King Louie's Banana Boat: Banana Lovers Day

Today is National Banana Lovers Day, and who doesn't love bananas? Well, my grandmother, but that's another story. She never saw one before coming to this country, and she never ate one in her life. 

Anyway, The weather here looks like it will be warm and beautiful for Labor Day, so I thought I'd post this fun recipe for King Louie's Banana Boats from one of my 'Theme" Cookbooks: Cooking with Mickey and Friends by Pat Baird. You'll "go ape" over these. Perfect for the Barbecue -- or oven. They're fun to make with the kids.

Since we barbecue all year round, I often make these on the grill, but you can just as easily follow the directions and make them in the toaster oven.

And, as Mickey reminds us, Bananas are a good source of potassium and carbohydrates. Use a good dark chocolate (broken up) or high quality dark chocolate chips, and you're adding antioxidants. You can make your own marshmallows, too, or not :-) You'll love King Louie's Banana Boats. You'll want to make more than one!

BANANA SPLIT DAY: Banana Split with Dark Chocolate Sauce

Today is National Banana Split Day, and everyone knows a good banana split needs a great Hot Dark Chocolate Sauce. Following is a delicious recipe for an easy Dark Chocolate Sauce.

The Birth of the Banana Split like so many food creations does not have a clear invention history. Latrobe, PA claims that the banana split was invented by Dr. David Strickler, who in 1904 was a 23 year-old working at Tassell Pharmacy. This sundae originally cost 10 cents, twice the cost of other sundaes. Dave Strickler became a pharmacist and optician, and purchased the pharmacy which was renamed "Stricklers." His Banana Splits were a big hit with the students from nearby Saint Vincent College and the word spread. According to his daughter, her dad "was always the great experimenter" and he even originated the first banana split dish: "There were no dishes for such a concoction, so he drew up his own" and a company in nearby Grapeville produced it.

The Banana Split was also showcased at the Boston convention of the National Association of Retail Druggists in 1905. Stinson Thomas, chief dispenser at Butler's Department Store in Boston promoted the banana split there. According to an article about the convention in The Soda Fountain magazine, "among all the beverages dispensed here, none was more novel with the ladies than the banana split." The magazine also quotes Mr. Thomas: "My trade here is always looking for something new and so, one day it occurred to me that I might prepare a popular fountain beverage with a banana. I sent my boy out to buy half a dozen bananas, and when he returned I cut off the ends of a banana, split it open, put a portion of ice cream on top and a spoonful of crushed strawberries. It certainly looked swell and I believed that the public would like it." As with most new creations though, there was some trial and error. "At first we left the peel on the banana in the plate, but some time ago we began removing it altogether. We found that the ladies preferred to have the peel removed."

So you decide which of the stories is true! In the meantime, be sure and make or eat a Banana Split today!

Banana Split

"Split" Bananas (with peel on) lengthwise.
Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle on the cut sides of bananas. Let sit for several minutes.
Grill bananas cut side down on direct heat for 2 minutes. Turn (with tongs) and cook 5 more minutes. Remove skins.
Put bananas in bowl.
Add vanilla ice cream.  
Pour Hot Dark Chocolate Sauce over.
Sprinkle with nuts and add whipped cream--with a cherry on top?

Hot Dark Chocolate Sauce

Ingredients
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
8 ounces Dark chocolate -65-75% cacao, chopped
2 Tbsp superfine sugar
1/8 cup Kahlua
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
Heat cream in small saucepan until almost boiling.
Add butter and sugar. Stir to combine.
Remove from heat and pour over chocolate.
Whisk until melted and combined.
Add Kahlua and vanilla. Stir until cool to touch.
Cover with plastic wrap and set aside or refrigerate.

BANANA CHOCOLATE CREAM PIE: Retro Ad with Recipe for Banana Cream Pie Day

I've posted several recipes for Banana Cream Pie over the years, always with chocolate, of course. So for today's "Food Holiday," here's a recipe from Chiquita Banana for Banana Chocolate Cream Pie. FYI: This recipe appears in the Chiquita Banana Recipe Book (as well as this Ad). Although you can no longer order the recipe book (LOL), you can often find a copy on eBay, at flea markets, and at garage sales. I found one at the Oakland Museum's White Elephant Sale ( a city block - month long curated sale). You can always update the ingredients in this recipe to meet today's sensibilities, tastes, and looks!

CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA BREAD: Go Bananas!

Today is Banana Bread Day! Who doesn't love a big slice of banana bread? Add chocolate chips, and you'll be in heaven! I love this old postcard. Good banana bread is all about ripe bananas.

I have several recipes for Banana Bread, and every time I make banana bread, I change it up a bit. It usually depends on what's in the pantry, but mostly it doesn't matter. Two musts: baking soda and over ripe bananas--black and squishy, if possible!

The other day I was out of whole milk, so I used 1/2 -half and half and 1/2 -two percent. I actually prefer buttermilk, but use what you have. Oil or butter? Well, I used butter this last time, but oil works just as well, and I think I might even prefer it. I did think about olive oil, but opted for butter! French butter vs. domestic in baking? I think regular butter works better. I know, that may be a surprise, but French butter has more fat and changes the banana bread, so I save my French butter for buttering the bread after it's baked. As always, I add chocolate chips. Oh, and this is a one bowl recipe! How easy is that?


CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA BREAD
Makes 1 loaf--easily doubled!

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
3 medium-sized bananas (I used 4 smaller ones), very ripe
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
1/2 cup + chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 8 x 5 loaf pan with parchment, letting excess hang over sides. Spray inside with nonstick cooking spray. (this last time I buttered the pan and then used some flour)

Whisk together melted butter and sugar in mixing bowl until combined. (If you cream the sugar and butter, you'll have a more cake-like banana bread--always a choice!)
Add eggs and whisk until combined and mixture is smooth.
Whisk milk and vanilla into batter.
Peel bananas and add to bowl. Using fork, mash them into batter. Leave bananas as chunky or as smooth as you prefer.
Add flour, baking soda, and salt to bowl. Switch to spatula and stir until ingredients are just barely combined and no more dry flour is visible. (Don't overstir)
Fold in nuts and chocolate chips.
Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Smooth top of batter.
Bake 55 to 65 minutes: Bake until top of banana bread is dark brown with some yellow insides showing (there's usually a crack down the top) and toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean. Baking time varies, so start checking around 50 minutes or so.
Cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes.
Lift loaf out of pan and set on cooling rack to cool for another 10 minutes before slicing.

NUTELLA BANANA CAKE: World Nutella Day

Today is World Nutella Day, and Nutella Banana Bundt Cake is the perfect cake to use up any black bananas and celebrate the day! 

Nutella is an amazing chocolate hazelnut spread. It's great on just about anything. You should have it in your pantry.

NUTELLA BANANA CAKE

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 medium (or 3 large) over-ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup pecans (optional)
1 cup Nutella, divided
powdered sugar for dusting

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Spray bundt cake pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, whisk together banana, sugar, brown sugar. Beat in egg, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Slowly whisk in the flour, baking soda, and baking powder, until there are no lumps. Fold in pecans.
Fill pan with half batter. Add 2/3 of the Nutella, trying not to let it come in contact with pan. Add rest of batter on top, covering all the Nutella.
Bake 40-50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool and flip onto dish. 
Dust with powdered sugar.

15 MINUTE CHOCOLATE BANANA CREAM PIE: Retro Ad with Recipe for National Pie Day!

Today is National Pie Day. To be fair, there are multiple Pie Days, but that makes for so many more pie celebrations. Here's a retro Keebler Ad for 15 Minute Banana Cream Pie. As always, you can make your own ingredients from scratch, but it will take more than 15 minutes! This recipe uses a Chocolate "Ready Crust" from Keebler, but you can make your own chocolate crust. 

Keebler 15-minute Chocolate-Banana Cream Pie recipe

Ingredients
1 Keebler Ready-Crust Chocolate Pie Crust
1 package (4-serving size) instant vanilla pudding and pie filling
1 envelope (1-1/2 ounces) whipped topping mix
1-1/2 cups cold milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 medium bananas

Directions
In mixing bowl, combine pie filling mix, whipped topping mix, milk, and vanilla. Use an electric blender on low-speed until blended. Increase speed and beat until very thick, about 3 minutes.
Pour one-third of mixture into crust. Layer slices of banana on top, reserving 1/2 banana for garnish. Pour remaining filling into crust. Chill 2 hours.
Garnish with sliced banana and additional whipped topping (or whipped cream!), if desired.

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE BANANA BREAD: National Banana Lovers Day

Today is National Banana Lovers Day, so"Go Bananas" and whip of this Double Chocolate Banana Bread to celebrate! This is an easy recipe adapted from Hershey's Kitchens and one of my go-to recipes. As always, use the very best chocolate and cocoa for the best flavor.

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE BANANA BREAD

Ingredients 
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup sour cream
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch Process Cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup Dark Chocolate Chips or Dark Chocolate Chopped, divided

Directions 
Preheat oven to 350°F and spray a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.
In large bowl, add softened butter, brown sugar, and white sugar and beat until combined. Add egg, vanilla, bananas, and sour cream and continue to beat until mixture is smooth.
In separate bowl sift together flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda. Add flour mixture to banana mixture and stir until well combined. Mix in half of dark chocolate chips or chopped chocolate. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and evenly sprinkle remaining dark chocolate chips over loaf.
Bake for 65–70 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
NOTE: you might get a bit of chocolate on your toothpick; make sure you insert the toothpick where there are no chocolate chips.
Remove loaf pan from oven and let cool completely. Run knife around the edges of the bread and invert onto cutting board. 

 

BANANA SPLIT: History & Recipe (with Hot Dark Chocolate Sauce) for Banana Split Day

Today is National Banana Split Day, and everyone knows a good banana split needs a good Hot Dark Chocolate Sauce. Following is a great recipe for an easy Dark Chocolate Sauce.

The Birth of the Banana Split like so many food creations does not have a clear invention history. Latrobe, PA claims that the banana split was invented by Dr. David Strickler, who in 1904 was a 23 year-old working at Tassell Pharmacy. This sundae originally cost 10 cents, twice the cost of other sundaes. Dave Strickler, a pharmacist and optician, purchased the pharmacy which was renamed "Stricklers." His banana splits were a big hit with the students from nearby Saint Vincent College and the word spread. According to his daughter, her dad "was always the great experimenter," and he even originated the first banana split dish: "There were no dishes for such a concoction, so he drew up his own," and a company in nearby Grapeville produced it.

The banana split was also showcased at the Boston convention of the National Association of Retail Druggists in 1905. Stinson Thomas, chief dispenser at Butler's Department Store in Boston promoted the banana split there. According to an article about the convention in The Soda Fountain magazine, "among all the beverages dispensed here, none was more novel with the ladies than the banana split." The magazine also quotes Mr. Thomas: "My trade here is always looking for something new and so, one day it occurred to me that I might prepare a popular fountain beverage with a banana. I sent my boy out to buy half a dozen bananas, and when he returned I cut off the ends of a banana, split it open, put a portion of ice cream on top and a spoonful of crushed strawberries. It certainly looked swell, and I believed that the public would like it. As with most new creations though, there was some trial and error. At first we left the peel on the banana in the plate, but some time ago we began removing it altogether. We found that the ladies preferred to have the peel removed."

Banana Split

"Split" Bananas (with peel on) lengthwise. Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle on the cut sides of bananas. Let sit for several minutes. Grill bananas cut side down on direct heat for 2 minutes. Turn (with tongs) and cook 5 more minutes. Remove skins. Put bananas in bowl. Add vanilla ice cream (or other flavors, if your prefer). Pour Hot Dark Chocolate Sauce over. Sprinkle with nuts and add whipped cream--with a cherry on top!

Hot Dark Chocolate Sauce

Ingredients
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
8 ounces Dark chocolate - 65-75% cacao, chopped
2 Tbsp superfine sugar
1/8 cup Kahlua
1/2 tsp pure vanilla

Directions
Heat cream in small saucepan until almost boiling.
Add butter and sugar. Stir to combine.
Remove from heat and pour over chocolate.
Whisk until melted and combined.
Add Kahlua and vanilla. Stir until cool to touch.
Cover with plastic wrap and set aside or refrigerate.

Illustration: Triple Banana Split Boy, written by my friend Lucha Corpi. Illustrated by Lisa Fields. (Arte Publico Press)

Cooking with Mickey & Friends: King Louie's Banana Boats

The weather here is warm and beautiful for Memorial Day, so I thought I'd post this fun recipe for King Louie's Banana Boats from one of my 'Theme" Cookbooks: Cooking with Mickey and Friends by Pat Baird. You'll "go ape" over these. Perfect for the Barbecue -- or oven. They're fun to make with the kids.

Since we barbecue all year round, I often make these on the grill, but you can just as easily follow the directions and make them in the toaster oven.

And, as Mickey reminds us, Bananas are a good source of potassium and carbohydrates. Use a good dark chocolate (broken up) or high quality dark chocolate chips, and you're adding antioxidants. You can make your own marshmallows, too, or not :-) You'll love King Louie's Banana Boats. You'll want to make more than one!

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE BANANA CREAM PIE: 2 Recipes for National Banana Cream Pie Day!

Another day, another food holiday! Today is National Banana Cream Pie Day, and this Double Chocolate Banana Cream Pie is a great way of celebrating.

The first recipe is easy and uses natural ingredients, but don't forget to skim down for an even easier Rachael Ray recipe.

The first recipe uses a chocolate wafer crust, so it's doubly chocolate.

I. DOUBLE CHOCOLATE BANANA CREAM PIE

CHOCOLATE CRUMB CRUST
2 cups chocolate wafer crumbs (whirl a bunch of chocolate wafer cookies in the blender)
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 Tbsp melted unsalted butter

BANANA CREAM FILLING
3/4 cup dark chocolate, chopped
1 pint heavy cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 bananas

For crust:
Combine crumbs, sugar, and melted butter.
Press into 9-inch pie pan, evenly coating bottom and up sides of pie pan.
Chill at least 10 minutes.

For filling:
Whip heavy cream with vanilla and powdered sugar until thick and creamy. Refrigerate.
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
In saucepan, melt 1/2 cup chopped chocolate over low heat.
Remove from heat and whip in 1 cup of whipped topping you previously made and refrigerated. Beat eggs and add to mixture.
Pour into pie shell and bake for 30 minutes.
Cool 15 minutes.
Slice bananas (cut in 1/4 inch slices) and layer on pie.
Top with remaining whipped cream.
Sprinkle with remaining chopped chocolate and banana slices.
Chill

TIP: To prevent skin forming on filling as it cools, cover with plastic wrap. 

Want to make something even easier?
Rachael Ray has a quick and easy Chocolate Banana Cream Pie.

II. CHOCOLATE BANANA CREAM PIE  

Ingredients 
1 frozen pie shell, pricked several times with tines of a fork
1 package instant chocolate pudding, prepared to package directions
2 ripe bananas, sliced thin on an angle
1 can spray whipped cream
1 dark chocolate candy bar

Directions
Preheat oven to 425ºF. Bake pie shell 10-12 minutes, until golden. Remove from oven and let cool.
Line baked and cooled pie shell with layer of chocolate pudding, about half of prepared amount.
Add layer of bananas.
Top with remaining prepared instant chocolate pudding and remaining bananas.
Cover top with giant swirl of whip cream from spray can, starting at center and working out.
Shave chocolate bar with vegetable peeler and top pie with shavings.
Serve immediately.

Your choice: The first recipe takes a little longer, but you'll be sure of the quality of the ingredients, but the other is as Easy as Pie!

BAKED BANANA CHOCOLATE FRENCH TOAST: National French Toast Day

Today is French Toast Day. I love French Toast aka Pain Perdu. This wonderful food used to be a way to use up stale bread by dipping it in eggs and milk and frying it. I make French Toast with Challah, Brioche, or Sourdough, but I've been known to try other breads. And, my breads are usually fresh. We don't have a lot of 'leftover' bread at my house, ut it all works.

Today in honor of National French Toast Day, I'm sharing an easy recipe for Baked Banana Chocolate French Toast! I love Chocolate and Bananas, and this is a great make-ahead French toast recipe! OK, this French Toast is not fried, and it's a bit like a bread pudding, but it's still fabulous! You could always fry it by following the directions and putting the chocolate between two pieces of the bread for stuffed French Toast.

BAKED BANANA CHOCOLATE FRENCH TOAST

Ingredients
4 ripe bananas
4 eggs
3/4 cups half and half
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
4 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 loaf of Challah (or Brioche) cut in thick slices
1/2 cup dark chocolate, 65-75% cacao, chopped 

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Butter a 9" x 13" baking dish.
In large bowl, mash bananas. Add eggs, half and half, melted butter, 3 tablespoons sugar, and vanilla; mix until well beaten. Add bread and turn to coat.
Layer bread in prepared baking dish. Pour remaining mixture over bread.
Sprinkle with chocolate chunks and remaining tablespoon of sugar.
Bake 18 minutes, or until set & golden.

One-Ingredient Banana Ice Cream: National Ice Cream Day!

Today is National Ice Cream Day. Our temps are in the 100s, so it's the perfect food for today! My favorite ice cream when I was little was Banana Ice Cream. We used to stop at the Howard Johnson's on the Highway, and I was always thrilled that they had 28 flavors! As amazed as I was by all the flavors, I usually picked banana. Here's an unbelievably easy One Ingredient Banana Ice Cream recipe. It's healthier, too, since there's no cream, no sugar ... just bananas. And, since this is a chocolate blog, just pour some chocolate sauce over it when you're ready to eat! This pure banana 'ice cream' is really creamy, too, because bananas are high in pectin.

One-Ingredient Banana Ice Cream 

Large ripe bananas.
Peel bananas and chop into evenly sized small pieces.
(Optional but good step) Put bananas in airtight container: freezer bag. Freeze banana pieces for at least 2 hours to overnight.
In small food processor, blend frozen banana pieces. Keep blending —  banana will look crumbly. Scrape down food processor. Keep blending —  banana will look gooey: like banana mush. Scrape down food processor. Keep blending — banana will look like oatmeal: It will get smoother but still have chunks of banana in it. Scrape down food processor. Suddenly, as the last bits of banana smooth out, you'll see mixture shift from blended banana to creamy, soft-serve ice cream texture. Blend for a few more seconds to aerate ice cream.
Transfer to airtight container and freeze until solid: You can eat the ice cream immediately, but it will be quite soft. You can also transfer it back into airtight container and freeze until solid, like traditional ice cream.

Food processor vs. blender: Food processor works best since it has enough room for the banana to get fully creamy and a little bit aerated. Some people do make it in a blender, but be careful; make sure your blender is powerful enough to process the frozen bananas. 

Making a bigger batch: Make sure your food processor is big enough (and powerful enough).

CHUNKY MONKEY BITES: Banana Cookies for National Banana Day!

Today is National Banana Bread. If you're like me, you have a 100 banana bread recipes. But how many banana cookie recipes do you have? Even if you do, this recipe for Chunky Monkey Bites is terrific, Add it to your recipe file. I found this recipe at Domino's Sugar's website. It's a great place to go for easy and delicious recipes. I've adapted this recipe a bit by adding chocolate chips and dried banana pieces. Just a bit of extra crunch and sweetness!

Chunky Monkey Bites

Ingredients:
Nonstick vegetable cooking spray
1  (14 oz.) package banana nut muffin mix 
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup Sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup banana baby food
3/4 cup chocolate chips
2/3 cup walnut pieces
1/2 cup dried banana pieces (chopped)

Directions
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Spray 2 baking sheets with cooking spray, set aside. 

In a large bowl, combine muffin mix, oil, sugar, eggs and baby food, stirring with wooden spoon until well mixed. Fold in chocolate chips, walnuts, and banana chips.
Drop heaping tablespoons of the dough on baking sheets, spacing 2" apart. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Makes 24 bites.

CHOCOLATE BANANA FRENCH TOAST: National French Toast Day

Today is French Toast Day. I love

French Toast: Pain Perdu ... This wonderful food used to be a way to use up stale bread by dipping it in eggs and milk and frying it. I usually make French Toast with Challah, Brioche, or Sourdough, but I've been known to try other breads. And my breads are usually fresh. We don't have a lot of 'leftover' bread at my house.

Today in honor of National French Toast Day, I thought I'd share an easy recipe for Baked Banana Chocolate French Toast! I love Chocolate and Bananas, and this is a great make-ahead French toast recipe! OK, this French Toast is not fried, and it's a bit like a bread pudding, but it's still fabulous! You could always fry it by following the directions and putting the chocolate between two pieces of the bread--stuffed French Toast.

CHOCOLATE BANANA FRENCH TOAST

Ingredients
4 ripe bananas
4 eggs
3/4 cups half and half
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
4 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 loaf of Challah (or Brioche) cut in thick slices
1/2 cup dark chocolate, 65-85% cacao, chopped 

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Butter a 9" x 13" baking dish.
In large bowl, mash bananas. Add eggs, half and half, melted butter, 3 tablespoons sugar, and vanilla; mix until well beaten. Add bread and turn to coat.
Layer bread in prepared baking dish. Pour remaining mixture over bread.
Sprinkle with chocolate chunks and remaining tablespoon of sugar.
Bake 18 minutes, or until set & golden.

KING LOUIE'S BANANA BOATS: National Banana Lovers' Day

The weather is warm and beautiful this weekend and since today is National Banana Lovers Day, I thought I'd post this fun recipe for King Louie's Banana Boats from one of my 'Theme" Cookbooks: Cooking with Mickey and Friends by Pat Baird. You'll go Ape over these. They're fun to make with the kids.

Since we barbecue all year round, I often make these on the grill, but you can just as easily follow the directions and make them in the toaster oven.

And, as Mickey reminds us, Bananas are a good source of potassium and carbohydrates. Use a good dark chocolate (chopped) or high quality dark chocolate chips, and you're adding antioxidants. Want to make S'mores Banana Boats? Add graham crackers mixed with melted butter to the chocolate chips and marhsmallows. You'll love King Louie's Banana Boats. You'll want to make more than one!

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE BANANA BREAD: National Banana Day!

Today is National Banana Day. Here's an easy recipe adapted from Hershey's Kitchens for Double Chocolate Banana Bread . This is one of my go-to recipes for quick bread. As always, use the very best chocolate and cocoa for the best flavor.

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE BANANA BREAD

Ingredients 
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup sour cream
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch Process Cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup Dark Chocolate Chips or Dark Chocolate Chopped, divided

Directions 
Preheat oven to 350°F and spray a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.
In large bowl, add softened butter, brown sugar, and white sugar and beat until combined. Add egg, vanilla, bananas, and sour cream and continue to beat until mixture is smooth.
In separate bowl sift together flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda. Add flour mixture to banana mixture and stir until well combined. Mix in half of dark chocolate chips or chopped chocolate. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and evenly sprinkle remaining dark chocolate chips over loaf.
Bake for 65–70 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
NOTE: you might get a bit of chocolate on your toothpick; make sure you insert the toothpick where there are no chocolate chips.
Remove loaf pan from oven and let cool completely. Run knife around the edges of the bread and invert onto cutting board. 

 

King Louie's Banana Boats: National Banana Day

Today is National Banana Day. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of banana bread. And, since the weather today is warm and beautiful, it's a perfect day to make this fun recipe for King Louie's Banana Boats from one of my 'Theme" Cookbooks: Cooking with Mickey and Friends by Pat Baird. You'll go Ape over these.

Since we barbecue all year round, I often make these on the grill, but you can just as easily follow the directions and make them in the toaster oven.

And, as Mickey reminds us, Bananas are a good source of potassium and carbohydrates. Use a good dark chocolate (chopped) or high quality dark chocolate chips, and you're adding antioxidants. Want to make S'mores Banana Boats? Add graham crackers mixed with melted butter to the chocolate chips and marshmallows. You'll love King Louie's Banana Boats. You'll want to make more than one!

PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE BANANA CREAM PIE: National Banana Cream Pie Day!

Today is National Banana Cream Pie Day and yesterday was National Peanut Butter Lovers Day, so here's a 2-fer recipe to celebrate: Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Cream Pie. It doesn't get much better than that. This recipe is from Kraft Foods. You can always substitute your own home-made ingredients.

PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE BANANA CREAM PIE

Ingredients
35 Nilla Wafers, finely crushed (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 squares Baker's Semi-Sweet Chocolate, divided  (or a high quality dark chocolate)
1/2 cup Peanut Butter
2 Bananas, cut lengthwise in half, then crosswise into quarters
2 packages (3.4 ounces each) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
2 cups cold Milk
2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, divided
2 Tbsp PLANTERS Salted Peanuts, coarsely chopped

Directions
HEAT oven to 350ºF.
MIX wafer crumbs and butter until well blended; press onto bottom and up side of 9-inch pie plate. Bake 5 to 8 min. or until golden brown. Cool completely. Meanwhile, make chocolate curls from 1/2 chocolate square. Refrigerate.
MICROWAVE remaining 1-1/2 chocolate squares and peanut butter in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1 minutes; stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is well blended. Place bananas in crust; drizzle with melted chocolate.
BEAT pudding mixes and milk in large bowl with whisk 2 min. Stir in 1 cup COOL WHIP. Spread over bananas; top with remaining COOL WHIP.
REFRIGERATE 3 hours. Top with chocolate curls and nuts just before serving.

Want to make your Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Cream Pie from scratch? Try these recipes from Joy the Baker or EzraPoundCake's Hunk-a Hunk-a Peanut Butter and Banana Cream Pie.

GO BANANAS! CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA BREAD, CARMEN MIRANDA, and CHIQUITA BANANA for National Banana Bread Day!

 

It's been a long year for Banana Bread. How many have you made during the Pandemic? How many different recipes? Well here are two more. One is Gluten-Free. 

I've always loved Chiquita Banana, especially the logo with Chiquita and her Fruit Hat that was popularized by Carmen Miranda. There was something so foreign and exotic about Chiquita -- and Carmen Miranda. I was so taken by all the Carmen Miranda Hollywood productions that when I was in Rio several years ago, I made a pilgrimage to Carmen Miranda's home on Avendida Rui Barbosa. Loved the memorabilia.

So in honor of Carmen Miranda and to celebrate today's food holiday, National Banana Bread Day, I'm posting two recipes for Banana Bread. They are both from Chiquita Bananas. I added chocolate chips to both of the recipes because I love chocolate and bananas. You can also add nuts. And, the second recipe is gluten free! Be sure to scroll down to watch the video of Carmen Miranda in the "Tutti Frutti Hat." Here's the 1940s "Chiquita Banana" song!

THE CHIQUITA BANANA SONG

Best Chiquita Banana Bread

adapted from Chiquita Bananas

Ingredients
4 whole Chiquita Bananas
1 cup All-purpose flour
1 cup Unprocessed wheat bran
1 1/2 tsp Baking soda
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Brown sugar
3/4 cup Chocolate chips
1 cup unsalted Butter, soft
2 whole Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1/2 cup Walnuts
1 Tbsp Local Honey

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease large 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
Whip 2 Chiquita Bananas and sugars until mix is creamy (about 3 minutes).
Add butter, eggs, and vanilla and whip until smooth.
Mix in all dry ingredients until blended.
Fold in walnuts and Chocolate Chips.
Slice two Chiquita Bananas and toss with honey until Chiquita Bananas are well coated.
Pour mix in loaf pan and place honey coated bananas on top.
Bake in oven for 60 minutes.
Let cool for 5 minutes then place plate on top of pan and flip pan upside down so loaf falls onto plate.

Gluten Free Banana Bread 

with Chocolate Chips

adapted from Chiquita Banana Bread, recipe idea Alisa Bennett

Ingredients
3 large Chiquita bananas
3 large Eggs
1/4 cup Coconut oil (melted)
1 Tbsp Vanilla extract
2 cups Almond meal
2 Tbsp Coconut flour
1 tsp Baking soda
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 cup chopped Walnuts
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Instructions
Puree egg, oil, vanilla, and bananas in blender.
In separate bowl, blend dry ingredients.
Add banana and egg mixture to dry ingredients and mix well.
Fold in chopped walnuts and chocolate chips.
Pour batter into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 50-55 minutes.

"THE LADY IN THE TUTTI-FRUTTI HAT" from Busby Berkeley's Welcome to Banana Island

CHOCOLATE BANANA PANCAKES: National Pancake Day

Today is National Pancake Day! There are actually several pancake days, but I celebrate them all! This recipe for Chocolate Banana Pancakes is slightly adapted from TheComfortofCooking, This recipe is special because these pancakes can be frozen. Just put a few pieces of wax paper between each pancake, throw them in a plastic bag and freeze! Take them out of the freezer, and you have pancakes on a school or work day! Add some sliced bananas and syrup, and you have a great meal! You'll love the texture of these, too!

CHOCOLATE BANANA PANCAKES

Ingredients
1 cup flour
4 Tbsp DARK cocoa powder
3 Tbsp sugar
1-1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
2 large ripe bananas (mushy is best)
1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
 Banana slices and syrup to add after...

Directions

Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in large bowl.
In another bowl, mash banana. Mix in buttermilk, egg, vanilla, and vegetable oil until well combined. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix until just combined (should be lumpy).
Spray large pan with nonstick cooking spray and set to medium heat.
Cook pancakes until bubbles form on surface and edges are just cooked, about 2 minutes.
Flip and cook for an additional minute.
Serve with sliced banana and syrup.