Platanos en Tentacíon

Sometimes my family sits around and has noisy, opinionated andpointless discussions. (Hello? Cubans!) In this case, we were discussing the wonders of plantains and engaging in the Eternal Cuban debate:

Maduros or Tostones?

It depends on the main dish you’re serving, of course. I mean, I love a good tostón with garlic sauce. (Who doesn’t?) But I tend to be partial to sweet plantains or maduros.

In the midst of this discussion, my mom threw a wrench into the works when she declared rather regally and with great finality: “Platanos en tentacion.” (Rougly translated: Plantains in temptation. I know. I said roughly.)

Of course, you don’t just throw out a random suggestion like this with a group of noisy and opinionated Cuban women who all have their own particular versions of how to cook things.

It was like throwing gas on a fire.

“If you don’t have enough rum, they’re not as good.”

“The rum makes takes away too much of the sweetness.”

The discussion went on and on and even though I had not made these before, I quickly determined that they would be most tasty with just the cinnamon-caramel-glaze and it seemed to me that the rum was a bit superfluous anyway. (See? Opinionated.)

So, my daughters and I started messing with maduros and came up with a rather to-die-for concoction and took those maduros to the Next Level. Seriously.

They turned out so amazing that I'm convinced you could travel through time after eating these.

What I could not completely determine, however, was whether these caramel-glazed plantains would be better served as a side dish or as a stand alone dessert? Maybe over ice cream?

Your thoughts?

Platanos en Tentacíon

Goya frozen maduros* - cooked according to package directions
6 oz. sweetened condensed milk
Ground cinnamon

*I decided the frozen maduros, which could be heated through first, worked well enough. Frying plantains would make them a little too heavy for this dish, but that's not important right now.

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Place cooked plantains in a baking dish.