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.
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