RECIPES: Banana Nut Bread, Bananas Foster, Banana Bread Old Fashioned

We’ve gone bananas in the kitchen with Diana Arias with Don Strange Catering. She shows us how to make her classic banana nut bread and even pairs it with the perfect cocktail.

Chocolate Banana Nut Bread

Makes one 9×5 loaf

Ingredients:

• Add Nonstick Vegetable Oil Spray
• 1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons Baking Soda
• 3/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1 cup Packed Dark Brown Sugar
• 1/3 cup Mascarpone
• 1/4 cup Unsalted Butter at room temperature
• 2 Large Eggs
• 4 Very Ripe Bananas (mashed)
• 1/2 cup Semisweet Chocolate
• 1/2 cup Walnuts (chopped, optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray a 9 inch by 5-inch loaf pan with cooking oil spray. Set aside.
2. Combine the butter, brown sugar, and mascarpone in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until the mixture looks light and fluffy. Add one egg at a time, beating well each time.
3. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. With the mixer running on its lowest speed, add the flour mixture to the bowl little by little, until just combined.
4. Add the bananas to the mixture and mix well on medium speed. Add the walnuts and chocolate chips to the batter and mix by hand until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread with a spatula to even it out.
5. Slide the pan into the preheated oven and cook for about 55-65 minutes. The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool before slicing and serving.
6. Adapted from Bon Appetit

Bananas Foster

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup firmly packed light-brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup crème de banana or other banana-flavored liqueur
• 1/2 cup dark rum
• 4 bananas, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices

Instructions:

Make the Bananas Foster. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon with a fork; set aside. Melt butter in a heavy-bottomed 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add cinnamon-sugar mixture, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add the banana liqueur and 1/4 cup of the rum. Cook, stirring, until syrupy and thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the banana slices and lightly coat with the syrup. Add the remaining rum. Quickly swirl the pan, tilting it toward the flame, to ignite rum. (If you are using an electric stove, light the rum with a long match.) Swirl the pan, basting bananas with the sauce, until flame subsides. Remove pan from heat, set aside, and keep warm.

Banana Nut Bread Old Fashioned

Ingredients:

• 2 oz bourbon
• 1/2 oz banana liqueur
• 1/4 oz maple syrup
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• Orange peel, for garnish
• Maraschino cherry, for garnish
• Crushed walnuts, for rimming (optional)

Instructions:

1. If desired, rim a rocks glass with crushed walnuts by dipping the rim in maple syrup, then rolling it in crushed walnuts until coated.
2. In a mixing glass, combine bourbon, banana liqueur, maple syrup, and Angostura bitters.
3. Fill the mixing glass with ice and stir well until chilled.
4. Strain the cocktail into the prepared rocks glass over a large ice cube.
5. Express the oils from an orange peel over the drink by holding it over the glass and gently squeezing the peel to release the oils, then drop the peel into the glass.
6. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.
7. Serve and enjoy your Banana Nut Bread Old Fashioned!

For More on Di-Anna Arias & Don Strange of Texas, Inc.
1551 Bandera Rd. San Antonio, TX 78228

(210) 434-2331