In Pictures: Thanksgiving Dinner, Courtesy of Other Folks

Well, since I am at it, I might as well just put up another post just so that I can say that I posted twice this year! I was invited to a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner this past year with the beau's family. As I've said before, they are quite the gourmands! Here are the dishes that they served during Thanksgiving:

A salad of mixed greens in a light vinaigrette with fresh persimmons slices, loose pomegranate kernels, tangerine segments, and goat cheese rounds encrusted with crushed walnuts;

Gravy!;

Brined turkey roasted in a rosemary butter.

Blanched green beans with grape tomatoes; and

Argentinan flan made with evaporated milk with a liquid caramel sauce.

I need to Google this flan recipe, because it was thick, creamy, and delicious.

Update: I think I just found the mother lode! I just found a fantastic Puerto Rican website called, "El Boricua" that lists two alternative recipes for flan, and both recipes include evaporated milk in the ingredients. For your convenience, I cut and paste[d] the substance of the recipes here, but please check our their website (as they are the source for this recipe).

Traditional Flan with Evaporated and Condensed Milk (Spanish Egg-Custard)
1 can evaporated milk
1 can condensed milk
5 whole eggs
1/2 cup of sugar
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt

1 cup sugar (for the caramel)

Blend all ingredients until completely mixed. Pour the flan mixture thru a metal strainer right into the caramelized pan.

Set the mold in a broiling pan (baño de María). Cook in a 350º oven for one hour. At 30 minutes check to see if it's getting too brown on top--if so cover loosely with foil.

Test the flan to see if it's done by inserting a knife in the center. If the flan is still soft, let it cook longer until a knife inserted again comes out clean. Remove from the oven carefully and let it sit on the counter until it cools. Then cover with foil and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

To serve lay a plate on top of the mold then carefully flip it over and slide the mold off.

Meanwhile, for the stove top caramel, melt 1 cup sugar in a non-stick pan, over low heat. Keep your eye on it. If it burns you will have to start over. It just needs to melt that's all. Using a non stick pan will cause the caramel to just slip off the pan when pouring and it is easy to clean later.

Immediately pour the caramel into a metal pan and swirl it around to cover the bottom and sides. Your have to be quick because once it starts to cool down you don't stand a chance. The caramel should have cooled down before you pour the egg mixture in it.

Alternatively, you can make microwave caramel by placing 1 cup of sugar and 3 tbsps of water in a microwave proof bowl. Microwave for 5 min. and keep your eye on it. Just needs to melt and be slightly golden.

Immediately pour the caramel into a microwavable flan mold (a transparent Pyrex bowl) and swirl it around to cover the bottom and sides. You'll have to be quick because once it starts to cool down you don't stand a chance. The caramel should have cooled down before you pour the egg mixture in it.

Microwaved Flan with Evaporated Milk
1 can evaporated milk
5 whole eggs
3/4 cup of sugar
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt

Blend all ingredients until completely mixed. Pour the flan mixture thru a metal strainer right into a microwavable flan mold. Fill up to one inch from the rim.

Cook the flan uncovered for 8 minutes on high. Test with the knife as you would a cake. Remember that the microwave cooks from the middle out so insert the knife away from the center of the flan. If it comes out clean then it's done. You might need to add a minute or two if 8 minutes wasn't enough. Run a butter knife around the edges of the dish to separate. Let it cool, cover, and then refrigerate in the mold. How easy is that?

Remember that a microwavable flan mold is perfect for a single recipe only. You might need to discard any extra mixture if it is too much. During the microwaving process the flan will rise, but just ignore this because once it is removed from the microwave it will shrink a bit. Always use a microwave safe paper towel under the Flan mold to "catch" any spills. The mold will be hot so be extra careful when taking it out of the microwave. Let it sit on the counter until it cools down then refrigerate.

The flan needs to be cold to serve so it should be refrigerated at least 3 hours. Invert into a deep dish (like a pie plate) so the caramel won't spill out. We tested the recipe above and doubled it and it took 12 minutes to bake in the microwave (in a larger mold) - so don't double the microwave cooking time, just check it after 8 minutes and add 1 or 2 minutes if not yet done.

Buy a nice ceramic pie plate with lid to show off and serve your flan.