caramelized bourbon banana shake

When I was little, one of my absolute favorite things during the summer was a fresh banana shake. We would almost always have ice cream and bananas on hand, whether frozen or fresh, and I still have never had a banana shake I've liked better than the ones my mom made. A plain banana shake, that is. I think this one might rival it.

She would whip them up so effortlessly and serve them in these tall, greyish, bird-festooned pedestal mugs that were often chipped or missing a handle. I loved those mugs almost as much as the banana shakes. They've long since met their demise or you'd better believe those would be featuring prominently here.

Banana shakes were one of the few highlights of being sick. Well that and unrationed tv, which was unheard of at any other time. I'd always hope that whatever sickness I had would come with a sore throat so I could request the Great Banana Shake Balm. To this day, it's all I want when I come down with any ailment. One chipped bird-mug full of banana shake, please.

While those plain banana shakes are really all you need, it was a festive weekend so I decided to try spicing things up a bit. My sister had mentioned one time that she caramelized her bananas before using them for a shake, so I thought that might be a good place to start. She sent me this recipe that she used, just noting she used brown sugar rather than the white sugar this calls for. Which got my wheels turning and made me wonder what else I could alter to make it my own.

So I tossed a few things in the blender and gave it a taste and... um... guys it's really good. Really good.