Cooking for Zo

Ingredients:
Pudding
3 ripe bananas (peeled, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs (separated)
22 vanilla wafers
1/2 cup 2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 cups half and half
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 pinch cream of tartar

Meringue
3 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 (7-oz.) jar marshmallow crème

Pudding
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a small bowl toss together banana slices and lemon juice, set aside until ready to use.

In 3 qt sauce pan combine 1/2 cup of  sugar, flour and salt. Fold in egg yolks and whisk to combine. Gently whisk in half and half, 2 tbsp brown sugar and ground cinnamon, continue to whisk until throughly combined.

Heat ingredients in sauce pan over medium low heat while stirring constantly until the mixture reaches 175 to 180 degrees (5 to 10 minutes, the mixture should begin to thicken and bubble around the edges.) Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the vanilla extract.

Spread a small amount of the pudding into the bottom of an 1 1/2 quart glass mixing bowl. Cover with a layer of vanilla wafers, followed by a layer of banana slices. Pour 1/3 of the remaining pudding on top of the bananas and repeat, (but this time make a layer with chessmen cookies), ending with a layer of pudding Sprinkle with 1 tbsp brown sugar.

Marshmallow Meringue Banana Pudding
Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites, vanilla and salt at high speed until foamy. Gradually add sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks have formed. Add 1/4 of marshmallow creme to the egg mixture and beat until smooth (about 1 minute.)  Continue until all marshmallow creme has been used.

Spoon the meringue over the warm pudding, making sure to cover all the way to the edges. Bake at 400 degrees or until the meringue is evenly browned, (8 to 10 minutes.) Remove the pudding from the oven and cool for 15 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

(To store, cool completely and refrigerate up to 3 days.)