rum bananas

I can't begin to describe how awesome it feels to be done with my 1st year rotation. After 3 weeks of long, tiresome, wage-free work, it feels good to kick back and enjoy the rest of my week. I have mixed feelings about that place. In some ways, it really helped me see what I don't want to do in my future and how I want to run things when I'm in charge. There are 2 real stars in that pharmacy and thanks to them, I was able to tough it out even in the rough. If you happen to stumble into this blog, thanks April and Kim.

Anyways, you can't end an epic night like today with your average dinner. House is coming to a close, there's 3 more episodes of 24 left and I just finished my rotations: Monday's are awesome (until season finales). Okay, this isn't rocket science but I'll try to simplify it as much as I can. Ready? Here it goes:

Rum + Bananas + Vanilla Ice Cream = Instant Food Coma

There are weirdos out there that don't like bananas *cough Val and Dom cough* but these Rum Bananas will convert the most extreme antibananians. The contrast between the hot bananas and the cold vanilla ice cream go so well together and the caramel flavored with rum is absolutely delicious. To top it off, this dessert requires a flambé which is pretty much my favorite cooking technique. If anyone knows of a way to flambé and take a photo of it at the same time by yourself, please comment below!

Rum Bananas
Original, Serves 4

Ingredients:
- 3 bananas slightly firm (not blackened like banana bread bananas)
- enough sugars to cover the surface of your pan
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- splash of rum
- 2 to 3 tablespoons of water
- scoop of vanilla ice cream

1) Slice your bananas into large chunks. I did mine in thirds. You don't want the bananas to be too small or they'll become soggy and fall apart.
2) In a pan, pour the sugar in and stir the pan around to evenly distribute the sugar. Turn the heat on and just let the sugar sit until the sugar starts to caramelize.
3) Once you're happy with the color, add in the butter and shake that in.
4) Add in the bananas and cook for about 2 - 3 minutes until the bananas are caramelized.
5) Now for the exciting part: flambé. Add in the rum, tilt the pan (if you have a gas stove) and watch the pyro show. Add in cocunut milk or water and cook out the alcohol for 1 - 2 minutes.
***Now, is the flambé necessary? No...you could just add in the rum and let it cook out but it doesn't look cool and it's no fun. If you have an electric stove, you can use long skewers or a strand of spaghetti, light that on fire and flambé into the pan. If you're worried about burning off your eyebrows or lighting your kitchen on fire, don't flambé***

6) Spoon the banans into serving glasses and scoop a generous portion of vanilla ice cream. Drizzle the rum caramel sauce over the ice cream and serve.