Banana Pudding

The story of banana pudding coincides with the story of the Southern icon ambrosia. Both use once-exotic ingredients  that became more popular towards the end of the 19th century.  This change in availability occurred after the Civil War, when steam ships became faster and new trading firms brought in increasing amounts of fruit from the Caribbean and Central America. This lead to banana pudding moving from a high status to a common place dessert.

The earliest recipe for banana pudding was a simple entry int he New York Times in 1878. In 1921 Mrs. Laura Kerley contributed a recipe to the Bloomington Illinois Pantograph. The recipe called for one pound of vanilla wafers. By the 1940s Nabisco was publishing a recipe for banana pudding on the side of its Vanilla Wafers boxes.

During the early 20th century, banana pudding recipes were published in newspapers across the United States, and the desserts was not portrayed as Southern, After World War II, banana pudding gained a Southern identity. Several theories exist as to why this change occurred. Some note that a lot of bananas came through New Orleans and so the fruit was widely available there. Others point to Southerners' sweet tooth, and the fact that it can be made without heating up a kitchen on a hot summer day. Also social event are an integral part of life in the South and food is usually present there, especially dishes like banana pudding that can easily be made in bulk and does not have to be kept warm.

Here is a link to an article with more information:
http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/03/history-southern-banana-pudding.html

Recipe 

Total Time:  45 min

Prep:  30 min

Cook:  15 min

Yield:8 servings

Ingredients

4 large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon plus a pinch salt

2 cups whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
30 to 40 vanilla wafers
3 to 4 medium ripe bananas

Directions
Separate the yolks from the whites of 3 of the eggs; set aside the whites. Add the remaining whole egg to the yolks.
In a saucepan, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar, the flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir in the whole egg and 3 yolks, and then stir in the milk. Cook uncovered, stirring often, until the mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Spread a thin layer of the pudding in a 1 1/2-quart casserole dish. Arrange a layer of vanilla wafers on top of the pudding. Thinly slice the bananas crosswise, about 1/8 inch thick, and arrange a layer of banana slices over the wafers. Spread one-third of the remaining pudding over the bananas and continue layering wafers, bananas and pudding, ending with pudding.
To make the meringue, beat the reserved egg whites with a pinch of salt until they are stiff. Gradually beat in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and continue beating until the whites will not slide out of the mixing bowl when it is tilted.
Spread the meringue over the pudding with a spatula, making a few decorative peaks on top, and bake until the meringue is lightly browned, 5 minutes.

Bourbon Pecan Pie

The South's Most Delicious Pie 

The history of pecan pie actually begins with the Native Americans, who introduced European settlers to the nut for the purpose of survival as a form of endearment. Many will argue that the pecan pie was introduced by the Karo company in an effort to promote the sale and production of their product. This makes sense, of course, as the Karo company has become one of the world's largest producers of corn syrup. Others will argue, however, that the origins of pecan pie actually date back to a much earlier time. The introduction of bourbon, however, is in fact a more recent development, and many who prepare the pie will argue that it simply brings out the flavor of the other ingredients.
While the pecan pie has become one of the most important dishes to appear on the Thanksgiving table, many stray away from the dessert as a result of its high sugar, fat, and caloric content. Nonetheless, this pie is one to remember, especially being my late grandfather's favorite dessert.

Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
- 3 eggs beaten
- 2 tablespoons bourbon
- 1 unbaked pie crust

Directions:

1. Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F 
2. Mix the white sugar, brown sugar, and butter together in a bowl. Stir in the corn syrup, eggs, and bourbon; fold in the pecans. Pour the mixture into the pie crust.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 350 degrees F; continue to bake until the pie is set, about 25 minutes more. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before serving.

Bananas Foster Pancakes, Cheese N' Eggs, and Sliced Tomatoes

Breakfast is a peculiar meal. It doesn't really have any rules, although there are typically mainstay dishes. However, it really doesn't have boundaries. The ways IHOP serves pancakes and the way Waffle House serves "Steak N' Eggs", you really wouldn't be able to tell due to the sweetness or the heartiness.

With that in mind, I decided to try and pick out some of my favorite southern breakfast foods for my meal, which became more of a challenge due to my opinion of breakfast's flexibility. However, southern food is marinated in tradition, and so I decided to keep it simple and within the typical idea of breakfast food.

But that's about as far as I reigned it in. Typical pancakes and eggs don't really feel southern, and neither does a standard fruit salad on the side. So, to have fun and embrace a heavier southern influence, I decided to go with a bananas foster topping for the pancakes, go overboard with the cheese for "Cheese N' Eggs" and thought of my father's favorite side dish when we visit Tuscaloosa's traditional southern breakfast restaurant, Waysider: sliced tomatoes with salt and pepper.

BREAKFAST HISTORY

Bananas Foster and Pancakes

• Pancakes were first being prepared somewhere around 500 B.C. by the ancient Greeks. 
• The original pancakes were pretty different than what we eat today. Rather than limit themselves to sweet flavor with the fluffy discs, they used a variety of ingredients and ideas to create savory pancakes as well as sweet ones.
• The Greeks called their version "tagenias".
• Bananas Foster was invented much, much later. In 1951, an employee of Brennan's in New Orleans, LA created the original bananas foster, which is a similar sauce use in this recipe, but just over ice cream instead.
• The dish is one of the most popular in New Orleans, and it not being a particularly hard dish to make is responsible for that popularity. 
• One can learn how to make the original Brennan's recipe here.

Cheese N' Eggs

• Eggs are one of the oldest foodstuffs to be in the human diet, dating back before 7500 B.C.E.
• Cheese is nearly as old, but the earliest confirmation has been around 5500 B.C.E.

Sliced Tomatoes

• The tomato's native region is between South and Central America.
• Mesoamerican peoples were the first to start eating tomatoes, starting in 500 B.C.

Pancake Recipe 
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 egg, beaten lightly
1 ½ cups milk
2 tbsp butter, melted

Stir the flour, baking powder(or baking soda if you prefer) and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the egg and milk, and then add it to flour mix, stirring until just smooth. Then stir in butter. Grease a griddle with butter. Heat pan on medium for about ten minutes. Pour batter to form pancakes of whatever size you like. Cook first side until bubbles form on top, about three minutes; then flip and cook other side until it, too, is brown, about two minutes. 

Bananas Foster Sauce Recipe

1/4 Cup of Melted Butter

2/3 Cup of Brown Sugar

2 Teaspoons of Rum Extract

2 Teaspoons of Vanilla Extract

1/2 Teaspoon of Ground Cinnamon

1//2 Cup of Pancake Syrup

2-4 Bananas(depends on how much banana you want)

Melt 1/4 cup of butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar, rum extract, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, and cinnamon. Bring to a simmer, the stir in the pecans and continue simmering for 1 minute. Stir in the pancake syrup and bananas, continue cooking until the bananas soften, about 4 minutes.

Cheese N' Eggs Recipe(Per Individual)

1/2 Tablespoon of Butter
2 Eggs

2 quarter-inch slices of cheese(Either use Kraft Singles or cut to that size with real cheese)

1/4 Cup of Milk

Heat 10-inch pan over medium heat, possibly medium-to-high heat. While heating up, beat the eggs in a bowl until the yolk is broken apart. Add 1/4 cup of milk to beaten eggs. When pan is heated and ready, drop 1/2 tablespoon of butter into it. After the butter is coated on the pan, add eggs. Cook till preference of runny, intermediate or fried. Turn heat to low and add slices of cheese. Stir until cheese is melted and all in the eggs.

Sliced Tomatoes

1 Tomato
Salt and Pepper

The most simple thing in the world. On a cutting board, slice tomatoes vertically, giving each slice about 1/2 inch in width. Plate, then add salt and pepper.

Sources:
Council, Mildred. Mama Dip's Kitchen. University of North Carolina Press, 1999.