Pudding

Ingredients 1 cup sugar (white is fine) 1/2 cup all purpose flour 1/2 tsp salt 2 cups milk (whole preferred) 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 tbsp butter 4 large egg yolks Box of vanilla wafers 4-5 ripe bananas 4 egg whites, at room temp 5 tbsp sugar 1/4 tsp cream of tartar 1/2 tsp vanilla extract Instructions Preheat the oven to 375°F and line the bottom of a 9x9 in. baking pan with vanilla wafers Peel and slice the bananas into 0.5 in. rounds. Cover banana slices with plastic wrap to keep from darkening and quickly make pudding Combine sugar, flour and salt in a bowl and stir well. Mash out any lumps In a heavy saucepan, beat egg yolks well. Make medium heat, slowly add flour, milk and vanilla mixture to the egg yolks, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil and when it begins to thicken add the butter, continuing to stir. Keep boiling and stirring until the mixture reaches a nice pudding consistency (be careful to barely have enough heat to boil but not scorch the bottom) Remove from heat Place a layer of banana slices on top of vanilla wafers. Pour half the pudding over it. Put down another layer of vanilla wafers with another following layer of banana slices and cover with remaining pudding Beat the egg whites at high speed (use electric stirrer) until they form soft peaks. Add cream of tartar. At high speed, gradually add the sugar, a tbsp at a time and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold the vanilla into the meringue and spread the meringue over the pudding, sealing it at the sides of the dish Bake for 12-15 minutes until meringue browns

Ingredients 2 cups whole milk 3 tbl cornstarch 7/8 cup dark brown sugar 2 large eggs 1/2 tsp salt 1 cup heavy cream 4 tbl unsalted butter 1/8 cup scotch whiskey (or any whiskey works well too) 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate finely chopped Instructions In medium bowl, whisk 1/2 cup of milk with the cornstarch, sugar, eggs and salt. In large saucepan, cook remaining amount of milk with the heavy cream over medium heat until a skin forms on the surface (>a few minutes). Slowly whisk both together in the saucepan, reduce to medium low heat, and whisk fast/constantly until the pudding thickens and just begins to boil (~5 minutes or more). Remove from heat and whisk in the butter and scotch. Spoon the pudding into 6 ounce glasses or jars and refrigerate until set, minimum of 4 hours (preferably overnight). See notes. Meanwhile, to make the scribbles: line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or equivalent). Heat the chocolate in a bowl in the microwave until mostly melted. Stir to mix all together until smooth. Place chocolate in a small Ziploc bag and cut a very small amount from the bottom corner. Squeeze chocolate out onto baking sheet into fun shapes (best to keep each bite 1x2 inches in size, for best dipping). Let set in the fridge for 30 minutes or more. Serve the pudding with 1 or 2 scribbles dipped in the top. One short burst of whip cream on top is nice. Notes Do not short change the pudding mixture set time. This pudding can keep for days so don’t be afraid to make in the morning or the day before. Whisking well is very important. It is super easy for the pudding to come out lumpy if not enough stirring.