You like me, you really like me

I got a call from my friend Phil who lives in Texas (though he lives in Austin, which is Texas-light). Phil and I became close when he moved to LA and would come over and eat my leftovers. I loved cooking for him because he was always willing to be a guinea pig for whatever I wanted to make. If I had a craving for banana's foster at 1 am, he'd be there to help me eat it. He's also just as geeky as me, so he'd usually be over at my place playing Gauntlet ("Wizard needs food badly!").

Phil's not really a phone guy and we're both pretty pathetic at keeping in touch, so I was pretty excited when he called. Apparently, he actually reads my blog and was making one of my recipes. First, I had no idea anyone but my mom actually looks at this thing. I think on a good day I'll get 8 hits. I get pretty excited when that happens. But not only was he reading my blog, he was cooking my food!

I talked him through the carbonara recipe while we caught up on what was going on in our lives. As we were chatting I realized how much I missed Phil and especially having someone to cook for (and eat my leftovers because cleaning out my fridge once a month is gross).

So here's the banana's foster recipe I made for Phil after a marathon session of watching tv and playing Gauntlet. I'm pretty sure I made the entire recipe for the two of us. It involves dessert, booze and fire. Three of my favorite things.

Banana's Foster

4 ripe bananas, peeled
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup banana liqueur
1/2 cup dark rum
1 pint Vanilla Ice Cream

Cut the bananas in half across and then lengthwise.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and cinnamon and cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Add the bananas and turning, cook on both sides until the bananas start to soften and brown, about 3 minutes. Add the banana liqueur and stir to blend into the caramel sauce. Carefully add the rum and shake the pan back and forth to warm the rum and flame the pan. (Or, off the heat, carefully ignite the pan with a match and return to the heat.) Shake the pan back and forth, basting the bananas, until the flame dies.

Divide the ice cream among 4 dessert plates. Gently lift the bananas from the pan and place 4 pieces on each scoop of ice cream. Spoon the sauce over the ice cream and bananas, and serve immediately.