Mexican Bananas Foster

• Photos

  Leave it to a firefighter to create a recipe for bananas foster that does not require flamb¿ing. Bonanno made this dish on TV with Martha Stewart. If serving to children, substitute apple juice for the Kahl¿a, suggests Bonanno. Photo by Sue Ade/Morris News Ser

Leave it to a firefighter to create a recipe for bananas foster that does not require flambing. Bonanno made this dish on TV with Martha Stewart. If serving to children, substitute apple juice for the Kahla, suggests Bonanno.

Photo by Sue Ade/Morris News Ser

3/4 cup light brown sugar

3/4 cup Kahla or other

coffee-flavored liqueur

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks)

unsalted butter, cut into t

blespoons

6 ripe bananas, peeled and

sliced in 1/2-inch rounds

Ground cinnamon, to taste

Vanilla ice cream or vanilla fat-free frozen yogurt

If cooking outdoors, preheat gas grill to medium; with charcoal, let burn down to medium-hot and coals are covered with white ash. If cooking indoors, use cast iron ridged grill pan and heat (on stove top) to medium or place packets on sheet pan in a preheated 350-degree oven. Tear off six, 12-inch squares of aluminum foil. Fold one square in half.

On bottom half, place 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 tablespoons Kahla, 2 tablespoons butter, and 1 banana. Sprinkle with a pinch of cinnamon. Fold the foil over to form a packet, crimping the open edges to seal.

Repeat with the remaining ingredients. (The packets can be prepared up to 1 hour ahead and kept at room temperature.)

Grill the packets until the sugar, Kahla and butter are boiling (open a packet to check), 5 to 7 minutes.

Open the packets, pour over bowls of ice cream, and serve immediately. Serves 6.