Yogurtsoda Gratuitous food and travel.

i present to you a series of (mostly) cooking disasters i had a couple of weeks ago. it’s bound to happen every once in a while.

panko-breaded chicken sandwiches with artichoke tapenade. this would have been delicious were it not for the poor quality of bread. proof that bread can make or break a dish.

panzanella. this was actually pretty good, but as soon as the homemade garlic croutons went in sogginess ensued.

chipotle-corn salad. the ingredients made it seem like i couldn’t go wrong but it tasted so acidic and hot that the whole dish was ruined.

plantain tamales. at least they were supposed to be. the texture and taste was completely off, and in the end i had to throw it out. first time i’d ever had to do that. usually i can salvage flavors gone wrong.

pudim flan. this was actually delicious. i’ll make it again and again.

here’s the recipe for the flan:

1 cup sugar
1 cup plus 2 T milk
3 eggs
grated zest from 1/2 lemon

1. preheat oven to 325 degrees. put 1/2 cup of the sugar and 3 T water into a small heavy-bottomed saucepan, cover, and boil over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves, 2-3 minutes. uncover and cook until sugar turns a deep amber, about 5 minutes. working quickly, carefully pour equal amounts of the hot caramel into four 1/2 cup custard molds, then swirl caramel to coat insides of molds halfway up sides and set aside.

2. heat milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat until hot. whisk together egs, the remaining eggs, the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, and lemon zest in a medium bowl. gradually whisk in hot milk. divide between prepared molds.

3. arrange custards in a medium baking dish. add enough boiling water to the dish to reach halfway up sides of molds. tranfer to over and make until custards are just set and centers are slightly soft when molds are jiggled, about 45 minutes. remove molds from water bath, allow to cool briefly, then refrigerate until cold, about 3 hours.

4. to serve, run a small knife around inside edge of each mold and invert custard onto a dessert plate, pouring caramel on top.