Appetizer: Chicken & Shrimp Queso Dip
Main Dish: Lime and Cilantro Marinated Steak with Guacamole
Dessert: Pancakes with Caramelized Bananas, Vanilla Ice Cream, Mint, and Java Fudge Sauce
Anyways, for this recipe, you melt a fistful of sugar in a hot pan until it caramelizes. Split open a vanilla bean (it’s the first time I’ve ever used one! $0.99 for two at Trader Joe’s!) and scrape out the paste. Toss it into the pan with two diagonally, thickly sliced bananas and a squeeze of honey. Add water to thin the sauce and cook until the bananas soften and are coated with the caramel. Meanwhile, whip up a batch of little pancakes. We made them from the Bisquick box. Place a few pancakes on a plate, top with a spoonful of the banana mixture, lop on a scoop of vanilla ice cream, stick a sprig of fresh mint in the ice cream, and drizzle over with a coffee bean hot fudge. So. Good. I’m a believer in fresh mint to brighten rich dessert dishes after having pumpkin whoopee pies from Jolly Pumpkin with a sprig of mint on the plate. Not just a garnish. A revelation!