March 2: Banana Cream Pie Day

I'll admit that when I make banana cream pie, I usually take the easy route.  I buy a graham cracker crust, put a layer of fresh banana slices on the crust, top the banana slices with a thick banana pudding, smooth it out as much as possible, chill, then decorate right before serving using whipped cream and more banana slices on top.  Again, this is a food observance I feel is misplaced as I feel banana cream pies are a great dessert for a warm summer evening.

If you're feeling more game than I, you can always try this Old-Fashioned Banana Cream pie recipe from Food.com.  Feel like kicking it up a notch?  Try this recipe for Banana Cream Pie with Chocolate Gamache and Salted Caramel Sauce from Lick My Spoon.  And I don't know why I never tried this before with banana cream pie, but some recipes use crushed vanilla wafers to make the crust.  It sounds like a good flavor match to me, except instead of using the wafers for the crust, I might try layering them on top of the bananas then put the filling on top of that.  Or maybe crumble up some cookies and sprinkle the crumbs on top of the cream for an easy decoration.  New York Times even has a recipe and tips to try for making banana cream pie.

  Pie not your thing but you still love the banana and cream flavor?  Over at Annie's Eats, banana cream pie inspired some tasty looking cupcakes. 

February 23: National Banana Bread Day

I love banana bread.  Absolutely love it.  I inherited a recipe from my grandmother and I've made it many times every year for as long as I can remember.  When I was younger, I couldn't do much other than mash the bananas and just watch an adult do all the actual baking.  When I got older, I was the one that made it.  I was a little offended one year, when a family member eventually 'fessed up to preferring a banana bread made by a family bread.  But that was okay- that family member didn't know that the friend's recipe used buttermilk and accidentally grabbed what he thought was milk for his cereal the next member.  Yeah, I'll admit to laughing a little. 

So here's the recipe I got from my grandmother.

Banana Bread
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 bar) softened butter
2 mashed ripe bananas (the kind that are black on the outside but not completely mushy inside)
2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking soda
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup milk

Beat together sugar and butter until creamy. Mix in eggs.  Mix in milk, bananas and vanilla.  Stir in remaining ingredients by hand. (That's according to my grandmother - I always just use the beater.  It's just so much easier.) Bake in greased 9x5 loaf pan in 350 degree oven until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (~50 minutes).  You could also add 1/4 cup raisins, if you feel like it.  I like to bake this recipe in muffin portions.  If I make them bite-szie, they disappear really quickly.