Bananas Celeste

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            FOOD FUNNY
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Thanks to Ladds Banks of Atlanta, Georgia for today's true food funny.

[A recent food funny] brought back a fond memory from my college days.
Since I attended a university in the panhandle area of Florida, there
were excellent resources for fresh seafood items available at the boat
docks where the fishermen brought their daily catch from the Gulf.
This 'panacea' was less than an hour's drive away. One weekend day we
decided to drive down to the coast and load up on fresh seafood for
the evening's repast. One of the items we purchased was a half bushel
of blue crabs.

Of course by the time we arrived at the docks, the boats had long
since put in and the fresh seafood was on ice in the big dockside
coolers. To make a long story short, when we returned home, we put a
large pot of water on the stove and lit the flame. As we had other
details of the day to resolve, we placed the inanimate crabs in the
tepid water and went about our business. Well, you probably know the
punch line. Upon returning to the kitchen some relatively few minutes
later, the room temperature water had begun to warm up on the stove
and the "cryogenically" stilled crabs had discovered a new lease on
life. They were very much active and were scrambling around various
surfaces in our kitchen. The roundup was both comical and a bit
disconcerting. It goes without saying that I learned the cardinal
rule of bringing the water to a boil before adding "live'" (albeit
comatose) crustaceans to the pot.

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            TODAY'S RECIPE
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It should come as no surprise that bananas are eaten throughout the
Caribbean in thousands of different preparations. This dish from the
island of Martinique shows its French influence with the use of dairy
products.

Bananas Celeste

8 oz (225 g) cream cheese at room temperature
1/4 cup (60 ml) brown sugar
1/2 tsp (2 ml) ground cinnamon, plus additional for garnish
4 Tbs (60 ml) butter
4-6 ripe bananas, peeled and halved lengthwise
1/4 cup (60 ml) heavy cream

Combine the cream cheese, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl
and mix thoroughly. Set aside. Heat the butter in a skillet over
moderate heat and saute the banana halves until light golden brown on
both sides. Arrange half the bananas in a single layer in a shallow
baking dish, top with half the cream cheese mixture, and repeat. Pour
the cream over the top and bake in a preheated 350F (180C) oven until
the cream cheese mixture is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Garnish
with a sprinkle of cinnamon and serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6.
Received on Fri May 14 12:51:29 2004