The Sunday Kitchen, Banana Bread

When I was first learning to bake, I was obsessed with banana bread. Most quick breads, really. I think it’s par for the course at that age. They’re easy as easy could be, and carry the sweetness of the incurably sweet youthful pallet. My mom swears there were years when it was the only thing I would eat from my carefully packed, nutritionally rich brown bag lunch. I conveniently don’t remember that, but maybe it’s true. After all, it’s clearly either the banana bread exclusive diet or my mother’s genetics that determined I would never, ever reach 5’3” tall.

 At some point I did move on. Whether it was an over-dose of bananas or the thrill of a new challenge, I don’t recall. Flash forward a few decades, to this morning, when I realized I couldn’t tell you the last time I had a piece of good old banana bread.

Sometimes, food is all about nostalgia. Like the excitement of the first time fork squished bananas became sweet crumb goodness. Or sitting with your very best friends around a picnic table during the best hour of school. Food should do more than just fill your hunger. From time to time, it should feed your soul.

Lucky me, I have a few ripely speckled yellow naners on the counter right now, just begging to be a sweet reminder of childhood. But I think we can do a little better than that naked loaf of bread filled with gold medal flour and imitation vanilla (both a sin in this kitchen), from all those years ago. Let’s make banana bread bakery case worthy.

Fresh, ripe bananas baked into a tender, perfectly sweet bread, drizzled with salted caramel and fresh mascarpone cream, and toppled with slices of banana torched to a shiny sweet brulee.

Happy Sunday Kitchen. Hope yours is filled with the delicious glee of childhood happiness.