Sibling Pie Baking for Thanksgiving... Banana Cream Pie

This is the first year I decided to make a homemade pie for Thanksgiving... um... O.K. I take that back, I've tried before and failed miserably, so this year was my mission to make the first EDIBLE HOMEMADE Thanksgiving pie... And since I was doing all the hard work I decided to make MY favorite... Banana Cream Pie. Clearly I don't consider myself much of a baker, but if you're going to do it you might as well do it all the way meaning everything from scratch -- NO BOXES. Now the important part to mention here is, I probably gained the baker's courage because I was attempting this in my brother's kitchen with all his fancy equipment (or at least baking gadgets and gizmos I don't have), while he was working on the pie crust. My brother Christos is a chef and loves to bake, so I figured if I had any doubts or questions no problem, I was in the right kitchen.

I used a recipe from the Food Network, not realizing 24 egg yolks meant I was baking 3 pies, not just one. As I was already midway my brother said to me, "You know this isn't for one pie right?" I replied, "Um, no why, how many is it for?" Yet it truly was easy enough to make, and it comes out so good people will be flocking over to try it so better to have more than less.

So here goes a step by step process with some tips, and should you like to print out the actual recipe click on the Food Network link above.


First Step:
Mix 8 cups of Milk with one whole, split vanilla bean, or a table spoon of vanilla extract, and 1/4 teaspoon salt over medium heat whisking every so often waiting for it to boil. When it has boiled leave for an extra minute and mix.


                                                                 
Second Step:
As the milk is getting ready to boil, whisk the 24 egg yolks and 2 2/3 cups sugar together until it becomes thick and pale yellow, then gradually add the 1 cup cornstarch.
TIP: When Measuring powders (corn starch, flour, sugar, etc.) use a dry measuring cup as seen on the right, whereas when measuring liquids use a wet measuring cup).  

 Third Step:
When the milk mixture is ready take off heat and add half of it slowly to the yolk mixture while whisking.


                                                                   



















                                                                    

Fourth Step:
Pour the yolk-milk mixture back into the saucepan with the rest of the milk mixture and cook, whisking frequently and until the mixture boils. Then reduce heat to medium-low and cook for another 7 minutes. Mixture should become thick like a custard.






















Fifth Step:
By the time the custard has set, you should already have 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter cut, and 5 big or 6 regular size ripe bananas cut. Then fold both into the custard.
TIP#1: I cut 5 bananas and smashed the sixth, while also smashing the ends of the bananas using a fork. This gives the custard more of a banana flavor while also having some cut pieces. 

TIP#2 If you don't have RIPE bananas like I didn't, you can put them in a brown paper bag over night and that should help, or in my case since it didn't help, the recipe still works wonderfully and tastes delicious.

 Finished Product for Pie Filling:
Once the pie filling is complete add it to your pie shell and refrigerate it over night, or for at least seven hours. When ready to serve add the fresh whipped cream, which is simply combining confectionery powder and heavy cream in a beater on low to medium speed. Voila! Magnifique!









Pie Crust:

This is my brother Christos' pie crust recipe for five 9' inch round pie tins (I know... I know... can't be a recipe for one, only 3 or 5). The ingredients are as listed, but you can watch the videos below to see how makes it which isn't as hard as I thought.

2 lbs. Flour
1 lb. Unsalted Butter
5-8 Ounces Water (depending on humidity)
1/4 cup Granulated Sugar

 This is the pie crust prior to cooking. Before attempting to roll it out, it is important to let it sit out at room temperature for 5-10 minutes (it will make it much easier to roll and stretch).

Once it is ready to cook, pre-heat the oven to 350F on bake. Line the pie crust with parchment paper and fill it with pie weights which could be rice or beans. It takes approximately 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes before removing pie weights. Once weights are taken off, poke bottom of pie crust with fork a few times and return to oven and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes until the crust is golden. Which looks perfectly like the picture to the right.


The other plus about making more than one pie for Thanksgiving is you get to dig in before the big dinner... I mean after all that work who really wants to wait. So I can tell you full of confidence and pride that I have made the first completely homemade Thanksgiving pie that tastes absolutely DELICIOUS! Thank you Christos for the moral support and help, and I think we have a new tradition yet again. Happy Thanksgiving everyone... Enjoy the day with family and friends full of great food and merriment!