I have died and gone to flan heaven. OH MY GOODNESS! Esta flan esta' magnifica, y perfecta! I think a previous reviewer who claimed it was not sweet, must have omitted the sweetened condensed milk and used two cans of evaporated instead. I followed the recipe as is, but took the advice of some reviewers in that I added 1 more egg, and a dash of coffee extract along with the vanilla. I baked it in a water bath at 340 degrees (my compromise for the suggested times of 325 or 350) for one hour covered loosely with aluminum foil that had holes poked in it. I then turned off the oven and opened the door a crack, leaving it in there for an additional half hour. Then I let it sit at room temp for an hour and a half and then I put it in the fridge. The most labor intensive part was the sugar carmelization. WORD OF CAUTION: Be really careful stirring the sugar when it starts to liquify.... I splashed some on my hand and sugar burns are nasty. I also whipped all the flan ingredients together in my blender on low speed, and I strained it when I poured it into the dish, but I see no reason to do that, nothing remained in the strainer. Anyhow, this morning I awoke to the MOST magnificent spanish flan I have ever tasted and I brought some in for my coworkers who are mexican and they are now declaring me "La Reina de Flan" or the "Queen of Flan." I would give this 10 stars for taste if I could... and I would still give it 5 stars for preparation... even though it is a lot of work...

Reviewed On: Feb. 19, 2008

This is a wonderful base recipe to use and then tweak it to suit your tastes. I use the ingredients listed, (though I use iceberg lettuce, not romaine), and I add half a bag of shredded salad carrots. I also use the shrimp you buy at the fish counter for salad OR for a special treat I buy the small or medium shrimp that has the tails on and I just remove the tails and toss the shrimp in with the other ingredients. I then add salt and pepper and a small amount of mayonaise. (has to be mayo, the real thing, and not too much, you want to coat it lightly). Go easy on the onions, and chop the radishes nice and thin. YUM-O!

Reviewed On: Feb. 18, 2008

I don't know what I did wrong. I followed the recipe exactly, but the result was blech. I think maybe I don't like basil and oregano, so I should omit those in the future. But other than that, it is a nice easy meal to fix. I just need to adjust the spices.

Reviewed On: Jan. 14, 2008