grilled french toast peanut butter & caramelized banana sandwich

Most people think Elvis is The King because of his music, but I think he's the king because his favorite sandwich is one of the most brilliant inventions known to humankind: the grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich.

How the heck to you improve upon a sandwich of such epic proportions? Is it even possible? Can it be done?

Well, the other day for breakfast I decided to Frenchify a grilled pb sammich by dipping both sides in an eggy custard. BUT. I also decided to caramelize the bananas for an even more intense version of The King's Classic. I also used Nature's Pride bread, which I reviewed a while ago. After having not made much homemade bread recently and eating various healthy store bought bread, this definitely had the closest to homemade texture out of the few brands that are rotated here.

The entire process was pretty simple: While the bananas are caramelizing (which doesn't take very long, otherwise the bananas will become too mushy), mix the eggy custard, a mixture of 1-2 eggs with milk, a bit of sugar, freshly grated nutmeg and orange zest. Spread peanut butter on one slice of bread, then layer the bananas on top once finished; top with final slice of bread. Wipe the skillet clean with a paper towel, then add some butter, oil, or cooking spray and bring back up to heat. Carefully dip both sides of the sandwich in the custard and place in skillet. Cook until both sides are golden brown. Remove to a plate, let cool briefly, then slice in fourths and eat!

This is definitely not a light sandwich by any means, but it's filling and delicious and very great way, in my opinion, to begin the day. And I'm sure it's King Approved.

recipe after the jump

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grilled french toast peanut butter & caramelized banana sandwich
Recipe by Christina Provo

Make 1

ingredients ~

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2-3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 banana, slice in half widthwise and lengthwise into fourths
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 slices whole wheat bread
Peanut butter
Addition butter, oil, or cooking spray for grilling

directions ~

1. Heat a skillet with 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. When heated and butter is bubbly, sprinkle brown sugar over butter and stir lightly to combine. Lay banana sliced on top and let cook 1-3 minutes. Carefully flip to other side and cook for 2-3 more minutes or until bananas are caramelized, but not falling apart.


2. Meanwhile, in a shallow bowl whisk together eggs, milk, sugar, orange zest, and grated nutmeg until frothy, about 30 seconds.


3. Spread however much peanut butter you want on one slice of bread, then carefully layer the bananas on top, spooning any brown sugar left in skillet on top; cover with second slice of bread.


4. Wipe skillet clean with a paper towel. Return to heat and add enough butter, oil, or cooking spray to lightly coat entire surface of skillet. Taking care that the bananas don't fall out, dip both sides of sandwich in egg mixture, letting each side sit in the custard for a few seconds to soak up enough liquid. Place in skillet and cook over medium heat on both sides until golden brown, adding more butter as needed.


5. Remove to plate and let cool briefly. Slice into fourths and enjoy.

Natl. Peanut Butter Day and Happy Belated Birthday to Elvis Presley!

The following took place on 24 January 2008

I know what you might be thinking, "What the heck does peanut butter have to do with Elvis Presley?" If that's what you were thinking, SHAME ON YOU! As punishment, you must watch the King make is favorite snack, a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich. Too bad Elvis didn't know he was a foodie. :(

Despite what you may have thought about peanut butter and me, it's not my favorite snack. It gives me a claustrophobic feeling, though I swear that a tablespoon of natural peanut butter cures hiccups, followed by a few swigs of water (so says my brother, and he's right). But Elvis, however, brings out my peanut butter love in the form of warm, gooey peanut butter. In fact, I meant to celebrate Elvis' birthday by making a grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich, but I forgot. Now it's your turn to say SHAME ON YOU, Christina! As soon as I saw the recipe for King Cupcakes from Cooking Light, I knew I could rectify my mistake, and since this is National Peanut Butter Day, talk about killing two birds with one stone!

Are not these the cutest? The perfectly domed crowns are beautiful! When I talk about a great-looking cupcake, this is what I mean.

Cream cheese-peanut butter frosting. The lighting gives it a jaundiced-hue...


Glamour Shots by Deb


This is the cupcake's equivalent to a mug shot. It's punishment is to be consumed immediately.


The perfect amount of frosting is the same for the espresso-milk ratio in a cappuccino, which is 1/3 frosting (espresso) to 2/3 cupcake (milk).

Did this recipe do justice to the King?

Cupcake: For the little amount of banana in the recipe, I was worried it might not stand out well in the baked cupcake. I was kind of wrong, as there was a pleasant banana essence, though it didn't scream "OOH, BANANA!!" That usually means it has the potential to be overpowered by the frosting...

The texture of the cupcake was between dense and light. It had a decent amount of sponginess without being rubbery, but it didn't have that wonderful melt-in-your-mouth feature. It was also decently moist without being sticky or gummy and didn't immediately turn to mush as soon as you begin to chew it.

Frosting: If you recall from the last post, I really enjoy peanut butter frosting. What intrigued me about this recipe was that it called for cream cheese. Tasting the finished frosting alone, it had a wonderfully subtle tanginess that I felt enhanced the peanut butter frosting experience. I'm adding this to my recipe box. It was very light and airy, like the frosting for the chocolate-chocolate-banana cake was.

(I added an extra ounce of cream cheese, 2 Tbsp. of peanut butter, 1/3 cup confectioner's sugar, and 1 1/2 Tbsp. of milk to make more frosting. If you don't want to make more, you still need at least 1 1/2 teaspoons (1/2 Tbsp.) of milk or else it's too thick.)

The combined effect: As I said above, the ratio of frosting-to-cupcake is 1/3-to-2/3. Why? You don't want to overpower the cupcake. (The only reason to overpower the cupcake is if it's a terrible cupcake, which usually means the frosting will be terrible, which in turn means you shouldn't be eating it to begin with.) Well, the banana flavor of the cupcake wasn't as noticeable versus eating the cupcake itself. If you take a bite with too much frosting on your fork, it really overpowers it, but if you stop thinking about the taste, it all melds together into a subconscious banana-peanut buttery fusion. I would, however, prefer a cupcake with more banana taste next time.

The only part I wasn't able to do was sprinkle chopped peanuts on top because I didn't have any. It would have given it a great texture contrast, as well as cutting the sweetness, though this wasn't really uber sweet at all.

Personally, I think the King would have approved. Upon biting into a cupcake version of his supposedly favorite snack, he would have replied, "Thank you, thank you very much. ;)."

(Another foodie, Culinary in the Desert, blogged about King Cupcakes back in February. Read it. Click this here link!)