Southeast
White chocolate banana cream pie is infused with a shot of banana liqueur — and nostalgia!
Greenville, South Carolina, offers quite the culinary scene.
Yes, inventive southern fare abounds — but even at Soby’s New South Cuisine (Sobys.com), it’s fun to go a little old-school.
In this case, it comes in the form of a riff on a classic banana cream pie — one made with white chocolate.
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It’s the best-selling dessert on the menu since the restaurant opened in 1997.
“What makes this dessert so amazing is how rich and decadent it is, yet it seems so light when you are devouring a giant slice of it,” chef Rodney Freidank, corporate chef, Soby’s New South Cuisine, told Fox News Digital.
“It’s like the Krispy Kreme doughnut of the pie world.”
The beloved southern eatery, Soby’s New South Cuisine, is sharing its sweet secrets: Check out this delicious white chocolate banana cream pie. (Soby’s New South Cuisine)
The beloved local eatery makes the pies in-house daily to ensure the bananas don’t turn brown. It only uses fruits at their peak ripeness.
“That extra shot of banana liqueur doesn’t hurt either when it comes to building the flavor of the pie,” added Freidank.
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In a pinch, Freidank said the filling could be made in a store-bought pie shell.
While there’s something about the magic of making homemade pie dough, going the shortcut route may work best for some.
This creamy pie is one that you will want to share with friends and family at your next gathering. (iStock)
Either way, grab a cup of French Press coffee or your favorite bourbon to chase with this dessert — and get the recipe below.
White Chocolate Banana Cream Pie by Soby’s New South Cuisine
Makes 8-10 servings
Prep time: About one hour if making pie shell
Cook time: 16-18 minutes
Take this dessert to the next level by making your own buttery, crumbly tart shell. (iStock)
Ingredients
Tart shell:
1¾ cups flour
⅔ cup sugar
½ lb butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, chilled
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
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White chocolate pastry cream:
1 vanilla bean, whole
1 cup milk
¼ cup white chocolate chips
3 tbsp cornstarch
¼ cup sugar
¼ tsp salt
2 eggs
Finish off this delectable pie with a bit of a white chocolate garnish on top. (iStock)
Pie:
2 ¼ cups heavy cream
½ cup confectioners sugar
¼ cup crème de banana
1 cup white chocolate pastry
Cream, chilled
6 ripe bananas
1 11-Inch tart shell, baked and cooled
White chocolate, thick piece for garnish
Cocoa powder
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Directions
For the tart shell:
1. Place the flour and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. On low speed, add half the cold butter and mix for 30 seconds, then add the remaining butter. Continue to mix until all the butter is cut into the flour and the mix resembles sand.
Heat your milk on the stove before tempering an egg mixture that will thicken to create a smooth and delicious pastry cream. (iStock)
2. Lightly beat together the egg and the vanilla in a small bowl and add it to the flour and butter. Continue to mix until a dough ball is formed. If the dough does not form a ball after 1 minute, add a few drops of water.
3. Remove the dough from the mixer. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill.
4. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Have ready an 11-inch removable-bottom tart mold.
5. On a floured surface, roll out the dough into a 1⁄8-inch thick circle large enough to fit the mold.
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6. Press the dough into the tart mold.
7. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
8. Bake the crust for 16-18 minutes, or until it is golden brown and crisp.
In order to get the best tasting pastry cream, split open your vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds into the milk along with the pod halves. (iStock)
For the pastry cream:
1. Pour the milk into a heavy-bottomed 2-qt saucepan.
2. Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with the back of a small knife.
3. Add the seeds and pod halves to the milk.
4. Heat the milk until it is about to boil.
5. While the milk is heating, whisk together the cornstarch, sugar, salt, and eggs until smooth.
6. Temper the egg mixture with one-quarter of the hot milk and then add it back to the pan. Whisk to combine. Continue to cook on medium heat, stirring constantly. When the custard thickens, remove it from the heat and whisk in the white chocolate.
7. Pour the pastry cream into a container and place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on top of the cream so no skin forms.
8. Refrigerate until completely cool.
You can make this restaurant favorite dating back to 1997 all on your own, thanks to Chef Rodney Freidank. (Soby’s New South Cuisine; iStock)
For the pie:
1. Whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form.
2. Add the remaining sugar and crème de banana and whip to very stiff peaks.
3. Place the white chocolate cold pastry cream into another bowl and soften by mixing it with a rubber spatula.
4. Slice the bananas into the pastry cream and stir to combine. Fold in the whipped cream.
5. Mound the filling in the middle of the tart shell and smooth it down to the edge.
6. Carefully cut the pie into 8 or 10 slices before garnishing. Using a vegetable peeler, shave enough white chocolate curls to cover the pastry cream. Dust the top with cocoa powder.
7. Serve immediately or refrigerate.
This original recipe is owned by Sobys.com and was shared with Fox News Digital.
For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle.
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Southeast
Wounded National Guardsman beginning to ‘look more like himself,’ remains in acute care: West Virginia gov
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The National Guardsman who was injured after being shot last week in Washington, D.C., is starting to “look more like himself,” West Virginia’s governor said, relaying a message from his parents.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey provided the update Friday evening before attending a prayer vigil in Andrew Wolfe’s honor at Musselman High School in Berkeley County, W.Va., where the recovering 24-year-old graduated from, according to WUSA9.
“His parents report that his head wound is slowly healing and that he’s beginning to ‘look more like himself,” Morrisey said in a statement.
“Overall, the family expects that Andy will be in acute care for another 2-3 weeks but have been optimistic about his progress,” the Republican governor added. “We continue to ask all West Virginians and Americans for their prayers! They are making a difference!”
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The family of National Guardsman Andrew Wolfe, inset, are “optimistic about his progress” after he was shot last week in Washington, D.C., West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said Friday. In the background, on Dec. 4, 2025, the flag on the south lawn of the White House flies at half staff in honor of Sarah Beckstrom of the West Virginia National Guard, who was killed in the attack. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; Department of Justice)
The vigil began Friday with a moment of silence for National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom, a 20-year-old who was killed in the Nov. 26 shooting, WUSA9 reported.
Speaking about Wolfe, Morrisey said, “You are not alone. South Berkeley stands with you, and West Virginia and the whole country are praying for you,” the station added.
During an appearance on “Fox & Friends” on Friday, Attorney General Pam Bondi described Wolfe as a “miracle” who is now “able to open both eyes.”
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Undated file photo of Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the suspect in the shooting of two National Guard soldiers in Washington, D.C. (Provided by Department of Justice)
“Please continue to pray for Andy. I saw Andy. I’ve met with his mom. I talked to his mom constantly, Melody. His dad, Jason. He has a sister, a brother, an eight-month-old niece. They’re all in the hospital with him,” Bondi said Friday.
“He’s a miracle. From day one, his mother, Melody said, ‘My son is going to live. My son is going to be 100%.’ And I can say this because the parents let me. I was there when the doctors all came in the room after they had done an angiogram. He has no blood clots. He’s a miracle. And now he’s able to open both eyes,” Bondi added.
People gather on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, for a vigil in Webster Springs, W.Va., in honor of National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom, one of two National Guard members who were shot in Washington, D.C. (Kathleen Batten/AP)
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The suspected shooter is Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national. He faces charges of first-degree murder and two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed.
Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace and Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.
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Southeast
Murdaugh family housekeeper says white truck ‘haunts’ her from night of murders years later
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The Murdaugh family’s longtime housekeeper, Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson, said a white pickup truck still “haunts” her years after the brutal Lowcountry murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh.
Her book, “Within the House of Murdaugh: Amid a Unique Friendship,” co-authored with Mary Frances Weaver, chronicles not only her close relationship with Maggie Murdaugh but details of the night Maggie and her son Paul were killed.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Turrubiate-Simpson discussed the moment that still troubles her more than four years later, including a white pickup truck she saw near the family’s property off Moselle Road in Colleton County, South Carolina. The property was known simply as “Moselle.”
“The part that really haunts me,” she said, “was not looking into that white truck that was parked out there by the hangar.”
Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson answers questions from prosecutor John Meadors during Alex Murdaugh’s trial for murder at the Colleton County Courthouse Feb. 10, 2023. (Joshua Boucher/Pool via USA Today Network via Imagn)
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She recalled that she initially assumed it belonged to Paul and felt no reason to check it.
“When I heard testimony during the trial where they specified that Paul’s phone was dinging in Okatie, I said, ‘Well, who was driving that truck? Who was driving the white truck? The white F-150?’ That’s one of the main ones that bothers me.”
Disbarred attorney Alex Murdaugh arrives in court in Beaufort, S.C., Sept. 14, 2023. (AP Photo/James Pollard)
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Turrubiate-Simpson said she has often replayed that moment in her mind, wondering why she felt compelled to leave the property through a different gate rather than drive past the kennels.
Maggie and Paul were found dead near dog kennels at the family’s home, police said. The Colleton County Sheriff’s Office said both victims suffered multiple gunshot wounds.
“Perhaps it was like a divine intervention or something that said, ‘No, you need to go out the other gate,’” she said. “I wasn’t worried because the truck looked just like Paul’s truck, so it wasn’t a red flag then.”
A side view of the house at the Murdaugh Moselle property March 1, 2023, in Islandton, S.C. (Andrew J. Whitaker/Pool via USA Today Network via Imagn)
In the book, Turrubiate-Simpson shares several small inconsistencies on the property the morning after the murders that only a longtime confidant would catch.
She told Fox News Digital that Maggie’s car was parked in a spot she had never seen her use.
“Maggie used to always pull up to the left of Paul,” she explained. “But that morning, Maggie’s car was to the right, and it was not close up to the house. It was a little bit further to the right, kind of where the hunting room entrance is. I knew she didn’t put it there.”
The placement didn’t make sense, she said.
“There was no need for her to park there when there were no other vehicles really there.”
Bullet holes in glass at the Murdaugh Moselle property March 1, 2023, in Islandton. (Andrew J. Whitaker/Pool via USA Today Network via Imagn)
‘Oh my God. He did it.’
Turrubiate-Simpson said she had her doubts about Alex Murdaugh’s responsibility in the double murders until bodycam video was played in court.
During the trial, prosecutors played video from Deputy Daniel Greene, the first officer to arrive at the property. Turrubiate-Simpson said her husband encouraged her to watch the video, even though she initially said she had no interest in seeing the crime scene.
“He said, ‘I think you need to watch at least a little bit of it,’” she said.
When the camera briefly passed the family’s black Suburban, she immediately recognized a towel.
“I saw one of the towels that I had washed, that was going to be going back to Edisto [Murdaugh family’s island getaway],” she said. “In a glimpse, something caught my eye.”
Alex Murdaugh talks with defense attorney Jim Griffin during a jury-tampering hearing at the Richland County Judicial Center Jan. 29, 2024, in Columbia, S.C. (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post And Courier via AP, Pool)
She said she immediately asked her husband to rewind.
“And I told my husband, ‘Go back, go back, go back.’ He’s like, ‘What’s going on?’ I said, ‘Go back to the truck, go back to the truck.’ So, he’s steady going back, and I’m thinking, ‘Oh my God.’ I said, ‘He did it.’ And, at that point, my husband said, ‘What are you talking about?’ I said, ‘He did it. That was him.’ I said, ‘That towel was going back to Edisto. I had just washed it and set it on top of the shelf.’ I said, ‘He … he … he did it.’
“To me, that towel being there made no sense unless he grabbed it,” she added, suggesting she believed Alex used the towel during a frantic cleanup as he moved between the house and the kennels.
“His demeanor didn’t match up with the nurturing, loving father that I saw within the home.”
A view from the path toward the house of the kennels at the Murdaugh Moselle property March 1, 2023, in Islandton. (Andrew J. Whitaker/Pool via USA Today Network via Imagn)
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In her book, Turrubiate-Simpson floats a theory that Alex may not have acted alone that night, not in the murders themselves, but in the aftermath.
“My theory in the book is that he had help to clean, possibly setting up,” she told Fox News Digital.
The distance between the main house and the kennels, she said, plays a critical role.
“It takes a good few minutes to get back and forth. In the time that they said it was done, there’s just not enough time.”
Turrubiate-Simpson said her theories are rooted in her intimate knowledge of the family’s routines, noting that “there’s no evidence” that she’s aware of suggesting that Alex had help.
“Within the House of Murdaugh: Amid a Unique Friendship, Blanca and Maggie” is a 2024 book by Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson that offers a personal account of her experiences with the Murdaugh family. (Palmetto Publishing)
‘Because of Paul and Maggie’
In her memoir, Turrubiate-Simpson said her purpose was not to fuel speculation, but to remind the world of Paul and Maggie’s lives.
“I wrote this book because of Paul and Maggie,” she said. “I don’t want her forgotten. When they hear his name, I’m tired of hearing just his name. The two victims have been forgotten in all of this.”
A possible new trial
The South Carolina Supreme Court is scheduled to hear Murdaugh’s appeal Feb. 11.
Murdaugh’s team requested a new trial, arguing he did not receive a fair trial because of alleged jury tampering by Colleton County Court Clerk Becky Hill.
Alex Murdaugh, right, is shown here with his family. (Fox News)
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“I think we all deserve a fair trial,” Turrubiate-Simpson said. “If they determine that he did not receive one, then we just must follow through. It’s the law.”
Maggie and Paul Murdaugh’s headstones mark their final resting places in Hampton. (Michael M. DeWitt Jr./USA Today Network via Imagn)
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Turrubiate-Simpson said she doesn’t plan to watch Hulu’s recent dramatization of the Murdaugh saga.
“I’ve watched some documentaries,” she said. “But I don’t feel the need to watch the Hulu series because I lived it. There’s no point in watching something that I already lived.”
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Southeast
Suspect in second Charlotte light rail stabbing ID’d as twice deported illegal immigrant with criminal history
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Court records obtained by Fox News Digital revealed a man charged in a violent stabbing on a Charlotte, North Carolina, light rail on Friday is a criminal illegal immigrant previously deported multiple times.
Oscar Solarzano, 33, of Honduras, was arrested in the stabbing and is charged with attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with serious injury, breaking/entering a motor vehicle, carrying a concealed weapon and intoxicated/disruptive behavior, according to multiple Departement of Homeland Security (DHS) sources and arrest warrants obtained by Fox News Digital.
Bond was not set due to Solarzano’s immigration status, according to a release order filed in Mecklenburg County.
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He was booted from the country by the Trump administration in March 2018 on a deportation order and reentered illegally during the Biden administration at the Texas border in March 2021, DHS sources said.
Solarzano was deported a second time by the Biden administration and reentered illegally as a got-away at an unknown time and location.
Oscar Solarzano, 33, was arrested in a stabbing on a Charlotte, N.C., light rail. (Mecklenburg County Jail)
At about 4:49 p.m. Friday, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) officers responded to a call regarding assault with a deadly weapon.
When they arrived, they found the victim, identified as Kenyon Kareem-Shemar Dobie, with a stab wound, according to warrants.
CMPD noted Dobie was in critical but stable condition when he was taken to a hospital.
A suspect has been arrested in a stabbing in Charlotte, N.C. (WJZY)
Prior to the attack, warrants allege, Solarzano broke into a railroad car “with the intent to commit a felony,” while carrying a large fixed-blade knife.
While intoxicated, he challenged Dobie to a fight, cursing and shouting at others using “unintelligible and slurred words,” according to court documents.
Solarzano has a prior conviction for robbery in the U.S. and prior arrests for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest and false ID, DHS sources said.
Court records indicate he had known aliases, including Solarzano-Garcia, Oscar Herardo and Kevin Garcia.
Solarzano has a scheduled court appearance Dec. 8 and will later be released into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, according to a release order.
He is being provided with a Spanish interpreter, according to arrest records.
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Iryna Zarutska curls up in fear as a man looms over her during a disturbing attack Aug. 22, on a Charlotte, N.C., light rail train. (NewsNation via Charlotte Area Transit System)
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The stabbing attack comes months after Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, 23, was fatally stabbed on a LYNX Blue Line light rail while on her way home from work. Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, who is accused of killing Zarutska, was charged with violence against a railroad carrier and mass transportation system resulting in death, a capital offense under federal law.
President Donald Trump reacted to the news on Truth Social Saturday, saying, “Another stabbing by an Illegal Migrant in Charlotte, North Carolina. What’s going on in Charlotte? Democrats are destroying it, like everything else, piece by piece!!!”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also chimed in, calling out Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles in an X post.
“Apparently, the death of Iryna Zarutska wasn’t enough. What is it going to take for @CLTMayor to remove violent criminals off the streets and protect her constituents?” Duffy wrote. “The time to act is NOW.”
The Department of Homeland Security, ICE and CMPD did not immediately respond to additional inquiries from Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital’s Emma Bussey contributed to this report.
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