Savor the Flavor of New Orleans with This Irresistible Banana Foster Recipe

Stephanie Blanc
6 days ago
3 min read

Updated: 4 days ago

Hey guys! Welcome to my blog series called, "Crescent City Chronicles," in honor of my recent trip to the famous city of New Orleans, aka "The Big Easy!"

Y'all know how much I love sharing my experiences with you guys and so this recent trip was no different! The city of New Orleans is known for it's rich culinary heritage, which is influenced by a mélange of creole spices & flavors. Anddd, if you've been following me for a minute then you know I try to showcase more BIG easy (pun totally intended!!!) recipes that you could practically do with your eyes closed, without sacrificing on flavor.

Photo Credit: Purroy Productions

So, for THIS blog post, we're going to highlight one of thee most popular & delicious yet SUPER-EASY-to-make recipes, deriving from New Orleans itself...The Banana Foster recipe! If you've been privy to my IG stories then you'll know that I enrolled myself in a very hands-on cooking class at New Orleans School of Cooking & THIS was 1 of the recipes we chef'd up! I learned SO much & can't wait to share it all with you. So, read on!

So fun facts: The story behind the Banana Foster is one that is quite interesting...Bananas weren't really a thing in the US until sometime after the Civil War. Overtime they became widely popular and New Orleans was the mecca for banana imports from Central & South America. In 1951, restaurateur, Owen Brennan, passionate about his beloved city and drawing special attention to it, along w/his restaurant....Challenged his Chef, Paul Blangé, to create a special dish featuring the fruit. The dish is named after Richard Foster, a friend of Brennan's, who was also Chairman of the New Orleans Crime Commission playing a major role in cleaning up the French Quarter. The extravagant flambéed result is a patron fave & THEE most-ordered item on the menu, and you can get it at any Brennan restaurant.

"Banana Foster"

Ingredients

-1 Stick Unsalted Butter

-1 Cup Dark Brown Sugar

-2 Bananas -2 oz. Banana Liqueur -4 oz. Dark Rum -A Few Dashes of Ground Cinnamon

-Your Ice Cream of Choice, though I find that vanilla ice cream or any variation of vanilla ice cream goes best w/this recipe

Garnish

-Star Anise (optional)

-Pecans (optional)

-Raisins (optional)

Reference ingredients used in image above.

Directions

Step 1 - Place butter in saucepan & melt down over low heat.
Step 2 - Add brown sugar to form a creamy caramelized paste over medium heat for approximately 5 minutes.
Step 3 - Stir in banana liqueur & bananas. Then add rum, counter-clockwise.
Step 4 - Heat & ignite. (PLEASE BE CAREFUL AND DON'T LEAVE IT UNATTENDED!!)
Step 5 - Agitate by slightly shifting the pan a little forward & backward in order to keep the flame burning. And add a few pinches of New Orleans voodoo magic (aka cinnamon wink wink) to the flame.
Step 6 - Let the flame subside & serve over your preferred ice cream. Serving size is sufficient for 4.