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This is the dessert I prepared for Chef Emeril Lagasse when I cooked him a meal at my home in Nashville, and he prepared it for me at his New York studio to prove he could make it, too. I also made this during my first visit on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and actually fed banana pudding to Ellen. She loved it.

Custard

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 cups evaporated milk

3 eggs, separated

1 stick butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 or 4 bananas

vanilla wafers

Mix sugar and flour in a saucepan. Separate eggs, reserving the whites for meringue. Stir yolks with a fork until well blended. Place saucepan on low heat, stirring often until custard forms and the mixture thickens. Remove from heat. Add butter. Allow to cool. Add vanilla.

Line a 9" x 5 1/2" x 2 1/2" glass baking dish with vanilla wafers. Slice bananas over wafers. Repeat twice. Pour cooled custard over wafers/bananas.

Meringue

cream of tartar

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3 egg whites left from custard

Pre-heat oven to 350°. Add a couple sprinkles of cream of tartar to 3 egg whites, left from custard. Using an electric mixer, beat until frothy. Continue beating, adding 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Spread over top. Bake until brown for 10 or 15 minutes.