Sombremesa de Banana com Queijo

Here’s something you don’t eat everyday.

I just got home from a dear friend’s wedding/long weekend in Pittsburgh. And while I loved spending time with so many people that I haven’t seen in years, crying tears of nuptial joy, and being treated to multiple sushi dinners by my mom and grandma, this morning, I woke up craving my routine—my morning coffee, hiking, avocado-centric lunches, and the making of foods.

I came across this banana and cheese pudding in the most recent issue of Saveur, and try as I might, I couldn’t resist attempting it. Never mind that I just made a giant layer cake, that Matt and I are “trying to be healthier,” and that I’m deathly allergic to bananas (not true).

Also, Matt and I are moving, (More on this exciting, life-stage leaping development later! No, I’m not pregnant.) and one of the first decisions I made after entering escrow was that this elderly can of sweetened condensed milk that’s been in the cupboard for longer than I’d care to admit will not be making the trip to the new house with us. (That’s right, cupboard lingerers. You know who you are and your time is up.)

Hey, here’s a tip! You might want to stir the sweetened condensed milk and the evaporated milk together before boiling. I combined the two milks, added a cinnamon stick, turned the heat on to medium, and then decided to vacuum the bedroom. Why do I do these things? Also, while we’re on the topic of painful questions: Why must Shawn Johnson retire? What an Olympic-sized bummer.

Point being, if you’re not training for the Olympics, you should make this dessert. It’s the sort of thing Ina Garten would make if she were Brazilian—a dulce-de-leche-esque pudding with bananas and pockets of molten cream cheese, which perfectly cuts all that sweetness. What’s that, Ina? How bad can that be? Well, apart from the super-burnt pan, not bad at all!

Sombremesa de Banana com Queijo (Banana and Cheese Pudding) via Saveur

1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 12. oz. can evaporated milk
1 stick cinnamon
4 ripe bananas, cut crosswise into 2 inch pieces, then lengthwise in 1/4-inch thick slices
12 oz. cream cheese, cubed
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Boil milks and cinnamon stick in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until reduced by half, about 30 minutes; discard cinnamon. Spread 1/3 reduced milk over bottom of an 8x8 baking dish; top with half the bananas and half the cream cheese. Repeat layering, ending with reduced milk; sprinkle with ground cinnamon. Bake until bubbly, about 30 minutes. (A prettier presentation, as they show in their photo—second one from top—might be to layer all of this into individual oven-safe ramekins and then bake them.)