Riverside has less than six degrees of separation for any group of people. For example, Marilyn and Kurt are friends that I met through Dave Bauman in the early 80s, when they all worked as photographers at the Press Enterprise. I met Dave through JR, who was Kurt’s best friend’s older brother. Kurt ended up being a lifelong friend and is the main food photographer for this book.

Anyway, this group of photographers memorialized important people, places, and events from the early ‘80s to this very day. Photos of Annie from her first day home from the hospital  through her wedding day. They documented my career in Riverside Park and Recreation by photographing dance classes, day camps, and plays. After I retired they even shot the activities of the banner bandits, a rogue political group that may or may not have hung banners on freeway overpasses. 

Marilyn Odello made this dessert to share at Kurt Miller’s Birthday Bash. In my opinion, the creamy custard is so much better than the spongy, wobbly texture you get in traditional Spanish flan. The overpowering sweetness that is sometimes found in flan is avoided by using regular milk in place of condensed milk.  

Marilyn, a great cook in her own right, gets the nod for discovery of this recipe. I am so grateful she shared it with me as It has become a popular dessert at many of dinner parties. 

David Lebovitz – Serves 8

Ingredients for the caramel

• 1 C Sugar
• ¼ C Water
• a few drops of lemon juice
• For the custard
• 8  Large eggs at room temperature 
• 2/3 C Sugar
• 3 ¼ C Whole milk
• 1  Vanilla bean, split lengthwise (or 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract)

Directions

• Lightly butter a 9-inch loaf pan. Have a pan or baking dish with high sides ready, that’s larger than the loaf pan, for making a water bath to bake the custard in. A roasting pan or large baking dish works well.
• To make the caramel, spread one cup of sugar in an even layer in a skillet. Pour the water over it and add a few drops of lemon juice. Cook the sugar over medium-high heat, swirling the pan only as necessary, to let the water moisten the sugar, and so it cooks evenly. (Avoid stirring or over-swirling; excessive movement can cause the sugar to crystallize.)
• When the sugar liquefies, turns a deep amber color, and begins to smoke, remove it from the heat and pour the caramel into the buttered mold. Tilt the mold so the caramel coats the bottom evenly, being careful with the very hot caramel. Set aside to let cool.

Directions for the custard

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.  
• Whisk the eggs and 2/3 cup sugar in a large bowl. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add them to the eggs. (The vanilla pod can be reserved for another use.) Gradually add the milk to the eggs, whisking constantly as you pour.
• When the custard mixture is well-blended, pour it into the prepared loaf pan. Place the custard-filled pan inside the larger roasting pan or baking dish, then pour very warm water into the outer pan or dish until it reaches a little more than halfway up the outside of the loaf pan. Bake the custard in the oven for 1 hour, 20 minutes, uncovered, until the center feels like it’s just barely set.
• Remove the custard from the oven, and let it rest in the water bath for 30 minutes. Transfer the pan with the custard in it to a cooling rack, and let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until completely chilled, preferably overnight.