It's been a long time, now I'm coming back home...

...I really will take any opportunity to quote The Beatles....

I've been MIA since September...but in my defense, a lot has happened since then:

I had a week of vacation that was needed more than I had realized.

The I had to catch up on work missed from the vacation time.

Then there were rehearsals.

Then one of my greatest mentors died very surprisingly, and very young...and that took away any interest in doing anything even remotely creative.

Then I ran into some health issues that put me on the sidelines for longer than I expected.

However, all of that being said, it feels really good to be sitting here looking at this screen...and it felt even better when I made a very spur of the moment decision to bake a pie yesterday.

Winter has arrived in full force (after a slight break a few weeks ago when it was +12...that's about 54 degrees Fahrenheit), and yesterday was particularly stormy.  Anyway, it isn't like I could go and get some fresh fruit and create a fantastic seasonal delight.  I took a quick scan of the cupboards, and realized that Chess Pie was going to be the winner.

Now, being from Canada, Chess Pie was completely unknown to me.  The best thing I can compare Chess Pie to is butter tarts.  Essentially, it's a "custard" made of sugar, eggs, and butter (some vanilla, dash of salt...).  The result is a buttery, caramel-like filling that is really heavenly.  I would even say that this filling could be used for tarts (with the standard additions of raisins or pecans, if you so choose).

I will say that the only change I made to the recipe was to add a little splash of vinegar....when dealing with a sugary filling, the vinegar is a bit of an insurance policy against a crystallized end product.

You HAVE to try this pie....seriously....like, NOW!!

For the crust:

1 & 1/4 cups finely ground vanilla wafer cookies (about 45 cookies)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

For the filling:

1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon fine cornmeal
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

To make the crust:

Mix vanilla wafer crumbs, butter, sugar, and salt until combined. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Refrigerate about 15 minutes, or until firm.

Preheat oven to 350°. Place tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake 12 minutes, or until crust is golden. Let cool slightly.

To make the filling:

Reduce oven temperature to 325°.

Mix both sugars, cornmeal, and salt. Break apart any clumps. Whisk in eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla. Whisk in butter until smooth. Pour filling into tart shell.

Bake 35-40 minutes, or until top is dark golden brown and the edge is set but the center is still just a bit wobbly.

Cool on wire rack 15 minutes. Refrigerate until completely cooled, 2 hours up to 1 day. Unmold and serve.

Rainy days and Sundays

I am lucky that I have one of those 9-5 jobs...heck, in this economy, I'm lucky to have a job, full-stop.  Anyway, my work schedule is great...Monday-Friday...and when I go home, work stays at work.

Work is getting freakishly busy, and I have started to help out the designers.  It is challenging work...a good kind of challenging.  But this helping out has led to my doing some weekend work...and that isn't something I'm used to.  As a result, I don't feel like I actually had a weekend, and that day off I was supposed to have this week has been cancelled.  I know that a certain amount of stress is healthy...but work coupled with other commitments I've made is starting to raise the needle in that pressure gauge that, to be honest, is generally higher than it should be...but this too shall pass.  There is a light at the end of the tunnel...8 little letters that keep me hanging on....V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N.

I am approaching my first vacation in 8 years, and have found that I am filled with giddy excitement at the prospect.  It isn't like I'm taking off for some tropical destination...or a whirlwind European trek.  I'm going to Thunder Bay, Ontario...a city that would take me over 17 hours to drive to if I chose to drive instead of fly...but it isn't about where I'm going, really...at this point, it is just about GOING.  One of my closest friends lives there, and that is the main reason for my trip...but I am looking forward to having a change of scenery, a bit of silence...an afternoon nap...curling up with a book...having a few days where I don't have to answer the phone every time it rings, and where I don't have to stare at a computer screen all day.  I desperately need to recharge my batteries...and I'm getting to the point where it's a necessity to do so.

I had a touch of recharging on Sunday. The family was away, so the house was quiet.  It also rained all day, so there was that calm that comes with the rain, as well as that cozy feeling of being inside where it was warm.  That meant it was time for me to make a batch of what I call "Chicken and Dumplings, Sans Dumplings"...for you non-French-speakers, "sans" means "without".  I'm not a huge fan of dumplings, but also, I make the batch to freeze...and I don't think I want frozen dumplings.  What I normally do is make my great-grandmother's tea biscuits (a recipe that you won't find here...it will go with me to the grave).  It is the perfect thing for a cold rainy day...or a cold snowy day...or for a sunny yet cool day....any day, really!

Now, my pre-recipe warnings:

1.  Even though I don't make the dumplings (the main reason for rendering out fat when you brown the thighs and the skin), I still brown the chicken for the sake of building fond on the bottom of the pot.  And as we should all know, fond=flavour.  Don't skip this step thinking it is unimportant.  Also, I tend to put the lid on the pot at this point to minimize oil splatters all over my stove.

2.  Not being a big onion fan (as I've rambled on about before), I grate the onion because I don't want pieces of it floating around...and I used something closer to a small onion.  I add in extra carrots and celery, and cut them a bit bigger than described so that they don't completely cook down to nothing.

3.  The recipe originally calls for 4 tablespoons of oil, and for the thighs to be cooked in 2 batches.  Well, to get to 5 pounds of chicken thighs, I had to cook 20 thighs (they were very small, obviously).  And here is the truth...the fat that renders as you cook each batch is plenty...I only used 2 teaspoons for that first batch, and was fine from there.  Just don't overcrowd the pan...take as many batches as you need.  It is time consuming, but the end justifies the means.

4.  When you nestle the chicken thighs back into the liquid, you will actually trap onions, celery, and carrots under them...which means they will have the tendency to get welded to the bottom of the pot.  This isn't so bad, as it creates a nice flavour...the key is to get it scraped off at the point where you take the chicken out to shred it up.  I just take a plastic lifter with a thin edge, and work it around the bottom of the pot until you can feel that it's all freed.  Just stir it around, and it will all basically dissolve into the liquid, and add great flavour...and will save your muscles from scrubbing the pot at the dish-washing stage!

Chicken and Dumplings, Sans Dumplings

5 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick)
4 carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 ribs celery , sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 large onion , minced
6 tablespoons flour
4 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves, or about 1/2 teaspoon dried
2 bay leaves

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add half of the chicken and cook until golden on both sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and remove the browned skin.  Repeat with the rest of the chicken, cooking in batches.  When done, pour oil out of pot, being careful to not dispose to of fond.

Add the butter to the Dutch oven and melt over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, celery, onion, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook until softened, about 7 minutes.  Stir in the flour.

Stir in the broth, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan.  Add milk, thyme, and bay leaves. Nestle the chicken, with any accumulated juices, into the pot. Cover and simmer until the chicken is fully cooked and tender, about 1 hour.

Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. Discard the bay leaves. Allow the sauce to settle for a few minutes, then skim the fat from the surface using a wide spoon. Shred the chicken, discarding the bones, then return it to the stew.

 

Good-bye, Summer.....

This was a summer to beat all summers....hot, humid, very little rain.  I'm generally not a fan of summer...I prefer autumn's moderate temperatures, vivd colours, and clear air.

But before the kitchen starts to revolve around pears, apples, and soups and stews, I thought I'd take one last look at summer, and make a Peach Upside-Down Cake.

Growing up around my saintly grandmother, I learned all kinds of things about peach varieties.  Her absolute favourites were Redhavens because they coloured the preserving syrup nicely.  So, when I went to the grocery store to find 4 peaches for the upside down cake, there were some very unripe "regular" peaches, and some ripe white-flesh peaches...no idea the variety...so I thought I'd give them a whirl.

The only time I had ever seen anyone use white peaches was on an episode of Nigella Lawson's Forever Summer show...she poached them in their skins, and the beautiful pinkness dyed the flesh...they were beautiful.  But I had no idea about the flavour.

They were...OK.  They weren't overly peachy in flavour.  They would do in a pinch, but just barely.  It's just like having California strawberries in the middle of winter...they aren't anywhere close to the local berries we get in June, but they're better than not having any at all.  If you decide to make this cake, hold out for full-flavoured peaches if you can still get them, or wait until next year.

Also, be sure that the peaches aren't sliced too thick, as there is a good deal of batter to deal with, and you don't want to overfill the cake pan (mine was pretty full, but luckily, it didn't overflow when baking).

One last thing...when making the caramel mixture, be sure to wait until you have a good flowing liquid...and if you are using a fairly new, really good non-stick pan, spreading the stuff out will be a bit of a nightmare, as it will just float in a massive puddle around the bottom of the pan.  The plus is that it hardens into a very hard candy...very like a Werther's caramel.  I'd also put a shake or 2 of salt in there to make it less flat-tasting.

Peach Upside-Down Cake

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 small fresh peaches, pitted and sliced
2 cups all-purpose flour 
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup whole milk (3.25%) 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a 9-inch-round cake pan. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp water and then add 3/4 cup sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, until smooth and deep golden brown, 8 to 11 minutes. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and tilt to coat the bottom. Arrange the peach wedges snugly in the bottom of the pan in a single layer, cutting to fit if needed.

 

Next, combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl, and stir until incorporated.

 

Beat the remaining 7 tablespoons butter and 3/4 cup sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract. Beat in the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour mixture; beat in each addition until just incorporated.

 

Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool 30 minutes. Invert onto a plate and let cool completely.  

 

 

Life is not a spectator sport...

That full Jackie Robinson quote is, "Life is not a spectator sport. If you're going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion you're wasting your life."

I hate being watched...which is perhaps slightly ironic as I spend a good part of my time as a performing musician. However, I'm the kind of musician who believes it is important to be heard, and not necessarily seen.

When I'm in the kitchen, I like to be alone in there...in the whole house, to be honest. I have a very tiny kitchen, so even the smallest culinary adventure creates a huge mess. I find it's better to try new things or make large batches of things to freeze when there is no one home to witness the kitchen massacre...by the time they all get home, the dishes are done (we have no dishwasher...I've been handwashing for decades, it seems), and everything is spic and span again.

This weekend, I was sitting in a blissfully empty house, and decided I was going to try a new recipe...and decided on Chicken Milanese (chicken cutlets that have grated parmesan in the crust). So not only a new recipe, but I'd also never fried anything in a substantial quantity of oil before.

It was ridiculously easy. So easy that if it wasn't so unhealthy, I'd cook that way every day! The end product was delicious, and it cooked so quickly...I was shocked.

Some warnings before I get to the recipe:

1. Add some spices that you like either to the crumbs or flour...I enjoyed the flavour of the chicken, but it didn't taste much of anything else.

2. Feel free to leave out the parmesan cheese...or take some risks and add more than the recipe calls for, as there was no flavour of the cheese at all.

3. Splurge and use panko crumbs...super crispy, and delicious.

Chicken Milanese

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (5 to 6 ounces each), tenderloins removed and reserved for another use

1/2 cup kosher salt or 1/4 cup table salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar

4 - 6 slices white bread (about 1 1/4 cups fresh bread crumbs) such as Pepperidge Farm, crusts removed and torn into rough 1 1/2-inch pieces

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Ground black pepper

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3/4 cup vegetable oil

Lemon wedges for serving

Pound chicken breasts to even 1/2-inch thickness. Dissolve salt and sugar in 1 quart cold water in gallon-size zipper-lock plastic bag. Add cutlets and seal bag, pressing out as much air as possible; refrigerate 30 minutes. Line rimmed baking sheet with triple layer of paper towels.

Remove cutlets and lay in single layer on baking sheet; cover with another triple layer of paper towels and press firmly to absorb moisture. Allow cutlets to dry for 10 minutes. Process bread in food processor until evenly fine-textured, 20 to 30 seconds (you should have about 1 1/4 cups fresh bread crumbs). Mix in Parmesan cheese and transfer crumbs to baking dish. Carefully peel paper towels off cutlets, sprinkle cutlets with pepper, and set aside.

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position, set large heatproof plate on rack, and heat oven to 200 degrees. Spread flour in baking dish. Beat eggs with 1 tablespoon oil in second baking dish. Spread bread crumbs in third baking dish.

Bread the cutlets, one at a time. Dredge cutlet in flour, shaking off excess. Using tongs, dip both sides of cutlet in egg mixture, allowing excess to drip back into baking dish to ensure very thin coating. Dip both sides of cutlet in bread crumbs, pressing crumbs with fingers to form even, cohesive coat. Place breaded cutlets in single layer on wire rack set over baking sheet and allow coating to dry for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat 6 tablespoons remaining oil in heavy-bottomed 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking, about 2 minutes. Lay two cutlets gently in skillet; cook until deep golden brown and crisp on first side, gently pressing down on cutlets with wide metal spatula to help ensure even browning, about 2 1/2 minutes. Using tongs, flip cutlets, reduce heat to medium, and continue to cook until meat feels firm when pressed gently and second side is deep golden brown and crisp, 2 1/2 to 3 minutes longer.

Line warmed plate with double layer of paper towels and set cutlets on top; return plate to oven.

Discard oil in skillet and wipe skillet clean using tongs and large wad of paper towels. Repeat step 5 using remaining 6 tablespoons oil and now-clean skillet to cook remaining cutlets; serve along with first batch with lemon wedges.

The right tools for the job...

I have a problem...some would call it serious...most would say that I am in denial about the severity of the problem.  There are no support groups, nor is there a medical treatment...I'm afraid it's incurable.

I am addicted to buying kitchen gadgets...wow...that was hard to say...

It started, very innocently with a garlic press.  I suppose that was really a gateway gadget...it has led me to a potato ricer, fluted pastry wheel, and ramekins...through to electric things like an immersion blender, to large things like a Kitchenaid stand mixer...and my latest purchase...but first, some background...

As I've said before, my grandmother could cook/bake anything...and without fancy shmancy gadgets.  She used to get 2" thick meringue on her lemon meringue pie, and did it with a hand-held rotary egg beater that she'd had since the 1950s...and she wasn't using cream of tartar, either.  When she made pie crust, she used a bowl, and her hands...nothing else.

My paternal grandmother was a bit of a mystery to me.  As she and my dad didn't have a good relationship, I didn't see her very often, despite her only living about 30 minutes away.  I do know that she was a good baker.

She passed away in 1992, and there was a lot of sorting/cleaning out required in her apartment.  Many of the elderly ladies who lived in the same apartment complex came by asking about the food processor that she'd used to make her pastry.  Upon looking around, no such food processor was found...and there was a good reason for that....my dad had already put it in our trunk.

And friends, that food processor stayed in the same place in our basement from February 1992 until about 1 month ago when I used it for the first time.  It was a 4-cup Moulinex that was so old it could have been Noah's....but Noah wouldn't have wanted to use it due to the sheer noise of the thing.  I used it to make pie crust, and it worked pretty well...the blade could have been sharper, and the bowl was nowhere near big enough...so it was time to upgrade.  Being a devotee of Cook's Illustrated, I knew that the former winner of the food processor test was the Kitchenaid KFP750...but it has been discontinued.  So I hit eBay to see what I could find.

Luckily, I found one, and very affordable...and I could actually go and pick it up, so that saved on shipping costs.  When I got there, however, they couldn't find the item I had purchased...so I got an upgrade to the KFPW760...essentially the same machine but with a wider feed tube.

The thing works like a dream...powerful, large capacity (12-cup), and decently quiet.  I don't know how I managed without it...and the idea of using a pastry cutter now seems barbaric.

So, if you're still out there making meringue with an egg-beater, and pastry with your hands, I commend you...you're more patient than I am.

Hello.  My name is Deb...and I'm a kitchen-gadget-aholic.

There's always room for pie...

I have worked for the same boss in one capacity or another for 15 years now, and I can count on one hand the number of times we've fought.  He's the perfect boss, if I'm being honest.  He believes in working hard, playing hard, and not passing up great opportunities.  He is spontaneous (he called us from an airplane once to let us know that he was going on holidays...and he had very covertly signed cheques and prepared everything we would need in his absence without us ever noticing), he is understanding, sensitive to the needs of those he employs, and because he respects us so much, we respect him...and would follow him into battle if ever that was necessary.  In the years I have given him, he has really become more like a brother than a boss.

As I mentioned in a previous post, peach pie is his favourite thing in life.  I even made him a pie in April for his birthday, having to use frozen peaches since they are nowhere near being in season.  Of course, the peaches are now ready here, and so that means it was time to bake the boss a pie.  But first, a bit of background...

A couple of years ago, I took a random Tuesday off to go to the farmer's market in the small town of St. Jacob's, Ontario.  It is full of fresh produce, handmade crafts, and other such fun things.  There is a restaurant near there that is run by some local Mennonites that includes, essentially, an all-you-can-eat pie table.  There are also pies that have been prepared for customers to buy and take home.  I decided that since I'd taken the day off, it would be a nice gesture to take the co-workers a pie to have the following afternoon.  I had my choice between apple, coconut butter-tart, and peach.  On a whim, I chose peach.

The next day, I proudly came into the office carrying the mammoth (12") peach pie...filled to the brim with gorgeous peaches.  The 3 designers were thrilled that I had thought to bring them a little treat, and they looked forward to the afternoon when they could cut into it.  The boss was out at a job-site, and was unsure when he'd be in.  Tired of waiting, they cut into the pie around 11:30am...we took 4 decent-sized slices from the pie, leaving more than half in the plate.

Well, the boss arrived around 2:30.  I said, "Hey...I bought a pie while I was away yesterday.  Would you like some?"

"What kind of pie?"

"Peach."

...imagine the look of a child on Christmas morning who wakes up to find that Santa had indeed delivered a pony...

"ARE YOU KIDDING?!  I LOVE PEACH PIE!!!"

...and then proceeded to eat every last morsel over the course of the afternoon (oh, to have his metabolism...he's skinny as a rail).

When I made him a fresh peach pie last summer, he actually took a picture of it with his phone, and he still looks at it when he gets hungry.

So on Monday when he walked in at 8:30am and saw that there was peach pie in the office, he decided that peach pie for breakfast was totally acceptable...his first slice was gone by 9:00...and I loved seeing him that content with life.  I wonder if I'll have to make another before the peaches leave us for another year...

Use any double-crust pastry recipe you like best...I like cutting the top crust portion into strips so I can give it that traditional lattice-top.  Here are instructions from Cook's Illustrated to help with the lattice top:

Weaving and Crimping the Lattice Top

1. To make the lattice, lay out 4 strips of dough. Fold the first and third strips back, then place a long strip of dough slightly to the right of the center as shown.

2. Unfold the first and third strips over the perpendicular strip and fold the second and fourth strips back. Add a second perpendicular strip of dough. Now unfold the second and fourth strips.

3. Repeat this process with two more perpendicular strips (you will have a total of 8 strips of dough, four running in each direction).

4. Trim off the excess lattice ends, fold the rim of the shell up over the lattice strips, and crimp.

For fresh peaches, I use the ratio of 1 cup of fruit: 1/4 cup sugar: 1 tablespoons potato starch...so for a standard 9" pie, I use 4 cups of sliced peaches, 1 cup of sugar, and 4 tablespoons of potato starch.  For a deep-dish 9" or 10" pie (I have completely forgotten what size it is), I use 6 cups of sliced peaches, 1.5 cups of sugar, and 6 tablespoons of potato starch.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Put your rolled out bottom crust in your pie plate.

Stir sliced peaches with sugar and potato starch.  Once combined, pour into crust.

Top with pastry strips as shown above.

Bake for about 30 minutes at 400 degrees (keep an eye on your crust).  Reduce temperature to 350 degrees.  Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until peaches are soft when tested with a knife.  Cover your crust with aluminum foil if needed.

I hate good-byes....

Saying good-bye is an unfortunate part of life...whether it is temporary, long-term, or permanent, it is just something I despise.  Maybe I'm too sentimental...but I'm a jazz singer, so that comes with the territory, I'm afraid.

Our office just lost one of the best employees in history.  He was only with us for about 4 months, but it was an absolute pleasure to work with him.  I mean, he left on the best terms, and left to go back to school to advance his qualifications....but the nicer a person is, and the more positive the reasons for leaving are, the worse the good-bye is...after all, it's easy to say good-bye to someone who is a complete jerk.

This is our third day without the departed employee, and his absence is already deeply-felt....no afternoon coffee call, no chipper "good morning!!" greeting....no one to get the stuff off of the really tall shelf...and that's just my interactions...the designers miss his creativity and efficiency...and the clients miss his attention to detail and charm.

In a conversation we had about 2 weeks before his last day, we were randomly talking about pie.  He mentioned that his very favourite was Banana Cream Pie, and that he hadn't had it for ages.  Of course, that meant that I was going to have a pie ready for him on his last day...I called it "Good-bye Pie"....the verdict was that it was almost good enough to make him stay.  I hope to make it for him in two years...calling it "Welcome Back Pie."

The recipe came from Cook's Country, and called for a Pillsbury pie crust.  I liked the idea of not having to get out the food processor to make my own pastry, or to fuss around with graham wafer crumbs...but I went with a Tenderflake all shortening crust (as opposed to their normal lard crust), it it wasn't bad...it was just serving as the vessel for an honestly glorious filling that was absolutely good enough to just eat in a bowl without even adding sliced bananas.

Word of warning:  if you use salted butter (which I always do...it worked for my grandmother, and all the generations before her, so it works for me), be less generous with the salt quantity...the final result wasn't too salty (remind me to tell you about what is affectionately referred to as "salt pie" in my house), but it was plenty salty enough.

Use all-yellow to lightly spotted, not green-topped or all-brown bananas for this recipe. Peel and slice the bananas just before using to help prevent browning. When straining the half-and-half in step 2, do not press on the bananas or the custard will turn gray as it sits. The pie can be made up to 24 hours in advance.

5 ripe bananas

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 1/2 cups half-and-half

1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

6 large egg yolks

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 Pillsbury Just Unroll! Pie Crust

2 tablespoons orange juice

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Peel 2 bananas and slice into ½-inch-thick pieces. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add sliced bananas and cook until they begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add half-and-half, bring to boil, and boil for 30 seconds. Remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 40 minutes.

 

Whisk granulated sugar, egg yolks, and salt together in large bowl until smooth. Whisk in cornstarch. Strain cooled half-and-half mixture through fine-mesh strainer into yolk mixture—do not press on bananas—and whisk until incorporated; discard cooked bananas.

 

Transfer mixture to clean medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thickened to consistency of warm pudding (180 degrees), 4 to 6 minutes. Remove pan from heat; whisk in remaining 3 tablespoons butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Transfer pastry cream to bowl, press greased parchment paper directly against surface, and let cool for about 1 hour.

 

Meanwhile, roll pie dough into 12-inch round on lightly floured counter. Transfer to 9-inch pie plate, fold edge of dough under itself so edge of fold is flush with outer rim of plate, and flute edges. Refrigerate for 40 minutes, then freeze for 20 minutes. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees.

 

Line chilled pie shell with 12-inch square of aluminum foil, folding foil over edges of dough. Fill with pie weights and bake for 20 minutes. Carefully remove foil and weights, rotate plate, and continue baking until crust is golden brown, 7 to 11 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.

 

Peel and slice remaining 3 bananas ¼ inch thick and toss with orange juice. Whisk pastry cream briefly, then spread half over bottom of pie shell. Arrange sliced bananas on pastry cream. Top with remaining pastry cream.

 

Using stand mixer fitted with whisk, whip cream, confectioners’ sugar, and remaining ½ teaspoon vanilla on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to high and whip until stiff peaks form, 1 to 3 minutes. Spread whipped cream evenly over top of pie.

 

Refrigerate until set, at least 5 hours and up to 24 hours. Serve.