Talbot's Banana Cream Pie

Don't be fooled by the abnormal coloring of this pie - it is full blown banana.  I have many guilty pleasures, but True Blood is one of my favorite to indulge in.  I get together with my ex-work/half-marathon training/book sharing buddy during the summer on sundays and we watch the new episodes while munching on something tasty.

Last week for the premiere of season 4 I actually decided to theme the dish (dorky I know...but hey its my guilty pleasure, if you can't be a dork for that then what is the point?).  So I dyed my healthier version of banana cream pie red and named it after the fabulous vampire foodie in season 3.

• Cooking Spray
• 12 graham cracker squares (or 6 full sheets)
• 2 Tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
• 3 Tablespoons boiling water
• 1/3 cup of sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 egg whites
• 1 and 1/2 cups lowfat milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups banana sliced
• Copious amounts of red food dye (if going talbot-y)

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray a 9 inch pie plate with cooking spray.

In a food processor, blend the graham crackers until finely ground.  Add butter and 1 tablespoon of water, and blend until the mixture begins to clump together.  Press the crumb mixture into the pie pan and up the walls of the pan about 1/2 inch.  Bake for 10 minutes and set aside to cool.

While baking the crust, in a small bowl dissolve the gelatin in 3 Tablespoons of water.  Combine the milk and eggs in a medium sized bowl.

Add the flour, sugar, milk, and egg mixture to a medium sized sauce pan, over medium heat.  Whisk the mixture so the flour and sugar dissolve, continue stirring about 10 minutes or until the mixture comes to a boil and has thickened slightly.  Add food coloring here if desired.

Lay sliced bananas in pie crust and then pour the pudding mixture over the bananas.  Let set in the fridge for about 3 hours.

You may serve with whip cream, but I think its quite good on its own :)