Banana Cream Pie

We're visiting my in-laws this week and are having a wonderful time! My husband is between work assignments right now, so he was able to get leave, and it's been great to have him with us. He and I lived here when we were first married, so we know quite a few people in the area, which makes coming here for a visit even better! Tonight some sweet friends are joining us for dinner, so I made two pies (requests from the hubby) to enjoy.

My first tip for today:  NEVER make this with banana flavoring; it makes the taste have too much banana.  This recipe uses a vanilla custard, with banana slices on the bottom.  Simply using fresh bananas provides the perfect amount of flavor, and texture.

Second tip:  Don't worry about whether or not your pie crust looks picture perfect.  You'll see from my pictures that it's not winning a prize for its appearance.  Sure, having a beautifully crafted crust with evenly spaced creases around the edges is wonderful, but it doesn't often happen in the day-to-day kitchen, and that's fine!  My preference is to make my own pie crusts, and this is why:

However, using a pre-made crust is just fine, as long as you can keep it from puffing up and cracking like mine.  Don't allow your fear of pie crust making to keep you from attempting a homemade pie.

Here's the recipe for the Banana Cream Pie. (You can find Chocolate Cream Pie here).

Ingredients:
1 9-inch baked pie crust
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups milk
4 egg yolks, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large bananas
Sweetened whip cream

Stir together sugar, cornstarch, and salt in saucepan. Blend milk and egg yolks. Gradually stir into sugar mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils (be patient, this takes about 15 minutes). Remove from heat; blend in butter and vanilla. Pour mixture into a medium-sized bowl, and place plastic wrap directly on top. Cool to room temperature.

Peel and slice bananas. Arrange banana slices in the baked pie shell. Pour the cooled filling on top. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Top with whipped cream.

Recipe from Betty Crocker