Week 6- Blizzard Pie

In case you didn't hear, this week we got a little snow on the East Coast.

LOL- and you know you're weatherworn, when you breath a sigh of relief for ONLY getting 20 inches of snow.  At least, that's what I think we got.  It's hard to tell due to the drifts.  I have completely lost my composter bin and my woodpile.  Luckily, I kept the kids and the cat inside or I would probably have lost them too..

Our snowed in deck

This is pretty much what we did through the storm...

I was also smart enough to buy my pie ingredients before the storm- and thankfully the power stayed on so I could bake the aforementioned pie.

This week, I decided to use a recipe from a book that came recommended to me by a friend (thank you Patty!)  It's called the Dessert Bible and it's by Christopher Kimball of Cook's Illustrated fame.  This book is FANTASTIC- hint, hint, if anyone is looking for a birthday present for me come November.  I got distracted a few weeks back and made the buttermilk cupcakes since I had some extra buttermilk sitting around.  They were incredibly yummy and have been added to my "make again" folder which boded well for the pie recipes.

Since my arteries requested a reprieve from Crisco, I decided to go with the diner cream pie recipe with the graham cracker crust.  I made the banana-rum cream pie variation- and yes, the only thing that can make banana cream pie better is rum.

I have to say, I don't really drink rum that often so I only bought a tiny little minibar sized bottle (the recipe calls for only 2 tablespoons.)  But when I measured out the rum it smelled like heaven.  I closed my eyes and for about 20 seconds I was taken back 15 years to a beach in Puerto Rico drinking something that had an umbrella in it.  And then I opened my eyes and saw 20 inches of snow.  Oh well...

As for the pie- fairly easy to make and incredibly delicious.  We made it yesterday and my husband and I have been snacking on it at every opportunity.  It really does taste like a diner pie- a slightly tipsy diner pie.  I would most definitely recommend this one.

The Big One actually came around and helped me with this one.  She was in charge of cutting up the banana slices and she put them in the pie.  She was incredibly proud of herself for this!

Banana- Rum Cream Pie
Adapted from The Dessert Bible by Christopher Kimball
Link to The Dessert Bible

1 Graham Cracker Crust

Filling
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons cornstarch
8 large egg yolks (and yes, we had a giant batch of scrambled egg whites this morning)
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons dark rum
2 large ripe bananas

-In a medium saucepan, mix 1/2 cup sugar, the salt and the cornstarch.  Add the yolks and 2 teaspoons of vanilla ( yes, it will be a sticky mess).  Slowly pour in the milk and 1 cup of heavy cream, whisking constantly.  Cook over medium heat until it thickens to the consistency of mayonnaise.  I tried to watch how long this took, but I got a little distracted.  I think it was about 8 minutes or so.  But when it did thicken, it thickened very fast to you have to really watch it.
-Remove the mixture from heat and whisk in the additional butter and rum.  Place the custard in a bowl, lay plastic wrap directly on the surface and chill until cold.  (Note, I don't know why you place the plastic wrap directly on it, but I always do this when I make a pudding and have never had any trouble with that nasty "skin" that people get on their puddings.)
- Here's the interesting thing- to make the whipped cream topping, Kimball tells you to chill the bowl and the beaters.  I did it and the whipped cream came out delicious.  Not sure it's worth the step but worth a note.
- Whip the remaining 1 cup heavy cream, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla in the chilled bowl.
-Place half the chilled custard in the pie crust, cover with sliced bananas (I actually couldn't fit 2 whole bananas in there, but maybe my little helper cut them too thick!) and then top with the rest of the custard.  Cover the whole pie with whipped cream.

The girls anxiously awaited the results

Not as pretty as a diner pie, but DELICIOUS!