Real Banana Pudding!

So this is an old Southern favorite, except the South prefers making a layer type of pudding--vanilla pudding, sliced bananas, vanilla cookies, repeat.  This is fine and good, except I want real bananas infused into my pudding, but not from a box.  You can also use banana extract, if you like the alcoholy after taste.  Really, you want bananas!

I typically use about two bananas and put them in my food processor.  You can also mash them if you would like a rustic, chunky pudding.  Place this in a very large measuring cup.  Pour in half and half till you have 3 cups total of both banana and milk.  This is extremely important because if you don't, you'll have more of a banana yogurt (and that isn't fun at all!).  In a sauce pan (preferably one with a pour spout), combine 3/4 of a cup of sugar and 3 tablespoons of cornstarch and combine the milk concoction and set the stove top to medium.  It is very important to continue stirring the contents at the bottom, otherwise you'll end up with burned sugar.  This recipe tries your patience because you have to continue stirring until this bad boy thickens up like pudding.  Once it becomes thick, you want to temper four egg yolks.  Tempering is where you take about 3 tablespoons of the hot stuff (the milk concoction) and whisk it into the eggs--this prevents the eggs from scrambling.  Once tempered, pour the eggs in whilst you whisk so you don't end up scrambled eggs at the bottom.  Then put in a tablespoon of butter and melt it in.  Once melted, take it off the heat and pour into four serving containers.  Refrigerate to set.

This is a gluten free dessert as is.  My sous chef helped me caramelize some bananas to make it look pretty (you just sugar the sides and fry them in a pan with a bit of butter).  Once you add normal vanilla wafers, the recipe obviously is no longer gluten free.

I usually don't like pudding, especially pudding out of a box.  This pudding is super awesome.  And you can do so much to it (e.g., layer fruits or cookies).  So yummy.  I highly recommend you make this for guests, who are totally going to be impressed when you tell them it's not from a box!

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

I've made this soup a few times, and I haven't quite figured out how to up the ante of the spice without making it taste like hot sauce.  This one by far was the best batch, and is probably one of the most intensive soups I've made.  It is also gluten free, which pleases my housemate cause he can partake.

What makes this soup really great is the smokey flavor of a roasted red pepper.  I cheated though cause I put mine under the broiler.  But if you have an open flame or a grill or something with fire, do it cause you won't go wrong.  You want a good char on the skin, and once it's all done place it in a paper bag.  To cool it quickly, immediately put it in the freezer (it saves you loads of time).  In about 10 minutes, pull them out and they should be reasonably cool so that you can easily peel off the chard skin with your fingers.  And there my friend is a nice roasted red pepper.

For the soup, you'll need about 10 chopped roasted red peppers, a chopped onion, garlic, some butter, chicken stock, a little tomato paste, heavy cream, salt, pepper, chili pepper powder, and some corn starch for some thickening power.  You don't have to worry about how finely chopped your stuff is cause it's all going in a blender (or if you have one, you can use an immersion blender).

You take about a tablespoon or so of butter and melt it in a large stock pot on a medium or so setting.  You then saute the onions and the garlic until the onions are soft and translucent.  Then add your peppers, 2 cartons of chicken stock (about 5 or 6 cups), and a heaping amount of tomato paste.  If you add more, the soup is redder, but it reduces the spiciness; something to think about.  Bring that baby up to a boil.  Then simmer it down and add about 2, 2.5 cups of heavy cream.  Add your spices.  Take about 2 tablespoons of corn starch and put in a small bowl with a little bit of cold water.  Stir it until it is just a liquid.  While stirring the soup add the corn starch.  Let it sit for 15 minutes.  Then take it off the heat and blend it!  Be careful when blending too.  You are definitely going to have to do it in batches.  And if you completely seal the blender, your soup will most definitely explode.  Blenders nowadays come with a little plastic top that you can take off so you can add stuff to things while it's blending.  You want to tilt it so that there's a slight airway for the heat and steam to escape.  Otherwise your kitchen will be a hot red mess.

Now you can serve the soup as is.  Or you can add a little sweet component to it.  I've had the soup with some blue crab chunks, and this is by far the best thing ever!  All you do is add the crab after you blend it, and little simmer for about 20 minutes.  But if you are a little low on dough, you can add a can of sweet corn (not the creamed kind though).  And there's your soup.  For the Super Bowl, I used corn cause I was planning on serving 20 or so people, and most were already have steak.  Enjoy!