Banana

Sweet-smelling, dense, and moist, these cupcakes don’t really need a frosting—it’s just icing on the cake! And yes, they really do taste good made with olive oil. These cupcakes are good keepers; they stay moist for up to a week.

Warm, luscious bananas soaked in rum—a little taste of tropical paradise.

Here, the brittle adds the excitement to the ice cream sandwich by providing the crunch. But don’t add the brittle too far in advance, as it will begin to dissolve into the ice cream. If pecans are not your favorite, you can substitute a nut that’s more to your liking.

When my aunt Cathy dropped by our house for a visit and tea, she was always packing a loaf of banana bread baked at her restaurant, Harry’s Coffee Shop, in La Jolla, California. Under her strong encouragement, I’d chow piece after piece until I’d scarfed nearly an entire loaf. “It’s good for her!” she’d say as my mother looked on in slight horror. And I believed her. I mean, banana bread? Come on! Eating that pillowy deliciousness was like getting extra-credit points for free. Of course, in adulthood I discovered that this supposed health bread, like everything else tasty, was virtually a heart attack in loaf form. Butter? Eggs? Bleached flour? Sugar?! Aunt Cathy, take note: Below is how you do it while sparing yourself—and your behind—the grief. If you’d like to take this recipe to the next level, include 1 cup of chocolate chips when you add the banana. You will not be sorry.

There are only five circumstances under which a person wants chocolate for breakfast: (1) You dumped your boyfriend or husband in a champagne-soaked tantrum the night before. (2) Based on the contents of your fridge, it’s either chocolate sauce or a spoonful of mustard. (3) You are under the age of eight. (4) You are pregnant. (5) You have just whipped up a batch of these babies. These scones are light and elegant compared to traditional scones, whose texture often sets my stomach on spin cycle.

Gregory Gourreau, my cooking partner when I was sous-chef at Daniel, worked on a dish where he froze citrus into something that resembled a mosaic. I loved the idea and played with it for a while, until I came up with this refreshing block of oranges. I like to use a 4-inch square plastic tube to form the citrus mixture, but you could just as easily use two 15-ounce cans. Remove the tops and bottoms and wash them well.

François Payard, with whom I worked at Daniel and at his own pastry shop, believes in signature desserts. His banana tartlet is one of those signatures, with crunchy cashews and creamy white chocolate mousse paired with rum-sautéed bananas. In this tribute to his dessert, I borrowed the structure and changed the flavors to creamy milk chocolate paired with a salty hazelnut caramel.

I always thought it was a shame that you had to burn the alcohol off when you flambéed bananas, so I’ve reintroduced the rum in a different form—in ice cream. Peanut Phyllo Crisps add the crunch you need to play off the soft bananas and ice cream.

I am one of the few people whose mother never packed a Fluffernutter sandwich in their school lunch box. You know what? That’s okay. The thought of peanut butter, marshmallow, and banana “sandwiched” between two slices of squishy, flavorless bread was not so appetizing to me even as a child. However, when you get rid of the bread and add some ice cream and milk to those three ingredients, it’s a totally different story. If only my mom had filled my lunch-box thermos with this shake.

Crackles of chocolate are better than chips in milkshakes because they fit through the straw. You’re also better off starting with bar chocolate instead of chips because the chocolate is usually of a better quality. Make sure the banana is really ripe and the chocolate is still warm when you drizzle it into the milkshake. Warm chocolate combined with the cold ice cream will instantly harden, making thin little strings of chocolate.

Banana leaves gracefully cover cocoa beans in their fermenting bins where the beans develop their extraordinary flavor. Roadside farm stands in chocolate’s growing regions offer a jumble of bananas, cinnamon sticks, plantains, cacao pods, walnuts, vanilla beans, and coconuts, all from trees of the tropics. For that extra earth-friendly touch, use muffin or cupcake liners made with unbleached, eco-friendly paper.

Have a nutritious start to your morning when you add oatmeal and whole-wheat flour to your pancakes. Topped with granola, bananas, and maple syrup, they’re amazing!

Get up and go with this satisfying breakfast drink. For a frosty presentation, put empty glasses in the freezer for just a few minutes while you are preparing the drink.

Here’s a modern twist to a comforting favorite. It’s perfect not only for dessert but also as a starter for a summer brunch.

When looking for the perfect banana for a smoothie, you want to choose one that is not green but also not overly ripe (a few brown spots are great, but you don’t want it to be brown). Green bananas are difficult to blend smoothly in the blender and won’t give you the nice sweetness ripe bananas will. But, if they’re overly ripe, the flavor will be overpowering. If you’re a big fan of smoothies, it’s best to buy bananas in bulk when they’re on sale. When they are the perfect ripeness, peel them and store them in resealable freezer bags in the freezer so they’re ready for you whenever the craving strikes.

This is a great, colorful treat to serve when hosting a girls’ night or cocktail hour. It’s fun and extremely easy to make in large quantities, since you’re just skewering one piece of marshmallow, strawberry, and banana on each skewer. When buying hot fudge, you may need to read the nutritional information to determine whether or not it’s fat-free. Some brands say “fat-free” directly on the label, but others that are may not say so. Just be sure that “0 g fat” is listed on the nutrition label.

Ideally, this recipe should be prepared with firm bananas: The softer ones are best reserved for banana breads and muffins. I buy a couple of bananas pretty much every time I go to the grocery store (way more frequently than most, I’m sure), so I’m always set no matter what I want to do with them.

Okay, this recipe is simple, but last year when I told a friend I was going to write this book he said I had to include it. I’d never heard of doing this, nor had a number of my friends. In fact, though I found many friends who made a version including marshmallows over a campfire as a kid, I didn’t find one other person who’d actually made this. So I’m guessing that most folks won’t have had it before. Trust me; if you like bananas and chocolate, you’ll wish you’d tried it sooner!

Kids will definitely go for these logs. Make them for breakfast or even as an after-school snack. They’re so delicious, the kids won’t balk at eating fruit. If you have them, feel free to use corn-on-the-cob holders to assist in coating the bananas. You don’t absolutely need them, but they’ll help keep the peanut butter where it belongs—on the bananas.

I am a huge fan of anything colada—piña colada, strawberry colada, even mango colada. This dish is a healthier twist on a banana colada that’s great for breakfast or any time of the day. For a real treat, tuck the kids into bed at night, and then try it with a small spike of rum.