Bananas Foster

Paul Blangé, chef at Brennan's Restaurant in the French Quarter, created Bananas Foster in 1951 at the request of Owen Brennan, who wanted a new dessert featuring bananas — New Orleans was then (and remains) a major banana import port, with the fruit arriving daily from Central America. The dish was named for Richard Foster, a regular customer and friend of Brennan. It was designed for tableside preparation: the drama of banana rum igniting in a copper pan, the blue flame, the smell of caramelising butter and brown sugar — the performance is part of the dish. Brennan's claims to serve 35,000 pounds of bananas annually for this single dessert.

Bananas sautéed in butter and brown sugar until caramelised, flambéed with dark rum and banana liqueur, and served immediately over vanilla ice cream. The entire preparation takes under 3 minutes tableside. The sauce should be dark amber, thick, and toffee-like. The bananas should be soft but not mushy — caramelised on the outside, barely warm through. The rum flame should burn blue and die naturally, having burned off the alcohol and left the rum's molasses depth in the sauce.

Bananas Foster IS dessert. It does not need accompaniment. The vanilla ice cream provides the neutral, cold, creamy platform. The caramelised banana provides fruit and texture. The rum sauce provides depth, warmth, and complexity. A cup of strong coffee (New Orleans dark roast with chicory — Café du Monde blend) is the only appropriate pairing.