Barbra Austin

When I was visiting my brother over the holidays, he told me he wanted to say something, and that he hoped it wouldn’t upset me.

“Uh, OK,” I said.

“We’ve made the Banana Nuggets according to your recipe, they don’t turn out the way Mom’s did, and we think it’s because of the butter. We’re pretty sure Mom used shortening.”

I put cream cheese frosting in the same category as basil pesto, Bordier butter and aïoli, and that category is called You Could Spread This On Anything And I Would Eat It.

The sight of bananas blackening on the counter can only mean one thing: Time to make banana nugget cookies.