SMS - I need a Baking Buddy Hug!

WHHAAaaaaaa! I quit! I am never baking again for the rest of my LIFE! That is exactly how I feel right now. I reaaaallly hope everyone else had a better experience then me. Maybe it is the weather, maybe it is just me right now but I seem to be fighting everything that deals with food . . . and I mean EVERYTHING.

Have you guessed yet? The pie was not a success (banana cream pie sadness). The pie filling recipe is great.

Did anyone else have a problem with the pie crust being tough? I babied the whole process; in fact, this is the first time my crust did not dive into slumpy haven. You know, where the sides seem to melt into the pie dish? My crust was tough so the filling was adjusted accordingly. The concern? If the bananas flambe, in a caramel sauce, gets added to the bottom of the pie, the crust will get soggy and disintegrate. My solution?

The custard gets poured into the crust first, the caramelized bananas get poured on top of the custard, the pie sets in the refrigerator to firm up, then the whipped cream flavored with banana liqueur (banana extract is a great substitute) is piped on top.

I will not show you the picture of the bananas floating on top of the custard. Just gross looking! Ugh! What a let down. I didn't even feel like baking (again) and pushed my way through.

Even Shadow is feeling the Kitchen Blues!
The pie sets up, looks terrible and I try to hide the whole disaster with liqueur flavored whipped cream. The bananas being on top is all wrong for texture. Your taste buds revolt instantly!

The homemade vanilla custard was absolutely delicious, if scraped off of the crust (this not about Sweet Melissa's recipe; her recipes are wonderful!) and the bananas get scraped off of the top. Then rescoop the whipped cream back onto the custard and there is dessert!

After I put the pie in the refrigerator to set up, I decide to make the Chipotle burgers for dinner. The onions get sliced with olive oil, coarse salt and freshly ground pepper sprinkled on both sides of the thick slices. Fresh beef steak tomatoes are sliced in thick slices, extra sharp cheddar cheese is sliced up, butter lettuce is washed and set aside, beef patties are already made and the chipotle sauce has been whipped together. My whole ingredient layout looks beautiful. Issue?

I made the pie late, now the darkness outside has set in. No light to BBQ by, except outdoor candles and Larry's propane grill light (his propane grill sits next to MY double-barrel briquette grill). Fine! I'll deal with it. I go outside to start the briquettes - they are damp and do not light. Then the rain sets in. Not a little rain mind you . . . a DOWN POUR! 2 1/2 hours later; still working on lighting my briquettes in the charcoal chimney, Larry goes out, lights his propane grill and sets the charcoal chimney on top of the flames, lights the charcoal up and 10 minutes later I am grilling. Thought I was going to tell you he BBQ'ed the burgers didn't you????

Well, Larry already knows I am stubborn and when I get something in my head that I am going to do, that's it! I am doing it! He ended up getting just as wet as I did . . . and yes, I was Soaked! The burgers and onions were grilled; that is the burgers were almost burnt to a crisp and the onions were under grilled. That was dinner to go with the pie.

This morning, instead of sending banana cream pie in Larry's lunch, I baked up snickerdoodle cookies as quickly as was possible. At least he has fresh cookies and Dagwood sandwiches (that is turkey, roast beef, Havarti cheese, bread and butter pickle slices, slices of tomato, butter lettuce and mayonnaise mixed with mustard and a dash of horseradish sauce on bread) for lunch.
I need a hug!