Bountiful Banana Recipes

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

Instructions

• In a large sauté pan, melt the butter. Stir in the brown sugar and cinnamon. Add the bananas and baste them with the syrup for 2 minutes. Pull the sauté pan off the burner.
• Carefully add the banana liqueur and rum. Place the pan back on the stove and shake the pan a couple of times. The pan should flame, if not, ignite the pan with a match. Shake the pan back and forth until the flame dies, basting the bananas continuously.
• To assemble, place two scoops of ice cream, between two slices of pound cake, forming a sandwich. Place the sandwich in the center of a shallow bowl. Spoon two banana halves on top of the sandwich. Spoon the sauce over the top. Garnish with powdered sugar and fresh mint