Banana's Unholy Union

I’m a big fan of grilled cheese. Hell, I’m a big fan of just about anything that can be put between two pieces of bread, kissed with a little butter and heated to crispy perfection in a hot pan. There is something comforting about a tasty filling folded between two pieces of grilled bread that brings me back to a simpler time in my life.
So I was sitting at home one morning and wasn’t really in a breakfast mood…I’m usually never in a breakfast mood (years of wrestling screwing up my brain). Anyway, protein seemed like the way to go and peanut butter seemed like it should be my protein of choice. I love peanut butter, ever since I was a little kid. But not Skippy or Jif or any of that processed crap. I like Smucker’s, all natural peanut butter; the kind you have to stir with a knife to incorporate the oil that rests on top into the ground peanuts themselves to actually create the peanut butter. Now, the do-it-yourself thing isn’t for everyone and maybe that’s what turns some people off; but I’d rather stir my peanut butter for a minute the first time I open the jar rather than be disappointed every time I open my jar because my peanut butter tastes like peanut flavoured sugar. Anyway, that’s what my mom used to make her peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with: Smucker’s Peanut Butter and Goya Guava Jelly on whole wheat bread. The guava jelly brings the sandwich to a whole new level and it has a sweetness and unctuousness that regular old grape jelly could never replicate. It doesn’t taste like sugar between bread, like you may be used to, but the flavour of real peanuts and guava is unmatched.
To that end, I got some bread out of the fridge, grabbed the jar of peanut butter and the jelly. Halfway to the kitchen table I realized I needed some potassium, cause ya’know, its good for ya. Grabbing the banana made me think of the Nutella and banana crêpes I made for my step-father a few weeks back. I was never a fan of the Nutella and banana crêpe when I would go to this awesome little crêpe place on St. Mark’s with this former model friend of mine. Having spent time in Europe, she learned to love Nutella and since she’s moved away from New York I’ve given Nutella a second chance (absence makes the heart grow fonder, eh?).
So there I am; sitting at the kitchen table with two pieces of whole wheat bread, all natural peanut butter, jelly, Nutella and a banana; and it hits me…grill! Assembling my sandwich, my homage not only to Elvis, but also to my Cuban grandmother and to snooty Europeans everywhere, I had to smile. The gooey mess is only enhanced by the banana and the guava jelly makes this decadent amalgam something that should not be missed. And just for the record, I feel a little silly including a recipe. It’s a sandwich, not a Muffaletta. And remember you’re not melting any cheese here; you’re just aiming to brown the bread a bit and slightly warm the filling.

Banana’s Unholy Union

2 Slices Whole Wheat Bread
All Natural Peanut Butter, preferably Smucker’s
Guava Jelly
Nutella
1 Banana, cut into ½ inch slices
1/2 oz. Unsalted Butter

Spread peanut butter on one piece of bread, then spread Nutella on the other piece. On the piece that you have spread the Nutella, spread with the jelly (the Nutella sticks to the bread a little easier and its easier to smooth the jelly over it than it is to smooth over peanut butter) as well. On the other piece, arrange the banana slices so that they nearly touch and cover the entire piece of bread. Press pieces of bread together and melt butter in a sauté pan. When hot, press sandwich into pan and cook until slightly browned, then flip and brown other side. Remove from pan, cut in half and serve.