemon
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1/4 cup cognac
Put butter and sugar into pan and stirring constantly, heat over medium heat until sugar is melted and is boiling. Add lemon juice and vanilla, including the bean shell. Reduce heat and boil softly for a minute or two, then add the rum. Simmer and reduce for about five minutes. (Note - you can do all this in advance).
When the bananas are ready, take wide bowls ( soup bowl works great) and put a scoop of good quality French Vanilla Ice Cream in each. Flatten the ice cream with the back of the scoop to make a round depression in it. Place a good serving of the still warm bananas in this depression. Quickly bring the sauce back to a full boil, and add the cognac. Tilt the pan to ignite it, and spoon or pour some over each bowl. This should be done with everyone watching. Pour the rest over the bananas and ice cream and serve immediately. The sauce really reminds you of cream soda on steroids. The baby bananas are soft and sweet, and the ice cream is rich and smooth. This would cost $15-25 a serving at any good reasurant.....if they had the recipe.
You could do the same sauce and serve it over filled crepes for a really nice breakfast dish.....or a romantic midnight snack.
BTW, Zephen is the one with the backward hat. I also made him a special card, and did some oragami. I didn't get photos of the finished dish.
Grilled rockfish, fried rockfish, fried soft shell crabs, fried oysters, shrimp on the barbie,etc.
For dessert I decided to create a new dish, and called it Bananas Zephen.
He loves bananas, and cream soda.........so:
Bananas Zephen
Start with a full hand of banatinis. They are the small/baby bananas sold in many groceries and Asian markets. I like type that come in flat double row hands with about a dozen per row. Any baby banana will work. Get them a bit on the green side. Split the hand with a sharp knife and make two single fan shaped hands. See photos.
Set the gas grill at medium, and grill the bananas until blackened on both sides. Test the end one, and if it will come out easily and sort of mushy when you cut a slit through it, they are done. Slit each banana and pop them out into a glass dish. Set on the warmer shelf, and turn off the grill.
While all this is being done, set a sauce pan on the side burner ( or have someone inside do it on the stove), and cook the Zephen sauce.
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup dark rum
juice of one lemon
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1/4 cup cognac
Put butter and sugar into pan and stirring constantly, heat over medium heat until sugar is melted and is boiling. Add lemon juice and vanilla, including the bean shell. Reduce heat and boil softly for a minute or two, then add the rum. Simmer and reduce for about five minutes. (Note - you can do all this in advance).
When the bananas are ready, take wide bowls ( soup bowl works great) and put a scoop of good quality French Vanilla Ice Cream in each. Flatten the ice cream with the back of the scoop to make a round depression in it. Place a good serving of the still warm bananas in this depression. Quickly bring the sauce back to a full boil, and add the cognac. Tilt the pan to ignite it, and spoon or pour some over each bowl. This should be done with everyone watching. Pour the rest over the bananas and ice cream and serve immediately. The sauce really reminds you of cream soda on steroids. The baby bananas are soft and sweet, and the ice cream is rich and smooth. This would cost $15-25 a serving at any good reasurant.....if they had the recipe.
You could do the same sauce and serve it over filled crepes for a really nice breakfast dish.....or a romantic midnight snack.
BTW, Zephen is the one with the backward hat. I also made him a special card, and did some oragami. I didn't get photos of the finished dish.
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