Caramel banana pie (and a trip down memory lane)

We have been celebrating Father's Day with a get together/lunch at my house ever since I got married, in 2005. I love it - besides my father, who is the star of the day, my brother and sister come too and they are both great people to have around (of course I'm biased. And I don't care). :)

Since I didn't want to make the same old desserts again (the sweetened condensed milk custard is my usual choice), I called my dad and asked what he wanted for dessert - he's not into sweets and not into chocolate, so I had to ask him.
His answer was a big surprise: "I'd like to have that banana pie your mother used to make for me. The one with the "dough snakes" on top".
"Ok, of course, I'll make it".

The thing is...
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…I don't have the original recipe. I remembered my mother's banana pie, even in a detailed sort of way, but that was all. No recipe!!!! I started to panic.

My salvation: a recipe for pie crust found in Bon Appetit (July issue) + remembering a pie filling I used to make as a teenager for fruit pies + memories of the caramel banana topping.

My father loved the pie and told me it was exactly like my mom's. Even though I know he said that not to hurt my feelings, there's a smile on my face every time I think of his words. :D

Caramel banana pie

Crust:
2 ½ cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1.25cm (½-inch) cubes
½ cup chilled lard or frozen nonhydrogenated solid vegetable shortening, cut 1.25cm (½-inch) cubes – I used regular vegetable shortening
5 tablespoons (or more) ice water – I needed 6

Filling:
2 cups (480ml) + 3 tablespoons milk
5 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons corn starch
1 egg yolk - I forgot to add but I liked the result anyway
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:
6 small bananas, sliced - approx. 2 1/2 cups
1 ½ cups sugar

Start making the crust: Blend flour, sugar and salt in processor. Add butter and lard; using on/off turns, blend until mixture resembles coarse meal. If making by hand (which I did): pinch and rub flour and fat between your thumb and fingertips (this works well if you have cook hands).
Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Add 5 tablespoons ice water and mix with fork until dough begins to clump together, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dry. Gather dough together. Divide dough – I used ¾ of the dough for the crust and ¼ for the “snakes”; flatten each part into disk. Wrap each disk in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
Dough can be made 3 days ahead. Keep refrigerated. If necessary, soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/355ºF.
Roll out dough from the center out, lifting and rotating it frequently, clockwise and counterclockwise – I kept the dough wrapped in plastic while rolling it out.
Using the rolling pin, transfer the dough from countertop to pan (22cm/8.5in) and unfold it. Press it gently on the pan and cut off excess.
Blind bake until the crust starts to get golden; remove from the oven.

For the filling: pour 2 cups milk into a medium saucepan. Add sugar and mix well.
In a cup or small bowl, mix the 3 tablespoons milk and the corn starch until well dissolved. Add to saucepan and mix well.
Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until cream thickens.
Remove from heat, add vanilla and mix well. Set aside to cool, stirring every now and then to keep it free of lumps.

Make the topping: Place sugar in a large saucepan and cook it over low heat until caramels forms. Add the bananas, being careful not to get burned. Stir every once in a while and cook over low heat until the bananas soften and melt a little.
Remove from heat and set aside.

Assemble the pie: Pour the filling over crust and top it with the banana caramel mixture.
Make “snakes” with the remaining chilled dough and place them on the top of the pie, forming a sort of lattice effect.
Bake again, in a 200ºC/390ºF oven, this time for 25-30 minutes, until the “snakes” are baked.
Set aside to cool and refrigerate before serving.

Serves 8.