Bananas Foster aka FIRE FIRE FIRE!!!
Apr. 5th, 2009 12:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
zarhooie in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
omnomnomToday, dear omnomnomers, we shall learn the fine art of lighting stuff on fire creating Bananas Foster.
Recipe first, then story time. :)
You need (tools):
-one very sturdy frying pan, 10-12 inches at least
-long matches or one of those one-click lighter dealy-bobs with a long neck (cigarette lighters have their place, but it is NOT in this recipe!)
-wooden spoon with a long handle. You don't want to use plastic or metal for this particular dish.
-bowls for serving
-Room. Don't do this one in a midget kitchen; you want a bit of room to move around.
You need (ingredients):
-Butter. We use 1/2 to 3/4 of a stick. MUST BE BUTTER NONE OF THIS MARGARINE CRAP.
-Brown sugar. We use 1/2 to 3/4 cup or so of the dark brown sugar, but you can use light if that's all you've got. Too much is better than too little.
-DARK rum, a generous splash. You can use light if that's all you got, but it's soooo much better with dark.
-Bananas. We use 5 bananas total, which usually comes out to 1.25 bananas per person in our family. If we have more people, we up the butter and brown sugar, and add more bananas.
-Vanilla ice cream. My family traditionally uses the vanilla bean ice cream from our local ice cream shop, but use whatever good local brand you've got. You want the good stuff, not the crappy $5 for 5 gallons stuff.
Instructions:
1) Slice up your bananas. The easiest way to do this is to peel the skin off half the banana, and use your knife to slice in to the other half of the skin. Then you've got your banana slices on a lovely little serving thing and they're much easier to transport. It doesn't matter how thick your slices are, but make sure they're fairly consistent. Set aside.
1.5) Scoop some ice cream into those bowls. One or two scoops should be enough, but feel free to add more if you want!
2) In your large pan, melt the butter and brown sugar together on medium heat. Basically you're trying to get the sugar to dissolve into the butter. Keep an eye on it and stir constantly. When you can't feel the sugar grains against the bottom of the pan, then move to the next step.
3) Get your lighter ready. Make sure it works, and make sure you are comfortable with its operation. Also, turn off your vent if you've got one.
4) This step is REALLY IMPORTANT so listen up. You're going to add the rum, stir it for 5-6 seconds, then hold your lit lighter about 3 inches above the sugar. This is going to light the alcohol fumes on fire. You need to wait a few seconds for the rum to warm up so that there *will* be alcohol fumes. The flames are pretty damn sweet, but if you wait too long, they'll go WAY too high and could burn you or your dwelling place. Just be careful. It is helpful to have the lighter going when you pour the rum in. Ok, now that you've read this:
Add the rum and stir it gently for 5-6 seconds. Hold your lit lighter above the pan until flames appear. Let them burn for a few seconds, then start stirring with your long-handled wooden spoon.
IF IT DOESN'T LIGHT: Add more rum. Repeat. If it still doesn't go, then you're probably waiting not-long-enough or too long. Add more rum. If it doesn't work this time, don't add more rum.
5) Once the flames have gone out, add the bananas. Coat them with the syrup and let them get warmed up, then turn off your burner and wait for a minute to let the flavors fully meld. Scoop the bananas and syrup onto your waiting ice cream, and OMNOMNOM!
Notes:
-The wooden spoon is important. Metal will conduct heat from the fire and burn you, and plastic will melt and ruin your pan, your food and possibly you. Bamboo is also an acceptable material for a spoon. I haven't tried silicone, but you can if you want to!
-This is an EXCELLENT way to impress guests. Fire is always shiny. You can +1 the OOOSHINY factor by dimming the lights before you make the fire go FWOOSH.
-The fire will indeed go FWOOSH, and make a sound and everything. It's pretty awesome, imho.
Story time!
Story the first: My dad is a food safety nut. He used to own a restaurant Back In The Day and so he's big on the cross-contaim prevention and using vents (hoods) over the stove. Well, the first time we made this at home, my dad (being my dad) turned on the vent. We didn't turn it off before we lit the fumes, and FWOOSH, there was a giant fireball that went up into the stove hood, melted the mesh filter and fused it into one solid piece of metal. Yeah, we had to get a new hood, and we never leave the vent on when we're making this. :) Moral of this story: if you want an excuse to get a new stove hood, make this and leave it on.
Story the second: I had a boyfriend over and we decided to make this. He did the lighting and didn't get his arm away fast enough before it caught. He didn't have any burns on his skin, but all his hair on his arm was singed off. Moral of this story: move your arm faster, genius.
In conclusion: FIRE.
-Kat
omnomnomers, we shall learn the fine art of Recipe first, then story time. :)
You need (tools):
-one very sturdy frying pan, 10-12 inches at least
-long matches or one of those one-click lighter dealy-bobs with a long neck (cigarette lighters have their place, but it is NOT in this recipe!)
-wooden spoon with a long handle. You don't want to use plastic or metal for this particular dish.
-bowls for serving
-Room. Don't do this one in a midget kitchen; you want a bit of room to move around.
You need (ingredients):
-Butter. We use 1/2 to 3/4 of a stick. MUST BE BUTTER NONE OF THIS MARGARINE CRAP.
-Brown sugar. We use 1/2 to 3/4 cup or so of the dark brown sugar, but you can use light if that's all you've got. Too much is better than too little.
-DARK rum, a generous splash. You can use light if that's all you got, but it's soooo much better with dark.
-Bananas. We use 5 bananas total, which usually comes out to 1.25 bananas per person in our family. If we have more people, we up the butter and brown sugar, and add more bananas.
-Vanilla ice cream. My family traditionally uses the vanilla bean ice cream from our local ice cream shop, but use whatever good local brand you've got. You want the good stuff, not the crappy $5 for 5 gallons stuff.
Instructions:
1) Slice up your bananas. The easiest way to do this is to peel the skin off half the banana, and use your knife to slice in to the other half of the skin. Then you've got your banana slices on a lovely little serving thing and they're much easier to transport. It doesn't matter how thick your slices are, but make sure they're fairly consistent. Set aside.
1.5) Scoop some ice cream into those bowls. One or two scoops should be enough, but feel free to add more if you want!
2) In your large pan, melt the butter and brown sugar together on medium heat. Basically you're trying to get the sugar to dissolve into the butter. Keep an eye on it and stir constantly. When you can't feel the sugar grains against the bottom of the pan, then move to the next step.
3) Get your lighter ready. Make sure it works, and make sure you are comfortable with its operation. Also, turn off your vent if you've got one.
4) This step is REALLY IMPORTANT so listen up. You're going to add the rum, stir it for 5-6 seconds, then hold your lit lighter about 3 inches above the sugar. This is going to light the alcohol fumes on fire. You need to wait a few seconds for the rum to warm up so that there *will* be alcohol fumes. The flames are pretty damn sweet, but if you wait too long, they'll go WAY too high and could burn you or your dwelling place. Just be careful. It is helpful to have the lighter going when you pour the rum in. Ok, now that you've read this:
Add the rum and stir it gently for 5-6 seconds. Hold your lit lighter above the pan until flames appear. Let them burn for a few seconds, then start stirring with your long-handled wooden spoon.
IF IT DOESN'T LIGHT: Add more rum. Repeat. If it still doesn't go, then you're probably waiting not-long-enough or too long. Add more rum. If it doesn't work this time, don't add more rum.
5) Once the flames have gone out, add the bananas. Coat them with the syrup and let them get warmed up, then turn off your burner and wait for a minute to let the flavors fully meld. Scoop the bananas and syrup onto your waiting ice cream, and OMNOMNOM!
Notes:
-The wooden spoon is important. Metal will conduct heat from the fire and burn you, and plastic will melt and ruin your pan, your food and possibly you. Bamboo is also an acceptable material for a spoon. I haven't tried silicone, but you can if you want to!
-This is an EXCELLENT way to impress guests. Fire is always shiny. You can +1 the OOOSHINY factor by dimming the lights before you make the fire go FWOOSH.
-The fire will indeed go FWOOSH, and make a sound and everything. It's pretty awesome, imho.
Story time!
Story the first: My dad is a food safety nut. He used to own a restaurant Back In The Day and so he's big on the cross-contaim prevention and using vents (hoods) over the stove. Well, the first time we made this at home, my dad (being my dad) turned on the vent. We didn't turn it off before we lit the fumes, and FWOOSH, there was a giant fireball that went up into the stove hood, melted the mesh filter and fused it into one solid piece of metal. Yeah, we had to get a new hood, and we never leave the vent on when we're making this. :) Moral of this story: if you want an excuse to get a new stove hood, make this and leave it on.
Story the second: I had a boyfriend over and we decided to make this. He did the lighting and didn't get his arm away fast enough before it caught. He didn't have any burns on his skin, but all his hair on his arm was singed off. Moral of this story: move your arm faster, genius.
In conclusion: FIRE.
-Kat
no subject
on 2009-04-14 05:07 pm (UTC)I've never made it indoors! :-)
Another lovely flaming dish is cherries jubilee, which uses brandy as the fuel. I used to make that as the finale for the chateaubriand service at the NCO Club where I waitressed part time. That always got everyone's attention, because I did it tableside. Got me big tips, too.
no subject
on 2009-04-16 07:14 pm (UTC)