Bananas Foster with a twist

As I was sifting through my brain to find a new recipe for y’all, I remembered this iconic desert from my home state of Louisiana. More specifically, from a restaurant in New Orleans called Brennans. In 1951, Big Fruit was overloading the port of New Orleans with tons of bananas, a newly introduced exotic fruit from abroad that would eventually become one of America's favorite fruits.

Ella Brennan, the manager of Brennan’s in 1951, had extra bananas in the kitchen and was charged with the task of making a new dessert for a VIP customer: Richard Foster, the chairman of the New Orleans Crime Commission. Hence the name, bananas foster.

I remember the recipe to be very easy, just like tossing butter, sugar, and rum together with bananas and lighting it on fire (i wasn’t wrong). This is generally done table side at the still-using-white-tablecloths legacy restaurants of South Louisiana, and lighting the pan on fire is part of the appeal.

I think this actually makes an extremely good, extremely impressive and extremely easy topping for a thick grilled slice of Super Bloom Sweet Loaf on a morning where you’d like to treat someone special (especially if that someone is YOU). This would be the perfect V-day brunch, or maybe the morning after . . . the best part is, you can just make one, two or more (wink wink . . .) by just doubling or tripling the recipe!

I, of course, made my own twisted version, swapping out the butter in favor of coconut butter, the sugar swapped with honey and the rum . . . Well, I didn’t have rum so I used Mezcal. The results: a tropical twist on a southern classic!!

Make it:

Ingredients: per serving

• 1 TBS coconut butter (not oil!)
• 2 TBS honey or agave
• 1 banana, sliced in half lengthwise
• 1 tsp garam masala (or just cinnamon)
• 2 TBS Mezcal
• Coconut whip for topping
• Sweet Loaf for serving

Method:

1. Melt the coconut butter in a lightly heated pan, add the honey and brown the mixture slightly
2. Add your banana and turn the heat up to medium
3. Cook the banana for a couple of minutes, flipping once, then add in your garam masala
4. Finish the banana by tossing in the Mezcal and letting the mixture catch on fire and burn off.
5. Grill your thick sliced bread in oil until it's golden brown and crispy, top with the bananas foster and then garnish with a dollop of coconut whipped cream!