pie

Christmas is, as most of us over four feet high know, not just about the presents.  It's about a lot of different things; for many of us that includes family.  And food.  Lots of food.  And where there's food there is dessert.

We were fortunate to have a large family gathering.  My brother and his wife came to Texas where her father lives.  We drove out for the day, spending it with them plus an assortment of her family, cousins, kids and all; it was wonderful.

I didn't want to go empty handed and decided to make a pie.  Looking around my kitchen I decided that banana coconut custard pie was the order of the day.  Since I made this pie at 10:00 pm the night before I confess that I did use a pre-made pie crust.  Well, that and the fact that I am not very good at making pie crusts...I need to work on that.

The pie was delicious and so easy to make.  It turns out that Poppy's (my sister-in-law's father) favorite pie is anything-to-do-with-coconut.  He tried to hide the pie in the refrigerator to keep for later.  I guess I'll be making this again for the next time I see him.

Banana Coconut Custard Pie

8" pie crust, baked

3/4 C. evaporated cane juice crystals

1/3 C. oat flour

1/4 t. salt

2 ripe bananas

1 can coconut milk (I prefer Thai Kitchen brand as they have no preservatives, bleaching or added sugars)

3 egg yolks, beaten

2 T. butter

1 1/2 t. vanilla

1 C. shredded coconut

To make the custard:

mix together sugar, flour and salt in a pan

turn burner to medium heat

shake coconut milk to mix and slowly pour in to dry ingredients

mix well to avoid lumps

stir continuously until mixture start to bubble

remove from burner

slowly add 2-3 T. of hot mixture into egg yolks to combine

(this prevents curdling)

add egg yolks to milk mixture stirring well

put back on heat, bring back to a bubble

remove from heat

add butter and vanilla

put back on heat and cook 2 more minutes

remove from heat and let cool

Once the custard has cooled assemble the pie

slice bananas thinly and arrange on bottom of pie crust

sprinkle with 1/2 C. shredded coconut

pour custard over the top of the bananas and coconut

sprinkle remaining 12/ C. shredded coconut on top of pie

Bake 350 degrees F for 15 minutes

chill for one hour before serving

I hope that your holiday celebration was everything that you wanted it to be and that you too were surrounded by family, friends and good food.

Be well.