½ cup              Solid vegetable shortening
1 cup               Sugar
2 ea                 Eggs
3/4 cup           Ripe bananas (mashed)
1 tsp                Baking soda
½ tsp               Salt
1 ¼ cup           Flour
½ cup              Pecan nuts
Pinch               Ground Cinnamon
Pinch               Ground Nutmeg

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Oil and flour a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan.
• Using an electric mixer, cream the shortening and sugar. With the mixer running on medium speed, add the eggs one at a time. Add the bananas and mix well. Add the baking soda, salt, flour, nuts, nutmeg and cinnamon and mix thoroughly. The dough should be sticky.
• Pour the dough into the prepared pan and bake about one hour or until the center is brown and set.
• Get out the Vanilla Ice Cream!
  
  

FREAKY FRIED PLANTAIN

Ingredients

4 TBS              Sour Cream
1 tsp                Ground cumin
to taste            Salt and Pepper
4 cups                         Water
2 lb                  Plantain (peel, cut 3” pieces)
8 ounces         Queso blanco
1½ cups          Corn oil

Instructions

• Mix a little water to the Sour Cream.  In a small bowl, combine the Sour Cream and the cumin. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
• Bring the water to a boil and lightly salt it. Add the plantain pieces, and cook until the slices are soft, about 15 minutes. Drain the plantains, let cool, and push them through a ricer. Form the mashed plantains into small golf-ball sized portions. Refrigerate the plantains until completely chilled and rested, about 15 to 20 minutes.
• Line a tortilla press with plastic wrap, and press out each piece of dough. Set aside until all the dough is used. If you don’t have a press, simply roll the dough into thin, 6” circles.
• Place a small wedge of queso blanco in the center of each plantain circle. Fold the dough around the cheese like an envelope. Roll the package, sealing the edges and making sure the cheese is completely enclosed.
• In a deep saucepot, heat enough oil to deep-fry the plantain packages. When the oil reaches 375 degrees F, fry the plantains until they are golden brown all over, about 2 minutes. Drain the plantains on paper toweling.
• Serve drizzled with the cumin-Sour Cream sauce.

BANANA BUTTERMILK PANCAKES

Ingredients

2 cups                         Flour
2½ tsp             Baking powder
½ tsp               Baking soda
2 TBS              Sugar
½ tsp               Salt
1½ cup            Buttermilk
2 ea                 Eggs
6 TBS              Butter (melted)
½ tsp               Vanilla extract
2 ea                 Banana (very ripe)
2/3 cups         Pecans (toast lightly, chopped)

Instructions

• Softened butter or vegetable oil, for cooking the pancakes
• In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt. In another bowl whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, butter and vanilla. Whisk the dry ingredients into the liquid until combined well.
• Chop fine the banana and add it to the batter along with the pecans.
• Heat a griddle over moderate heat until hot enough to make a drop of water scatter over surface and brush with butter or oil. Working in batches, drop 1/4 cup measures of batter onto griddle to form pancakes and cook until bubbles appear on surface and undersides are golden brown, about 1 minute. Flip pancakes with a metal spatula and cook until undersides are golden brown and pancakes are cooked through, about 1 minute.
  

BEAUTIFUL BANANA FOSTER

Ingredients

8 TBS              Butter (cut into cubes)
½ cup              Brown sugar
½ tsp               Ground cinnamon
4 ea                 Ripe bananas (peel, halve lengthwise)
1 cup               Banana liqueur
1 cup               Myers Rum
1 pint              Vanilla ice cream
8 slices            Pound cake
As needed        Powdered sugar in a shaker
4 sprigs            Fresh mint