Going Banana's Flambé!
As a tribute to one of my all-time favorites chef's, I decided to prepare a classic French dessert with one of her most memorable dishes for this month's ActiveRain cooking challenge.
After getting the ingredients from the pantry, the back of my neck prickled. I continued on, peeling the banana's, softening the butter, measuring out the honey, cinnamon and lemon juice.
Following the recipe, the smells wafting from the cast iron pan as the sweet sauce thickened, had me reminiscing of days long ago when I watched this famous, culinary genius on tv.
Suddenly, the face of Julia Child showed up clearly in the flames! I was befuddled and knocked the open bottle of cognac over onto the lit stove, instantly igniting the entire range!
In my husband's haste to put the fire out, the extinguisher flew from his hands, shattering a kitchen window. While frantically pacing, I slipped on a banana peel, falling on the cat's tail.
He screeched!
I screamed!
We both ran in opposite directions!
Eventually, the fire department showed up to snuff out the flames. The kitchen is in ruins and I have now been forever banned from using alcohol in the kitchen when cooking.
There is not a finished product to display. Hope you have better luck making this dish. A call is in order to the insurance company because we went banana's and were literally flambéd!
The Banana Flambé by Julia Child
Ingredients:
4 Tb softened butter
A baking-serving dish just large enough to hold bananas in one layer
8 small or 4 large bananas
1/4 to 1/2 cup dry white vermouth, dry white wine, or cider
1/3 to 1/2 cup honey
1Tb lemon juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Directions:
Smear 2 tablespoons of the butter in the baking dish. Peel the bananas and arrange in the dish; pour on the wine or cider, honey, and lemon juice. Sprinkle with cinnamon and dot with remaining butter. (May be prepared in advance)
Baking:
The bananas with take about 15 minutes in the middle of a preheated 400 degree oven, or 20-25 minutes in a 375 degree oven. Baste about every 5 minutes with the liquid in the dish until bananas are soft and liquid is syrupy. Bake ahead, and reheat, you may serve them plain or flambeed.
To flame the bananas:
1 tb granulated sugar
1/3 to 1/2 cup cognac
Be sure bananas are bubbling hot. Sprinkle on the tablespoon of granulated sugar, then pour the cognac around them ( warm the cognac in a pan if you are not using a chaffing pan).
Averting your face, ignite the cognac with a lighted match and quickly spoon it over the bananas until the flames die down. Add a dollop of vanilla ice cream and serve on hot plates.
In the famous words of Julia Child, Bon Appetit!
This is a fun entry for July's Active Rain Challenge - Savory Stories, hosted by Rocky Dickerson and Debe Maxwell.
*No one (animal or human) was hurt during the tell of this tale.
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