Ryan Byrd’s Ramblings

UPDATE: it’s been five minutes and I’ve already been contacted three times by concerned parties about the nature of this blog post. No, I’m not an alcoholic. It’s my understanding that lighting the rum on fire in a boiling sauce is enough to cook out the alcohol.

A lot of you know that I’ve taken up cooking lately. Some day I’ll go to chef school. Until then, I’ll continue to dabble. I’ve had several requests for some of my favorite alcohol-flavored dishes. Here’s one that’s as fun to make as it is good to eat. Plus, you get to go to the State Liquor store, which is exciting if you’re a teetotaler like myself.

At the Liquor store, pick up a small bottle of Rum. It should cost less than 7 dollars. There are lots of types of Rum: Light, Dark and Flavored. For this dessert, you’ll need dark rum. Dark rum is honey colored. I prefer Bacardi Anejo, which is a bit more expensive than others, but provides a great taste. Any dark rum should do, however.

• Turn heat to medium on a large sauce pan
• Add 1/2 cup of brown sugar, a tablespoon or so of vanilla extract, and a 1/4 of a stick of butter
• Wait until the sugar and butter melt
• Add in a teaspoon or two of cinnamon, a pinch of nutmeg, and a pinch of salt
• Stir it all together
• Peel and cut in half bananas before slicing them down the middle
• Lay the banana slabs into the liquid, spooning the sauce over the bananas to coat them
• Cook for a few minutes, maybe 5 or so, until the bananas soften. The sauce will begin to boil
• Add 1/2 cup of dark Bacardi rum
• Use a match to light the rum on fire
• The rum will burn with a nice flame for 10-15 seconds (this is the cool part, maybe turn the lights down low)
• Spoon some more of the sauce over the bananas
• Prepare bowls of vanilla ice cream, and add the bananas with sauce (this is called “plating”, so be artistic!)

Enjoy!

(Banana Flambe is also sometimes called Banana Foster)