TWEET'S BANANA PUDDING

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups milk                               1 teaspoon vanilla
4 eggs separated                    1 tablespoon real butter
3 tablespoons cornstarch       1 (12 oz.) box vanilla wafers
3/4 cup sugar                           6 bananas (very ripe)
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Mix milk, egg yokes, cornstarch and sugar in top of double boiler and cook for 5 to 6 minutes until it thickens.  Remove from heat and add vanilla and butter. Line bottom and sides of a 2-quart dish with vanilla wafers and top with sliced bananas.  Pour 1/2 of the pudding mixture over top of wafers and bananas.  Add another layer of wafers and bananas, topping with remaining pudding mixture.  Beat egg whites with mixer on high speed until stiff; add 1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar and 6 tablespoons of sugar.  Add the meringue to the top of the pudding and bake at 350 degrees for 5 to 8 minutes or until golden brown.

Note: This is another one of Joyce Porter's aka "Tweet" ole time recipes. The vanilla that "Tweet" uses in her recipes is the real stuff, not vanilla extract imitation.  We purchased two 2-liter bottles from Tijuana, Mexico while we were visiting with our son and his family in Ocean Side, CA. and hand-walked the vanilla across the border.  This is my favorite banana pudding recipe and not the pudding out of the box or "lite" version.  If you want a richer pudding, use a 1 1/2 quart baking dish instead of the 2-quart, or increase your pudding (filling) by one-half.  Also, the pure vanilla from Tijuana is so rich in flavor, Tweet uses only 1/2 teaspoon, however use 1 teaspoon of locally purchased vanilla.  Do not use a cheap or "knock off" generic brand of  vanilla wafers.  Comments by Mickey Porter February 19, 1999.  Also, be sure and spread the meringue topping to the edge of the baking dish to prevent air from escaping which could cause your meringue topping to deflate badly after it cools down!

Below pix of Tweet's Banana Pudding done by Tweet on 03-10-09:

Can you say "beautimous" out loud again?  Can't wait until it cools down enough to sample.  This is the real deal and not the shake and bake type of banana pudding.  This is the kind of banana pudding our Mothers and Grand Mothers made, however the shake and bake type will work if you don't have the time to do one of this type.  This is an excellent dessert served at an ole time BBQ Pig Pickin or one of those Sunday dinners with Southern fried chicken or Chicken and Dumplings.  Note:  The above serving was enjoyed by yours truly and was still warm.  Words can't describe just how good it was!

Below sequence pixs taken while Tweet prepared this wonderful banana pudding.  Click on thumbnails for a larger view.  Had about everything shown in the first ingredients pix but the whole milk...my bad on this one.  Bill aka Mickey Porter 03-10-09.