Bananas Foster

Today's recipe is fun because it's dangerous, and it's dangerous because it's

ON FIRE,

so get your mother's permission. In fact, you need to be an adult to make it not only because it involves setting things on fire but also because what you set on fire is liquor, which you have to be an adult to obtain and possess.

It's a dessert, and you would traditionally eat it with vanilla ice cream, although you could probably put it on top of all sorts of other desserts.

You'll need food products:
3 ripe bananas (the riper the better)
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons creme de cacao
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup dark rum
Vanilla ice cream, or whatever else you want to eat this with

You'll also need tools:
Knives
Cutting board
Large skillet, ideally not nonstick, with a lid
Measuring cups and spoons
Small, long-handled saucepan, ideally not nonstick
Long match
Spatula

Most importantly, you'll need to do the following:
Don't burn yourself or burn down your house

Get started by peeling the bananas and slicing them into thin little banana slices. Then (or, if you're pressed for time and confident in multitasking, meanwhile) melt the butter and brown sugar over medium heat in the large skillet, periodically mixing them together with the spatula.

When they are melted, toss in the banana slices and mix them all around in the sugar-butter with the spatula. Let this mixture sizzle and simmer for a couple minutes, then mix in the cinnamon and creme de cacao. Shut off the burner.

Pour the rum into your small, long-handled saucepan, and heat it with your burner up high. Meanwhile, get your long match ready. If you have a gas stove, one easy way to light it is to stick it in the burner's flame. In about thirty seconds, the rum will just start to boil. I call this the point of no return. Actually, I've never called it that before, but one might call it that. Anyway, things are about to get potentially dangerous, so pay attention:

Make sure you have the skillet lid ready.
Hold the long handle of the saucepan.
Using the lit long match, light the rum on fire. Whoosh!
Lift the pan and pour the flaming rum over the banana mixture. It will still be on fire when it hits the skillet.
Using your hand-eye coordination, your sense of self-presevation, and your spatula, toss the flaming banana mixture around to spread out the flame without burning yourself.
If the fire gets out of hand, put the lid on the skillet.
Don't let the fire get out of hand.
Eventually, it will burn out. It is important that you let it burn out and don't blow it out or otherwise extinguish it, because the burning gets rid of the alcohol.

Phew, now it is safe again. While it's still hot, serve it on top of the recommended couple scoops of vanilla ice cream or whatever else you want.