On the Clarke side of the family, we’ve been celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas in one fell swoop for the last few years.  This year we did it at a community center in Monticello, which we rented for the afternoon because it’s easy for my grandparents to access, and their apartment isn’t big enough for our whole gang.

Here are some of the shenanigans that ensued.

[flickrvideo]http://www.flickr.com/photos/aprille/4142750950/[/flickrvideo]

I got an audio recording on my phone of Miles listing off the various nicknames people have for him.

[videofile width=”300″ height=”16″]http://www.aprille.org/media/Memo.m4a[/videofile]

Transcript:

Aprille:  Miles, are you Daddy’s little…?

Miles:  No.

Aprille:  You’re Daddy’s little…?

Miles:  NO.

Aprille:  You’re not?

Miles: MO-EY! (more–he wanted to play with the iPhone some more)

Aprille:  But we have to record something so we can listen to something.  Are you Skittergramps’ little…

Miles:  No.

Aprille:  Are you Uncle Tyler’s little–

Miles:  PAL!

Aprille:  Yes, and Skittergramps’ little…

Miles:  Mi-nu (Mileo).

Aprille:  Yes, and Mama’s little…

Miles:  Mu– bebbeh.

Aprille:  Yeah, and Daddy’s little…

Miles:  Boo-boo.

Aprille:  Yeah!  And Mubby’s little…

Miles:  Muh (Muffin).

Aprille:  That’s right.

Banana Pudding Pie, from Country Living Magazine

Crust:
50 vanilla wafers
2 tablespoon dark brown sugar
2 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon sea salt (more if using kosher salt)
5 tablespoon melted butter
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling:
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon powdered gelatin (optional:  see note.)
1/4 cup cold milk
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup milk
1 vanilla bean, pod and scraped seeds
1 1/2 teaspoon butter
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup fresh whipped cream
5 tablespoon caramel sauce, plus extra for garnish
3 medium bananas, sliced

1.  For the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Crush vanilla wafers and toss with brown sugar, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, and sea salt. Stir in melted butter and vanilla extract and press mixture into a 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

2. For the filling: Chill a medium bowl over a larger bowl filled with ice water and set aside. In another bowl, whisk egg yolks, cornstarch, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and sea salt together until very thick and light in color. Set aside. Sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 cup cold milk. Let sit for 5 minutes.

3.  Bring heavy cream, remaining 3/4 cup milk, and vanilla bean to a boil in a medium pot. Remove from heat, slowly whisk cream mixture into reserved egg mixture, pour back into pot, and stir over medium-low heat until it reaches a boil. Pour into chilled bowl, remove vanilla bean pod, and stir in gelatin mixture, butter, and vanilla extract. Let cool and fold in whipped cream.

4.  Spread caramel sauce over crust. Line with 2 1/2 bananas and top with pudding. Chill for 2 hours. Decorate with remaining banana slices and caramel.

Note:  this never set up very well for me, so I ended up serving it frozen.  It was good, but next time I hope it sets up better.  I think I might have screwed up the gelatin part.  That said, you could make it vegetarian by skipping the gelatin and freezing it.