Mom's favorite dessert

This is Mom's absolute favorite dessert. She begs me to make it every once in a while, but we haven't had it in a long time, probably because I don't do well with dairy, Brad's not a big fan that I know of, and Cassie, of course, hasn't had her big banana moment yet. But it's a great option for a spur-of-the-moment dessert because it only takes a few minutes to make and it uses ingredients you often have around (if you like vanilla ice cream and keep a bottle of rum on hand, "for medicinal purposes"). Plus you get to light a pan of food on fire, which is always fun and a cool way to impress whomever you're cooking for, as long as you don't light yourself or your kitchen on fire while you're at it.

Watch here as Dylan puts the flambé in Bananas Foster; Moriah and Olive are suitably impressed!

Bananas Foster

Adapted from America's Test Kitchen

Time: 13 minutes

This recipe can be halved to serve two; use a 10-inch stainless steel skillet.

4  tablespoons  (2 ounces; half a stick) unsalted butter
½ cup (3½ ounces) dark brown sugar
1 3-inch cinnamon stick
1 strip of lemon zest, removed with a peeler or a knife, not a zester, about 2 inches long and 1 inch wide
2 large, firm but ripe bananas, peeled and halved crosswise, then lengthwise
¼ cup dark rum 
vanilla ice cream 

    1. Place a 12-inch stainless steel skillet (not nonstick) over medium heat, and add the butter. When the butter is melted, add the sugar, cinnamon stick, and lemon zest. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. The recipe says that if the heat is too high, the butter and sugar will separate instead of combining to form a sauce. That happens to me no matter what I have the heat on, but it always comes together once I add the bananas, so I don't worry about it too much.
    2. Add the bananas and spoon some sauce over each piece. Cook until the bananas are golden on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Turn the bananas gently with a spatula and cook until they're soft but not mushy or falling apart, another minute or so. While the bananas cook, scoop (or better yet, have someone else scoop) the ice cream into 4 bowls.
    3. Remove the pan from the heat and turn off any lit burners (especially if you have a gas stove). Pour in the rum. Wait 5 seconds, then carefully wave a lit match over the pan until the rum ignites, shaking the pan gently to distribute the flame. (See this video for some tips from America's Test Kitchen on how to flambé the bananas safely.)
    4. When the flames have died down, spoon the bananas and sauce evenly over the 4 waiting bowls of ice cream, discarding the cinnamon stick and lemon zest. Serve immediately. Serves 4.