In the last edition’s column, I gave you my mom’s turkey stuffing recipe and hope you have a chance to try it sometime. If you’ve tried it, I’d like to hear from you with your comments. This week, I’m sharing one of my own creations. It’s really a variation on a traditional American pie recipe that our good friend, Granny Darlene, as she calls herself, shared with us almost ten years ago. The inspiration for this variation actually came to me just recently when I woke up in the middle of night and the thought popped into my head out of the blue. I have no clue as to why it should suddenly come to me to combine these ingredients. All I knew at the time was I had to try making this to see if it tasted as good as it sounded to me. Shortly after that night, I gathered the ingredients and set out to make this idea a reality. Once the pie was done, I tested it on my wife (and food critic) Judy to see if it passed her high standards. I was pretty confident she would like it because it’s a dessert. Duh! Anyone who knows Judy also knows she’s a sweets freak. After her first taste, all I had to hear from her came out of her mouth immediately. She simply said, “It’s delicious.” I tasted it and was pleasantly surprised that it exceeded my expectations. I couldn’t wait to share it with family and friends.
So, here we go with my variation on a theme that I call Sammy’s Banapple Caramel Pie.
I am going to give you Granny Darlene’s basic apple pie recipe to begin with, but you can use your own should you have one you prefer.
Basic ingredients for the apple pie portion – 6 good sized peeled and cored Granny Smith apples (6 cups), ¾ cup of sugar, 1 T flour & 1 T corn starch (or 2 T flour), 1 tsp. cinnamon, dash of nutmeg, dash salt, 2 T concentrated lemon juice, 2 T butter. For the crust, 2 deep dish frozen pie crusts in pans (I use Pet-Ritz), or your own dough made into 9” crusts.
1. Peel, core, and slice the apples. Put them in a large bowl with water and the lemon concentrate to keep them from turning brown. When complete, drain off water and add/mix the dry ingredients. Set aside.
Additional ingredients for the banana portion – 2 large ripe regular bananas (or Plaintains) sliced, 4-6 T BUTTER, 1 T cinnamon, 2 T light brown sugar, dash of nutmeg, 1 C walnut or pecan pieces (optional), and 2 T of caramel (I use Smucker’s Sundae Syrup).
1. In a sauce pan and over medium heat, melt the butter and blend in the dry ingredients, including the nuts if desired. Add bananas and cook, stirring constantly for about 1 minute; then add caramel, stir, and remove from heat.
2. Add the bananas and all of the sauce to the apple mixture and mix thoroughly.
3. Pour mixture into bottom crust and spread evenly; dot with butter.
4. Place top crust over mixture and seal edges.
5. With pastry brush, lightly brush crust with milk. Place slits in crust to allow steam to escape.
6. Cover edges with strips of foil to prevent the crust from burning.
7. Bake on cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 40 minutes; remove from oven, take off foil, and return to oven for another 10 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and place on rack to cool. Immediately squirt caramel syrup generously on the crust.
After the pie has cooled and is ready to be served, you can go all out and make it ala mode. Why not? You worked hard on this pie, and you deserve it!
If you try this recipe, let me know how it worked out for you. Don’t forget to send your special recipes to me so that we can share them with other residents. Send your recipes, comments, and questions to greengeezer9@comcast.net. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.
