Popcorn Popping

(via Paul Octavious)

Gina's Half Birthday: Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pie

Yes, it does sound silly. Half Birthday celebration? It's just that neither Gina and I can wait a whole year for each other's baked goods so we celebrate half way in between as well. Sadly though, I missed Gina's salted caramel apple pie since I was stuck late at work, but she did get to enjoy my creation: peanut butter banana cream pie.

When I asked her what she wanted, she said something with peanut butter and bananas (typical), so I went to Epicurious and found this recipe, by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, the guys who run Baked (which I still have yet to go to). I like going to Epicurious for recipes because they get rated and I can read others' comments to see if I need to adjust anything to it.

A lot of the comments seemed to say that the crust was too thick or they had to increase the amount of filling. I didn't find this at all when I made it. In fact, I pretty much followed the recipe to a T (except adding some orange zest and used vanilla extract instead of vanilla bean), and it came out perfectly.

The peanut butter whipped topping is divine. I'm not a huge peanut butter fan, but it wasn't too peanut-buttery at all. It was light and fluffy and perfect. I would use this recipe if I had to make a peanut butter frosting for a cake. I also bought Whole Foods' 365 organic vanilla wafer cookies

Bravo to the Baked Boys! The recipe if below (with my modifications).

Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pie

Vanilla wafer crust:

• 6 ounces vanilla wafer cookies
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons sugar

Vanilla pudding filling:

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (I used 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract)
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 4 firm but ripe bananas, peeled, divided
• 3 tablespoons orange juice, divided
• zest of half an orange

Peanut butter layer:

• 3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter (do not use old-fashioned or freshly ground)
• 2/3 cup chilled heavy whipping cream
• Purchased peanut brittle, coarsely chopped (optional)
• 
  
• For vanilla wafer crust:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine all ingredients in processor; blend until mixture resembles moist crumbs, about 1 minute. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish and press mixture onto bottom and up sides (not rim) of dish. Bake crust until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Remove from oven; press crust with back of spoon if puffed. Cool crust completely.
• 
  
• For vanilla pudding filling:
• Whisk sugar, cornstarch, and salt in heavy medium saucepan until no lumps remain. Gradually whisk in cream, then milk. Add yolks and scrape in seeds from vanilla bean (or add 1 tsp of vanilla extract); whisk to blend. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until pudding thickens and boils, about 5 minutes. Add butter and stir until melted. Spread warm pudding in cooled crust. Chill until filling is cool, about 1 hour.
• 
  
• Thinly slice 3 bananas on diagonal. Combine banana slices and 2 tablespoons orange juice and the zest of half an oragne in medium bowl; toss to coat. Transfer banana slices to paper towels and pat dry. Arrange enough banana slices in single layer over vanilla custard filling to cover completely.
• 
  
• For peanut butter layer:
• Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar in medium bowl until smooth. Beat in vanilla, then peanut butter. Beat cream in another medium bowl until firm peaks form. Fold large spoonful of whipped cream into peanut mixture to loosen, then fold in remaining cream in 2 additions. Spread peanut butter layer evenly over bananas. Chill at least 3 hours. DO AHEAD: Can be made 8 hours ahead. Keep chilled.

Thinly slice remaining banana on diagonal. Toss with remaining 1 tablespoon orange juice, then pat dry with paper towels. Arrange banana slices around top edge of pie. Sprinkle peanut brittle over bananas, if desired, and serve.

Dim Sum Treat

I had this at Dim Sum when I was back in Boston. A never seen before treat! Tasted like light yellow cake. Delicious.

New Favorite Snack

I first came across these when I went to Madison Square Garden to see the Agassi vs. Sampras match a few weeks back. Of course I had to get a hotdog (it being one of my favorite foods), but couldn't decide what side snack to get that wasn't also unhealthy until I saw Pretzel Crisps on the menu board. Pretzels are healthy-ish, right?

The thing is, I've always wanted to like pretzels as a chip-like snack, but the allure of Lays sour cream and onion potato chips or Cheetos or Doritos always won. Pretzels. whether in its normal shape or stick form, always tasted a bit mealy to me, like there was too much pretzel matter in the pretzel. I tended to like really thin pretzels since they had more of a crunch to them, but then they were so thin that they seemed insubstantial.

This is where the Pretzel Crisp comes in, a cross between a pretzel and a cracker. I ended up buying the Classic kind, and was instantly amazed at my find. Really crisp, nice light crunch and ample in its surface area. How perfect. I immediately shared them with my friends, who also approved.

I didn't think much about them until I saw them at my local Duane Reade this past week, and thought, this must be a sign. So I bought the Supreme kind (flavored with garlic, onion, and poppy, caraway and sesame seeds), whose spices don't overwhelm the pretzel at all, but complement it quite nicely.

I have found my new favorite snack, and it's not terrible for me!

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