I grew up on a farm in south Georgia. As a special treat, Daddy would take me into town for our favorite indulgence ... a banana split!! A hot summer day, three luscious flavors of ice cream and all those toppings, sitting on the back gate of Daddy's truck... back then, life just didn't get any better!
My children grew up in the Atlanta suburbs. As a special treat, one hot summer day, I loaded up the suburban and headed to the closest ice cream shop to introduce them my childhood delight. I had told them in mouth-watering detail about this decadent dessert. They could hardly wait!!
WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT!!! For a whopping FIVE BUCKS, we got one half a banana split in two, three scoops of VANILLA ice cream, a squirt of chocolate syrup, a dollop of non-dairy, whipped topping, no nuts and THEY DIDN'T EVEN TOP IT WITH A CHERRY!!! I instantly lost all culinary credibility in my children's eyes.
In an effort to redeem my reputation, a few nights later, I served home made banana splits after dinner. They all agreed that THIS dessert was worthy of praise! If your children have never experienced the "real thing", now you too can make it at home!
TRADITIONAL BANANA SPLIT:
2. Slice a peeled ripe banana in half longways and place half on each side of the ice cream row, pressing down and in a little so it'll stay put.
4. Cover with mountains of real whipped cream.
Enjoy!
*Some of our other favorite combos are chocolate ice cream topped with fresh chopped black cherries, orange or pistachio ice cream topped with chocolate syrup, or vanilla ice cream with salted caramel sauce, fig preserves or diced mangoes. Sometimes we add chocolate chips, sprinkles or salted nuts on top. You can go wild with unlimited ice cream/ topping /nut combinations, but please, just don't use all vanilla!!
