This what my father would call one of those ‘fancy-dan’ recipes. It’s designed to impress dining folk. Yet, in contrast, it is so easy to prepare. Good ripe bananas are coated in butter, sprinkled with lime juice and sugar, and baked. Lastly, they are spiced with anisette, or, anis, the preferred Latino liqueur. I’ve discovered that you can use whatever liqueur  is on hand. In our group, we prefer Grand Marnier. Also, we call the recipe ‘spirited bananas.’ The actual translation is ‘bananas with liquor’ (or bananas with booze).  We figure ‘Spirited Bananas’ is a more refine nomenclature. It’s all a matter of semantics. As my father would say, Who gives a flyin’ you-know-what.

Now comes the fancy-dan part. The dish can also be served flambé style. That is, you can heat the liqueur,  pour over the bananas and set aflame. Then bask in all the oohs and aahs from your guests

GUINEOS CON LIQOR
(Spirited Bananas)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
4 ripe bananas, peeled and sliced in half lengthwise
1 tablespoon lime juice
¾ cup brown sugar
¼ cup anisette, amaretto or Grand Marnier

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Melt butter in an oven-proof serving dish or large skillet.
3.  Add bananas and coat both sides with butter.
4. Sprinkle with lime juice and sugar.
5. Place in oven and bake 15 minutes.
6. Drizzle with liqueur and serve. Or heat liqueur in a flambé cup or small saucepan. Pour over bananas, ignite with a long match. Gently shake your now-flaming pan to evenly distribute the alcohol. Let cook until the flames disappear. The alcohol vapor generally burns off by itself in a few seconds. Serve immediately.
Yield: 4 servings.