Banana Beignets, Pineapple Carpaccio, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Morgan Freeman, Oscar Winner, was on the Oprah show and Executive Chef Conny Andersson, of the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, shared his recipe; featured in "Morgan Freeman and Friends: Caribbean Cooking for a Cause". Cookbook is to benefit the island of Grenada, hit by hurricane Ivan, a couple of year's ago. They look scrumptious! Freezing of the ice cream varies with different manufacturer's, didn't include the cooling time of 8 hrs for the carpaccio and refrigerating the batter for at least 1 hour.

• Ready In: 2 hrs 35 mins
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• VANILLA ICE CREAM

• 2  fresh vanilla beans
• 2  cups milk
• 2  cups heavy cream
• 12  egg yolks
• 1  cup sugar

• VANILLA BEAN SIMPLE SYRUP

• 1  cup granulated sugar
• 1  cup water
•  vanilla bean

• PINEAPPLE CARPACCIO (Use 1/4 cup vanilla bean simple syrup)

• 1  fresh pineapple
• 1⁄2 cup light brown sugar

• BANANA BEIGNETS

• 1  cup all-purpose flour
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1  teaspoon sugar
• 1  teaspoon baking powder
• 2  large eggs
•  vegetable oil
• 4  bananas, peeled, & sliced lengthwise & quartered
• 1⁄4 cup sugar
• 2  teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

1. TO MAKE VANILLA ICE CREAM:
2. Split the vanilla bean pods lengthwise and scrape out all the seeds. In a large saucepan, combine the milk and cream, add the seeds and pods, and bring to a slow boil over medium heat.
3. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on high speed, beat the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
4. Pour in 1/2 the boiling milk mixture and combine; adding in other 1/2 after combined. Pour into pan and cook, stirring, over medium heat until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
5. Remove from heat and immediately strain into another bowl. Place over a second large bowl filled with ice and let cool completely, stirring every 30 minutes. When cool, freeze in an ice cream maker according to the mfg's directions.
6. TO MAKE VANILLA BEAN SIMPLE SYRUP:
7. Bring sugar, leftover vanilla bean pods and water to a boil in small saucepan. When sugar is dissolved, remove from heat. Remove vanilla bean pods. Cool syrup to room temperature.
8. TO MAKE PINEAPPLE CARPACCIO:
9. Cut off the top of the pineapple and following the shape of the fruit, slice off the skin with a serrated knife, making sure to remove all the eyes. Slice the fruit into the thinnest possible rings.
10. Place each slice on a sheet of plastic wrap, brush with the syrup, rub the brown sugar over the surface, and top with a second sheet of plastic wrap. Repeat with remaining slices, transfer to a rimmed baking sheet, and refrigerate overnight.
11. TO MAKE BANANA BEIGNETS:
12. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder. Add eggs and 1 cup water; whisk until a smooth paste forms. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.
13. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon; set aside.
14. In a deep fryer, heat the oil to 350ºF. Working in batches, dip the bananas in the chilled batter and coat completely. Slip them into the oil and fry for about 2 minutes or until golden brown.
15. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Dust with cinnamon-sugar mixture.
16. TO ASSEMBLE THE DISH:
17. Arrange equal portions of the carpaccio in an overlapping circle on a dessert plate. Lay two pieces of fried banana in the center, and top with one large scoop of vanilla ice cream. Drizzle with vanilla bean syrup.