Banana Cream Pie

This is another pie my mom made at Thanksgiving. Remember, this pie will need to be eaten within a few days because the bananas start to turn brown... so have a party!

INGREDIENTS
5 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 cup sugar ¼ tsp. salt
2 ½ cups milk
¾ cups half-and-half or whipping cream
3 egg yolks
2 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup whipping cream
Baked 9” pie shell

DIRECTIONS
Mix cornstarch, sugar, and salt in a 3 quart saucepan. Add milk and cream and cook over medium heat until smooth and thick, stirring constantly. Pour small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks; blend thoroughly, then pour back into saucepan. Cook another 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and add butter and vanilla. Press plastic wrap onto filling in saucepan, so as not to dry out and form a curst on top, and let cool to room temperature. When cool slice 2 bananas into bottom of pie shell and pour filling over top. Cover pie with plastic wrap and cool in fridge for at least 2 hours. When ready, serve with whipped cream.

–Melanie

Cranberry Salad

When most people hear the word salad they think of the dish as being healthy but this is really more like a dessert if you look at the nutrition and taste it.  Pie is the real dessert at the Thanksgiving so we fudge it in with the rest of the dinner by calling it a salad. haha!

My mom is about both taste and presentation but when I was little I thought it was so ridiculous that she would put a lettuce leaf under fruit/jello salads since you don't even eat the lettuce.  Really it was just that the lettuce was preventing me from getting every last bit of the fruit/jello salad.  Now that I'm older and wiser I wouldn't serve these types of salads (more like desserts) any other way! :)  Doesn't it look beautiful?!

INGREDIENTS
2 small (12 oz. bags/ 6 cups) fresh cranberries- chopped
3 cups sugar
1 (20 oz. can) crushed pineapple, drained
whipped cream
Green leaf lettuce for garnish

DIRECTIONS
Chop cranberries in blender or food processor (if using a blender chop only 1/2 to 3/4 cup at a time to chop evenly). Mix the cranberries in a bowl with the drained pineapple and sugar.  Place this mixture in a large colander over a bowl and refrigerate overnight.  In the morning add 2 cups whipped cream with 1/2 cups sugar and 1/2 cups broken pecans to the cranberry mixture and refrigerate until ready to serve.  I serve using an ice cream scoop and placing it onto a lettuce leaf.

Pumpkin Sour Cream Pie

This is my mom's delicious pumpkin pie that she made at Thanksgiving.  Tastes as good as it looks!  

INGREDIENTS

1-9” baked pastry shell

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

¼ cup cold water

3 eggs (separated)

1/3 cup sugar

1 ¼ cup canned pumpkin

½ cup sour cream

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. allspice or nutmeg

¼ tsp. ginger

¼ cup sugar

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

½ cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS

Soften gelatin in cold water.  Beat egg yolks with 1/3 cup sugar until thick and lemon-colored.  Add pumpkin, sour cream, salt, and spices.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to boil.  Reduce heat; cook 2 minutes (stirring constantly).  Remove from heat; stir in softened gelatin.  Stir until dissolved; cool.  Beat egg whites until frothy; add ¼ cup sugar gradually, beating until stiff peaks form.  Fold into cooled pumpkin mixture.  Whip cream; add powdered sugar and vanilla.  Spoon half of pumpkin mixture into cool pie shell; spread half of whipped cream on top. Repeat.  Sprinkle with pecans.  Chill at least 2 hours before serving.  Makes 8 servings.

–Melanie