Chew on This | Banana Cream Pie with Banana Whipped Cream

It was around 10pm, a frigid wind was hollowing outside and I was already in bed nursing a humungous headache from hell. Eyes squeezed closed, hands applying steady compression to pressure points around my face and eyes for some kind of relief, I didn't realize that the electricity had gone off. Until I heard some very distinct grumbling from downstairs.

"Are you kidding me? What the *@bleep^%! Seriously, a little wind is going to put the *%blankity-blank-blank$#@ electricity out! Come on!"

My guess is that someone in the house was a tad perturbed about something. And I was pretty sure it wasn't one of my kids, having gone to bed hours earlier and also because they're not fluent in 'gutter mouth'.

Stomp, stomp, stomp up the stairs he came. Then he timidly walked into our bedroom and said, "Uh, the electricity went out. Is this lantern too bright for you? I guess I'm just going to have to....read."

I didn't say much in reply. Just turned over and continued to massage my forehead. Though I may have involuntarily smiled about a grown man having a 3 year old-type temper tantrum. 

Seriously.

Cares

See that pie up there? Yeah, Mimi made that glorious thing and brought it to the house for us to devour. And devour we did. Absolutely scrumptious! Make it - it's brag worthy!!

Here's Mimi's recipe:

Banana Cream Pie with Banana Whipped Cream

Graham Cracker Crust:
2 C graham cracker  crumbs
1/4 C sugar
1 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t ground ginger
1/2 C melted butter

Banana Cream Filling:
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1 C sugar
6 egg yolks 3/4 C cold water
1/4 C banana liqueur or rum
2 C heavy cream, whipped

Banana Topping:
4 or 5 bananas, thinly sliced
1 T lemon juice
1/2 C apricot preserves, sieved (no lumps, no fruit chunks)
3 T banana liqueur or rum
1 C whipped cream, with 1 T banana liqueur  or rum folded in

Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter a 9" pie plate. 
To start, make your pie crust. In medium bowl, combine graham crackers crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, and ginger. Mix well. Stir in the melted butter until all crumbs are moistened. Press crumbs evenly into the pie plate. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool on rack.

While your crust is baking you can start on your filling. In medium saucepan, combine unflavored gelatin and sugar. Mix well and set aside. In medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, water, and liqueur until blended. Stir this liqueur mixture into the gelatin mixture.
Cook over medium heat 10-13 minutes, whisking constantly, until mixture thickens and gelatin dissolves. Cool 1 hour, stirring often. When cool, gently stir whipped cream into gelatin mixture. Pour into cooled pie crust. Smooth top with spatula. Refrigerate at least 3 hours to set.

Finally, just before serving, arrange sliced bananas over top of pie. Brush bananas with lemon juice.  In small bowl, combine sieved preserves and 3 T banana liqueur or rum. Brush generously over banana slices. Top with a dollop of whipped cream to which 1 T of banana liqueur or rum has been folded in.