Back again in 2011: Banana Pudding

Did you miss me, ragazzi? Well, I DID miss you. Annalena has had much happen in her life over the last month, including surgery, the loss of a loved one, changes, changes and more changes, and try as she might to get to the computer to give you more, and to discharge her duty of energizing cooks everywhere, she failed.
Mi dispiace, as we said in the old country (Long Island City). Annalena does not make New Year's resolutions, rather, she resolves to make changes in her life. And here we go. I will TRY to write every day. I may not succeed. I sometimes think "oh, I've written on this topic, no one will want to know." Well, if you tell me what you want to know, that will solve the problem (it is a VERY quiet readership out there, you know). I do have a set of recipes to share with you from December, and I will get them down here. But I ask for your help as we go forward. I remember like yesterday, entry number 300. We are just about 60 away from 600. Let's make it.
Rather than start with a "temple days" recipe for the New Year, we're going to start with something rich, creamy and comfortable. Annalena has a feeling that she is not the only one who is glad that 2010 is over, and that the consensus around is that, while all would like to be rigorous and stern and healthy, all need just a little more coddling. This will coddle you quite nicely. But you need some patience. You do.
When I first learned how to make this, it was at the hands of my dear departed teacher, Richard Sax. His version is a rather streamlined one of a recipe which, as I have learned, has adherents to various forms and formats. We did not have this when I was a child: if we ate pudding, Nana made it out of a box, put canned fruit in it, and that was it. Bananas we ate as bananas, or on Corn flakes. That was it.

Richard explained all the various versions he had encountered when he was researching the recipe, and eventually decided on the simplest of simple recipes. I liked a more "complex" one, and Richard was , as always, very sweet. "Then make it that way in your kitchen. Not in mine though."

For 20 plus years, I did not make it. Then, last year (oops. Two years ago), at our New Year's bash, I tried this out. It was the ONLY dish people talked about, so I made it again this year. Now, it shall go on hiatus, as I bring back tiramisu, or cream puffs, or something else of a creamy, custardy nature. It should not disappear from the foundations of your dessert repertoire. It is rather easy to make, makes plenty (unless you are extremely hungry), and is rather inexpensive. Unless.. as you will see.

I am doubling the recipe that Richard taught me, because you really want to double this. You will start with 5 cups of dairy: it can all be milk, and it CAN be 2% milk, but I would not go below that. I like to use 4 cups of whole milk and one cup of heavy cream, mostly because it's convenient. But vary the types of dairy you use, if you like. Just don't go too low on the fat content. It's pudding, remember. You also need about 3/4 cup of sugar. white sugar is traditional, but you could use brown. Keep in mind that brown sugar is no more healthy for you than white. Use it if you like the taste better, but don't kid yourself. This is not a "smart choice" dessert. You also need 2 large eggs, and 2 additional egg youlks. As well, half a cup of cornstarch (if you are going to be making pudding, buy a large jar of cornstarch). Finally, a couple of tablespoons of unsalted butter, a tablespoon of vanilla extract, and six ripe bananas. Six VERY ripe bananas.

Now, we are all used to the big yellow ones. These are Cavendish bananas, and they work fine in this recipe. If, however, you are fortunate enough to live near a store that has tropical produce, look for ripe finger bananas, or ripe red bananas, that turn black when they are red, or any of the other sweet bananas. Do not use plantains, regardless of how ripe they are. They are too starchy for this dish.

The big point where Richard and I had our disagreements, was on the cookies. He felt the cookies that I am about to write about took away from the dish. I don't agree. Wince, and buy a box of nilla vanilla wafers. Do not use your own homemade cookies. They do not have the stabilizers in them, that you need for the dish.

Now that you've collected everything, let's cook. It will not be difficult. In a bowl, mix one cup of dairy, the sugar, the eggs and yolks and the cornstarch. Whisk this to as smooth as you can, but don't be ridiculous about it.

In a big pot, bring the milk just to a boil. Keep an eye on it, and whisk. Milk boils over very easily. When it's just there (bubbles around the edges), take it off the heat, and combine the milk and what's in the bowl. Put one or the other in the other, it don't much matter, but get it back on the heat, lower the heat, and stir. Keep an eye on it. At some point, the mixture will begin to get glossy and thick. You may even begin to get "plops" as it boils up. You're there. Get it off the heat. Stir in the butter and vanilla.

Now, assembly. I like to use a 9x13 inch pan, but a big glass bowl shall work beautifully as well. Pour some of the pudding in, and then slice half of the bananas in. You can lay them out in rows, like I do, or just plop them into the pudding. Then, put some more pudding in, and cover the pudding with the wafers. Repeat this until you use up the bananas and pudding. You probably will not use up the cookies. Then, cover the receptacle with plastic, and refrigerate it. Two hours is the absolute minimum. Overnight is even better.

The cookies will swell up, but not fall apart. They keep their round shape. The banana oils will get into the pudding and flavor it, and since the pudding is still hot, the bananas will 'cook ' a bit and get softer.

My understanding is that many people who grew up other than on the coasts, grew up with this dish and love it. I have heard of chocolate chips, nuts, sprinkles, marshmallows, candied cherries, etc, going into it. As Richard told me "in your kitchen, do what you want." I may, at some point, put some blueberries into mine, but not for now.

This is for all my friends who praised the pudding this year. Say a sweet farewell to it, ragazzi, it will be on hiatus next year.