Flan

Hola! We are leaving L'hexagone and moving on to España! This week we made a traditional Spanish dessert: Flan. This jiggly treat is a heavenly combination of a fluffy egg custard and warm caramel. It's the perfect dessert to make when that pack of stale Oreos and last year's Halloween candy just aren't hitting the spot.

Flan

(adapted from Mark Bittman's "The Best Recipes in the World")

Here's what you need:

-2 cups milk, cream, or a mixture (we used skim milk and, despite our worries, it did not take away from the consistency)

-1 cinnamon stick or 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

-1 cup sugar

-2 eggs

-2 eggs yolks (perfect opportunity to me a healthy egg white omlette afterwards!)

-Pinch of salt

-4 custard dishes

1. Start off by preheating the oven to 350 and boiling a kettle of water. Then put a small saucepan of the milk with the cinnamon over medium heat. Cook for about 10 minutes until it just begins to steam.

2. Then, while it cools off, combine a 1/2 cup of the sugar and a 1/2 cup of water in a small saucepan over low heat. Shake occasionaly (don't stir). The sugar will liquify, and then after 15 minutes or so (it may take a while, be patient) it will turn golden brown.

3. Immediately pour into the bottom of the custard dishes. Then beat the eggs and yolks with the salt and remaining sugar until it thickens and turns a pale yellow color. Remove the cinnamon stick and pour the milk into the egg mixture, stirring constantly.

4. Pour the mixture into the custard dishes

5. Place the dishes in a baking pan and then slowly add water until it rises about an inch from the top of the pan. Bake for about 40 minutes, but check after 30 to avoid overcooking. (Remember you want it to be jiggly!)

7. Put the dishes in a bowlful of hot water to loosen from the dish, then flip onto a plate and dig in!

We invited our friend Jeff over to critique this dish (though he ended up discussing soccer and local politics with Katie's dad more than the food...) and here's what he had to say (sorry about the shaky camera work -- leg ≠ tripod!):

Ratatouille

Our pal Remy was the inspiration for this next dish, Ratatouille. Ratatouille is a French dish originating from the province Nice. It looks pretty gross, but it tastes delicious!

Ratatouille

(adapted from Mark Bittman's "The Best Recipes in the World")

This dish calls for a lot of veggies so we headed off to the Princeton Farmer's Market because local, fresh ingredients always taste better! 

Make sure you have:

-2 large eggplant
-2 medium zucchini
-2 large onions
-2 bell peppers (yellow or red)
-4 medium tomatoes (we used 3)
-2 tablespoons of minced garlic
-1/2 cup chopped basil
-1/2 cup olive oil
-salt and pepper to taste

*These amounts were quite large, so we halved the recipe.

1. Cut zucchini and eggplant into 1/2 inch chunks. Salt liberally and toss in a bowl. Let stand for about an hour.

2. Meanwhile, chop up the rest of your vegetables and herbs. Cut the peppers into thin strips. Peel, seed, and core the tomatoes -- slice thickly. Thinly slice the onions, mince the garlic, and chop the basil.

3. When the hour's up, heat the olive oil and onions in a deep skillet over medium heat. Stir occasionally for a minute, then add the garlic, peppers, eggplant, and zucchini. Combine ingredients, reduce to simmer, and cover for 30 minutes.

4. Add the tomatoes, stir, and re-cover, for another 30 minutes or until the tomatoes are broken down and soft. Then stir in the basil, and salt and pepper to taste.

So, sit back, relax, and eat some Ratatouille while watching the Disney Pixar film!