Bananas.org - Banana Cheese Pie.

Banana Cheese Pie:santananer:

This is served at the Lighthouse Café on Sanibel Island near Sarasota. I asked them for the recipe and they would not give it to me. Something about a secret. I returned, and through tasting and analyzing the texture I came up with the recipe below. It is pretty much the same as theirs, maybe better.

Graham Cracker Crust:

Use boxed Graham cracker crumbs. Nabisco is the best. The other’s are less expensive, and less flavorful. Save 27 cents at your peril. If your grocer does not have pre-made crumbs, make crumbs from whole crackers yourself in a food processor or blender, or crush them in a strong plastic bag. If you do not want to make your own crust, use pre-made ones are available in 9-inch aluminum pie pans. Like the cheaper brands of crumbs, these too are near flavorless. If you buy a pre-made crust in a pan, do not bake crust.

1. Pour 1¼ cups Nabisco graham cracker crumbs and ¼ cup sugar into a bowl. Mix. (For a richer crust, add ¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar instead.) Mix by hand till blended.

2. Mix in well ½ stick softened butter. (Not melted.)

3. Spread mixed ingredients in a 9-inch pie pan and press down firmly.

4. Bake in a 350º F oven for 5 minutes. (This will set the crust by melting the butter and sugar into the crumbs to create a solid shell. This way when you cut and serve the pie, the crust will not crumble and be left behind.) Set aside to cool.

Filling:

12 oz softened cream cheese.
8 oz heavy cream
3 to 4 bananas – suggest waiting for the spots to appear and get close to touching. (Most of you know this, but squeezing them three or four times a day to check for ripeness only advances the rotting process by bruising them. When they are speckled, they are ripe. We do not have to mess with them.)
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons real vanilla extract. (All clear vanilla is synthetic. Vanilla from Mexico is either cut or not vanilla at all, which is why it is so inexpensive. They have no laws regarding truth in labeling. You get what you pay for.)
1 Tablespoon sour cream (This can be left out without much damage to flavor or consistency.)

Beat the cream in a medium sized bowl till whipped and forming peaks.

In another bowl, beat the softened cream cheese till smooth.
Beat in sugar and vanilla.

Fold in the whipped cream to create the filling.

Spread 1/4 of the filling on the bottom of the pan with a rubber spathula. Slice bananas so they cover the bottom of the pan. Push them gently into the filling. Spread on another quarter of filling and slice bananas as in previous step. Add remaining mixture and spread Push more sliced bananas into top. Leave none exposed as this will cause them to brown. Refrigerate for two hours or more.

I make this with inverse calories, so with every bite you take, you actually lose weight.
:goteam: