I was in Orlando, FL this weekend and my wife and I ate at a place called "Bongos" at Downtown Disney.

It was a Cuban restaurant and part of my meal was some type of sweet stauteed or cooked bananas.

I really liked them, but as yet I can't find a recipe for them. Do any of you know the restaurant or are familiar with Cuban food, and know a (or a similar) recipe for those sweet sauteed/fried bananas?

Look up "Banannas Foster" to see if that is similar.

slice up 2 banannas, keep them in a dish.

use about a tablespoom of butter in a saucepan, and when it is bubbly sautee the banannas, after they are lightly browned use 1-2 tablespoons of brown sugar and stir. My wife likes to use 1, but if the banannas are green use 2 tablespoons. When it is all coated and carmelized add a couple table spoons of rum, stir for a few seconds, remove from the heat and ignite. OOPAH! Use a long spoon or fork when stirring in case it ignites first.

It is the best way to get rid of that cheesy Captain Morgan spiced rum if you are ever given a bottle of that, but I prefer a better quality rum as the alcohol all burns off and you want a nice flavor to remain.

Also, first slice the bananna lenghtwise then slice it up, so they are half circles.

I like serving this over ice cream.

This wasn't a foster recipe (although I do admit those are good).

This was more of a subtle sweet flavor and without any alcohol.

Sounds like it may be fried Plantains. A Carribean variation of a banana served in place of potatoes in a lot of dishes. Just a thought. If you like bananas, as mentioned above, Banana's Foster is the way to go, look up the Commanders Palace recipe as that is where they originated.

If it was a Cuban joint they were plantains. Cubans will deep fry them a bit then put them in a press and smash them the fry them some more.Salvadorans cut them in pieces fry them and serve them with refried beans and creama (sour cream).You can also find them fried untill crispy like chips and served with chimichurri sauce.

Did they have a creamy sauce or a brown sugary sauce? Some condensed milk and coconut milk mixed together is nice and creamy add rum or not.

the chef

Baboon,

I like your current sig better than the old one that took half the screen.

If you cook as good as you post, Baboon, I will gladly make the 5+ hour drive down there. My wife and I can always hit Kim S'on on our way out to stock up on some spring rolls.

Never underestimate the culinary skills of a Texan!

Big-Ed,
I've been known to put together some snack'in food.My hunting buddy is a C.E.C and C.C.E.graduate of the C.I.A..Every time we get to grilling I'm the the one doing it.

If you like Vietnamese food next time your headed to Houston I'll turn you on to a couple of rough gems.I generally will not go in Kim Son and Mai's Restaurant.

Here's what I did:

10 early-ripe (very firm) bananas, cut into chunks
3 TBS sugar
3 TBS light brown sugar
2 TBS Cinnamon
2 TBS Nutmeg
1 ts vanilla
1 small lemon (squeezed)
1 stick unsalted butter

I mixed the dry ingredients together, squeezed in the lemon and vanilla, and stirred that all into a thick paste. then tossed in the bananas until they were decently coated.

In a large skillet I melted half a stick of butter until it was crackling, then tossed in about half the bananas to sautee them until they were slightly caramalized and soft.

Once the first batch was done, I melted the other half of the stick of butter and cooked the second half of the bananas the same way.

I had a dinner-meeting last night where everyone had to bring a covered dish, and my banana dish got high accolades from several people. A couple thought they would be delicious with pork.

quote:

Originally posted by Ben589:
I was in Orlando, FL this weekend and my wife and I ate at a place called "Bongos" at Downtown Disney.

It was a Cuban restaurant and part of my meal was some type of sweet stauteed or cooked bananas.

I really liked them, but as yet I can't find a recipe for them. Do any of you know the restaurant or are familiar with Cuban food, and know a (or a similar) recipe for those sweet sauteed/fried bananas?

I don't think they were bananas, I think they were fried ripened plantains called Maduros (sort of like a cousin to the banana).


http://icuban.com/food/platanos_maduros.html

I looked it up under the restaurant you went to under menu, then side dishes:

http://www.bongoscubancafe.com/orlando/index_orlando.html

Hope it helps

Lynn D

Yeah, I'd seen that the other day after I posted.

I was trying to replicate it with bananas and without frying.

I think my recipe above did them justice. At any rate it's the fastest I've ever personally eaten 2 bunches of bananas, so it's a keeper in my book

quote:

Originally posted by Ben589:
Yeah, I'd seen that the other day after I posted.

I was trying to replicate it with bananas and without frying.

I think my recipe above did them justice. At any rate it's the fastest I've ever personally eaten 2 bunches of bananas, so it's a keeper in my book

I'd love to try your recipe, we Douglases like to try everything in life at least once, but my diabetes holds me back from some fine sounding foods these days

Lynn D

Well, I dunno about your doctor or your nutritionist, but I'm diabetic too.

My nutritionist (and doctor later in agreement) told me that 1 day a month I can do whatever I want and just enjoy myself and eat whatever I want.

quote:

Originally posted by Mark:
Look up "Banannas Foster" to see if that is similar.

slice up 2 banannas, keep them in a dish.

use about a tablespoom of butter in a saucepan, and when it is bubbly sautee the banannas, after they are lightly browned use 1-2 tablespoons of brown sugar and stir. My wife likes to use 1, but if the banannas are green use 2 tablespoons. When it is all coated and carmelized add a couple table spoons of rum, stir for a few seconds, remove from the heat and ignite. OOPAH! Use a long spoon or fork when stirring in case it ignites first.

It is the best way to get rid of that cheesy Captain Morgan spiced rum if you are ever given a bottle of that, but I prefer a better quality rum as the alcohol all burns off and you want a nice flavor to remain.

You can do the same thing with a combination of other fruits - grapes, strawberries, peeled apple, fresh apricots, etc., though I avoid oranges, grapefruits (citrus fruits) because they go mushy. I use brandy to flambe it. An ounce or two is lots, cuz it really flames. Serve warm over vanilla ice cream, with a drizzle of chocolate sauce.

It's easy and a great way to charm the pants off, er, warm the cockles of, uh, PLEASE THE LADIES.