GO BANANAS WITH SWEET AND SAVORY CREATIONS : WHITE CHOCOLATE BANANA CREAM PIES.

Byline: Cathy Thomas Orange County Register

Banana muffins. Banana breads. Banana cakes.

No doubt, they're luscious. But bananas are such a versatile ingredient, it would be a culinary crime to think of them as only a mashed flavor enhancer for baked goods.

Bananas are delectable in savory as well as sweet dishes. Broiled, baked or blended. Grilled or sauteed. Hot or cold.

Ripe or overripe, speckled with random brown spots.

Breakfast, lunch or dinner.

And lots of ingredients pair beautifully with bananas. One chapter of Andrew Dorenburg and Karen Page's book, ``Culinary Artistry'' (Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1996; $39.95), is devoted to lists of specific foods that complement one another. In the bananas column, more than 40 ingredients are listed as potential flavor partners. The list is compiled from interviews with more than 30 of America's top chefs.

Chocolate, rum, coconut and cream are noted as classic combinations with bananas. And bananas with tropical fruits, brown sugar, nuts, caramel and yogurt come as no surprise.

But chicken, coriander, cinnamon and cardamon are also listed among the flavor partners. Bacon and maple syrup, too. A splash of gin or Cognac. A drizzle of honey.

Think of the possibilities for new recipes. Chicken breasts stuffed under the skin with nuts, cracker crumbs and syrup, then baked until nicely browned in a puddle of tropical fruit sauce. Over the top, a garnish of warm, rum-scented bananas.

Maybe some colorful rice pilaf accented with small chunks of sauteed bananas and a light sprinkle of ground cinnamon or coriander. A little minced cilantro. Yum.

Here are some ways to use bananas in everyday dishes. Half of them are sweet, half are savory. Some may look familiar; others, hopefully, will be a new gastronomic adventure.

Banana Blender Breakfast:

Banana-based shakes make a delicious breakfast-in-a-glass.

Combine 3/4 cup nonfat yogurt, 1/2 banana (sliced), 2 ice cubes and 2 hulled strawberries in a blender. For a sweeter drink, add a little honey OR artificial sweetener. Process on high speed until smooth. Drink posthaste; fruit shakes separate if they sit around.

For a thicker drink, use frozen banana slices and omit ice cubes.

West Indies Banana Pilaf:

Rice flavored with bananas, carrots and cinnamon makes a great accompaniment to grilled fish or chicken. Delicious with curries, too. The pilaf can be made ahead and reheated in the microwave, but wait to add the sauteed bananas just before serving.

In a large saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons butter OR margarine. Add 1 small onion (chopped), 1 clove garlic (minced) and 2 medium carrots (finely chopped). Cook on medium-high heat until onion is softened, about 3 minutes. Add 1 cup long grain rice.

Cook, stirring frequently, until rice is lightly browned. Remove from heat and add 2 cups chicken broth OR vegetable broth. Bring to a boil on high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook 18 minutes. Remove lid and fluff rice with a fork.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter OR margarine in a skillet. Add 2 bananas (cut in quarters lengthwise and sliced) and cook on medium-high heat, tossing occasionally to lightly brown them. Sprinkle bananas with 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon and add to rice; gently toss. Sprinkle with a little minced cilantro. Makes 6 servings.

Banana Pancakes:

When you flip these flapjacks, the sliced bananas will face up and be beautifully caramelized.

Prepare a favorite buttermilk pancake batter. Slice bananas into 1/8- to 1/4-inch-thick slices. Toss with a little sugar (for 3 bananas, use 2 tablespoons sugar). Heat and generously grease a griddle or nonstick skillet.

For each pancake, place 4 to 5 banana slices on grill (place in a circle smaller than pancake will be). Immediately pour about 1/4 cup batter over bananas to cover. Turn pancakes only once. Continue cooking until second side is done.

Bananas Foster:

Bananas and ice cream are great partners. Here's a hurry-up, microwave version of the classic dessert from New Orleans, Bananas Foster.

In a 4-cup microwave-proof glass bowl (OR measuring container), place 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter OR margarine and 1 cup packed brown sugar; cover with wax paper. Microwave on high power 2 minutes. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/4 cup dark rum and 4 large bananas (coarsely chopped). Cover and microwave on high power 1 minute.

Ladle hot banana mixture over scoops of vanilla OR banana ice cream. Makes 6 servings.

Banana and Carob-Chip Ice Cream:

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream say that overripe bananas (the ones with all the brown spots) make the best ice cream. They say the more spots, the better.

Place 2 cups whipping cream in a bowl. Gradually whisk in 3/4 cup sugar. Continue whisking 1 minute. Add 2/3 cup half-and-half, and whisk to blend. Process in an ice-cream machine according to manufacturer's directions.

After ice cream stiffens (about 2 minutes before finished), add a mixture of 2 mashed overripe bananas, juice 1 lemon (about 2 tablespoons) and 1/2 cup carob chips. Use chocolate chips, if desired. Continue freezing until ready. Serve immediately. Makes a generous 1 quart.

Bananarama Tropical Fruit Salad:

In a large bowl, combine 2 bananas (peeled and sliced), 1 papaya (peeled, seeded and cubed), 1 mango (peeled, seeded and cubed), 1 pint strawberries (hulled and cut into halves or quarters) and 1/2 pineapple (peeled, cored and cubed). Add 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 tablespoon lime juice and 2 tablespoons sugar. Gently toss and chill. Just before serving, toss in 1 tablespoon minced fresh mint.

Garnish with fresh raspberries and sprigs of fresh mint, if desired.

Indonesian Chicken Salad:

In a large bowl, combine 2/3 cup mayonnaise (OR reduced-fat mayonnaise) and 1/2 teaspoon curry powder. Add 3 cups cubed cooked chicken breasts, 1 cup sliced celery, 1/2 cup golden raisins and 1/4 cup sliced green onions. Toss and chill.

Place 3 to 4 cups fresh baby spinach leaves on a platter. Add 2 sliced bananas to chicken mixture. Gently toss. Place chicken mixture atop spinach.

Serve. Garnish with diagonally sliced bananas and wedges of mango OR papaya. Makes 4 servings.

Frozen Chocolate-Dipped Bananas:

Peel bananas and leave whole OR cut in 1/2, crosswise. Insert a wooden skewer OR ice-cream stick. Melt coating chocolate (sold next to fresh berries in produce section of markets), according to package directions; stir until smooth.

Pour chocolate into a pie plate or shallow bowl; cool slightly and stir again. Dip banana into chocolate, rolling back and forth. If desired, roll in chopped, toasted nuts. Place on a wax paper-lined baking sheet. Freeze overnight. Wrap each frozen banana in foil or enclose in plastic food bags. Return to freezer. Use within 1 month for best flavor.

If you're not a chocolate fan, roll skewered banana halves in dairy sour cream; then roll in a combination of toasted flaked coconut and chopped toasted nuts. Freeze as directed for chocolate-dipped frozen bananas.

Calypso Chicken Breasts:

Bananas taste great with warm chicken, too, especially if you include additional tropical fruit flavors in a tangy sauce. In this recipe, boned chicken breasts are stuffed under the skin with a walnut-cracker crumb filling.

They bake until golden brown in a crushed pineapple-orange juice sauce scented with dark rum. Stir thinly sliced bananas into the sauce and serve (recipe below).

White Chocolate Banana Cream Pies:

My mother always proclaimed banana cream pie as the best dessert on the planet. Here's a version that includes melted white chocolate in the pastry cream and is topped with a fancy crown of whipped cream and white chocolate curls (recipe follows).

This recipe makes two pies. I figure, as long as you've got flour on the countertop, why not make two pies?

CRUST:

2 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons cold solid vegetable shortening, cut into 6 pieces

8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

5 to 6 tablespoons ice water, as needed 

FILLING:

4 cups milk

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

Pinch salt

5 large egg yolks

1/2 cup cornstarch 

1/3 cup chopped white chocolate

1 teaspoon vanilla

6 medium bananas, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

TOPPING:

1/2 cup chopped white chocolate, plus 1/2 cup chopped white chocolate for chocolate curls

3 cups cold whipping cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

For Crust, place flour, granulated sugar and salt in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Process 30 seconds. Add shortening and butter. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. With motor running, add ice water in a thin stream through feed tube. Process until mixture starts to form a mass. Do not overprocess dough; it will make dough tough.

Divide dough in half, and form each half into a disk. Roll each disk out into a 10-inch round on a lightly floured work surface. Ease each round of dough into a 9-inch pie pan. Crimp edges, and prick with tines of a fork.

Bake in preheated 350-degree oven 25 to 30 minutes or until nicely browned. Cool.

For Filling, in a medium saucepan, combine 3 cups milk, 1/2 cup granulated sugar and salt. Stir and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat.

In a separate, large saucepan, whisk egg yolks with remaining 1 cup milk, 3/4 cup sugar and cornstarch until smooth. Whisk in hot milk in a thin stream. Cook, stirring constantly, on medium-high heat until custard is thickened and starts to bubble around edges, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in white chocolate. Whisk until chocolate melts. Whisk in vanilla; cool. Custard can be refrigerated overnight.

Place banana slices in cooled pie shells. Add filling, and press down gently with a rubber spatula. Cover pies with wax paper that has been lightly buttered where it comes in contact with filling. Refrigerate.

For Topping, melt 1/2 cup chopped white chocolate in top of a double boiler over barely simmering water. Stir vigorously to melt chocolate. You don't want chocolate to get hot. It will just get warm. Cool to tepid.

Beat whipping cream with powdered sugar until almost stiff. Beating, pour in melted white chocolate.

Discard wax paper from pies. Spread topping on pies, mounding higher in centers. Garnish with white chocolate curls. You can make shavings with a vegetable peeler, or melt in top of a double boiler, spread it onto a marble slab and shave it with a thin, flexible knife. Makes 2 (9-inch) pies, about 20 servings.

NOTE: You can use prepared pie shells, if desired. Bake according to package directions.

NUTRITION INFORMATION PER SERVING: 491 calories; 46 grams fat; 124 milligrams cholesterol; 147 milligrams sodium.

Adapted from a recipe in Food and Wine magazine.

CALYPSO CHICKEN BREASTS

1 cup cracker meal

1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts (see Note)

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons butter, melted

3 1/2 tablespoons dark corn syrup

8 boneless chicken breast halves with skin

1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil

1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained

1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

3 tablespoons dark rum OR bourbon

2 bananas, peeled and thinly sliced

Sprigs fresh mint OR Italian parsley for garnish

In a small bowl, combine cracker meal, walnuts, salt, butter and corn syrup; stir to combine.

Loosen skin along one side of chicken breasts; use your fingertips to make a pocket. Stuff about 1/8 of filling under skin of each chicken breast. Secure skin with a long toothpick enclosing stuffing. Season with salt and pepper on both sides.

Heat olive oil on medium-high in a nonstick skillet. Add chicken, skin side down. Saute on both sides until browned, about 3 minutes per side. Place skin side up in a baking pan.

In a small bowl, combine pineapple, orange juice concentrate and rum. Stir to combine. Spoon around chicken.

Bake in preheated 350-degree oven 40 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked and no pink color remains. Transfer chicken to a platter. Gently stir bananas into sauce. Spoon over chicken. Garnish with mint. If desired, serve with rice to absorb juices. Makes 8 servings.

NOTE: Easiest way to chop walnuts is in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse until nuts are very finely chopped but not ground.

NUTRITION INFORMATION PER SERVING: 525 calories; 35 grams fat; 108 milligrams cholesterol; 305 milligrams sodium.

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Photo: (1--Color) Calypso Chicken Breasts are stuffed with a walnut-cracker crumb filling and served with a citrus banana sauce.

Cindy Yamanaka/Orange County Register