I've always had a love and hate relationship with bananas. They were forced upon by my parents when I was a kid to make sure I was getting my potassium. I wish they knew then that oranges and even greens have more potassium—I would have rather eaten spinach. As an adult I eat bananas only occasionally, because I don't care for the texture or waxiness. That was until recently. I've almost become a banana addict, eating them every chance I get.
But there's one thing I still absolutely hate about bananas and that's when they're yellow. For me the more brown spots the better. Bananas are infinitely more flavorful when fully ripened. Otherwise they taste like eating a candle. But I do have one great idea for unripe bananas, and it's this dessert.
Bananas foster is the ideal dessert for banana lovers. Invented in New Orleans, it has all the flamboyance of the city with its flambeing finish, usually done tableside. My version does away with all the hoopla, but for interest I leave the banana skins on, which add some visual appeal but also helps keep the bananas from overcooking and becoming mushy. Enjoy this dessert with vanilla ice cream.
Just the mention of my favorite cake and I’m ready for a piece. Not a huge fan of icing or frosting, my traditional birthday cake is always a pound cake, plain and simple. Sour cream, cream cheese, chocolate, fruit flavored and even rum pound cakes abound in the culinary world.
There was a time when gathering people around a fondue pot to cook their own food was very popular. It was the 1970's I think – about the same time I got married. My husband and I recieved three of these "communal" pots as wedding gifts. I think I remember using one or two of them one or two times soon after the wedding. And then they sat. For years.
My girlfriend took one bite of these and said, “this tastes like Mac ‘n Cheese”. Voila, the Mac ‘n Cheese cracker was born.