Basic Cream Pie

4 Cups milk
2 Cups half and half
2 TBS butter
1 1/4 Cups sugar, divided
3 egg yolks
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 Cup cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 baked 9 - inch pie shells
Whip cream for garnish

Reserve up to 1 cup milk to mix with the cornstarch later in the recipe. Place remaining milk in top pan of a double boiler: (I cooked the whole thing in a pan and just watched it.) add half and half, butter and 3/4 cup of the sugar. Heat over medium high heat until butter is melted and milk is scalded. In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks well; add remaining 1/2 cup sugar and salt and whisk every well. Slowly add egg mixture to hot milk mixture, stirring constantly for about half a minute; allow mixture to cook for 15 to 20 minutes, stir frequently. (This gives eggs time to cook and start thickening. Undercooking at this point can slow the finishing process by as much as half an hour.)

Mix reserved milk and cornstarch in a small bowl and slowly add to hot mixture, stirring constantly to avoid formation of lumps. Continue to stir for at least 2 minutes, then stir every 5 minutes for 15 to 20 minutes. When pudding is thick, stir in vanilla. Remove double boiler from stove. Pour half of the filling into each pie shell, rounding tops of pies. Cool on wire racks then chill in refrigerator 2 to 3 hours. Top with whipped cream when ready to serve.

I use this recipe mostly for banana cream pie and then I slice 2 bananas and put them in the bottom of the baked shell.