Cooking with Booze: Bourbon Bananas Foster

It’s never too early to start planning Valentine’s Day! And single folks, it’s definitely never too early to start planning a mid-winter, anti-romantic gorge fest, right? We’re thinking a weekend staying in Vegas, ordering up ridiculously lavish steaks and tracking down various booze-soaked desserts like the ridiculously good banana’s foster at Hugo’s Cellar in Four Queens Hotel and Casino Las Vegas. It’s prepared tableside, bananas served up over vanilla ice cream and then set on fire! Who’s with us?

Or you know, either way you could just stay home and cook up your own lavish mid-winter feast. Chef Nisa Burns of Kitchenability.com and author of the new book Kitchenability 101: The College Student’s Guide to Easy, Healthy, and Delicious Food, shares a sweet, spiked dessert. This bananas foster is made with bourbon rather than rum (we like), and is actually quite easy to make.

Easy Bananas Foster with Ice Cream

From Kitchenability 101: The College Student’s Guide to Easy, Healthy, and Delicious Food by Nisa Burns, Kitchenability.com

Makes four servings
1 cup bourbon
Juice from 2 limes
3 bananas
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp sugar
1 cup flour
1 cup water
½ cup vegetable oil
4 scoops vanilla-bean ice cream

1. Pour the bourbon and fresh lime juice in a bowl.
2. Slice the bananas into ½-inch rounds and place them in the bowl of bourbon and lime juice.
3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let marinate in fridge for about 30 minutes.
4. While the bananas are marinating, mix the cinnamon, sugar, flour, and water in a separate bowl. You want the consistency of the batter to be very similar to pancake batter. If it is lumpy, add a little more water and mix until smooth.
5. Pour the vegetable oil in a frying pan and heat over medium to high heat. When the oil starts to form bubbles, it’s ready for cooking. If the oil pops from the pan, it means it’s too hot. Be careful—don’t burn yourself!
6. Using tongs, remove the bananas from the bourbon and lime juice, dip them in the batter until fully coated, and place them in the hot oil. Cook about 3 or 4 minutes, until golden brown.
7. Place the cooked bananas on a paper towel on a plate. Optional: Lightly sprinkle bananas with sugar to give them some crunch on the outside.
8. Serve the hot bananas over vanilla-bean ice cream.

(Photo by Patrick Onofre)