First Flan

Seriously, what was I thinking when I told my dinner company to name their dessert? Flan was the order, and although I have never made it, I'm thinking: it is just custard, my mother made it and she never could make a pie, it has to be easy. Wrong. Then there are about a billion recipes for it out there, and it took me forever to decide which one. Those of you who have done this before know that the first step is making the caramel sugar that goes on the bottom of the pan but eventually ends up on the top. That proved to be a problem. Batch #1 burned, and batch #2 stuck to the pan and hardened before I could spread it. For batch #3 I went to a different recipe and it boiled for a half hour before I realized it was not going to caramelize so it got thrown out. Batch #4 was back to the original recipe but using more of the ingredients. That got into the bottom of the pan. The custard part wasn't so hard and the dessert is cooling in the refrige as we speak. I am hoping that my company arrives soon because I am eyeing the liquor cabinet and definitely ready for a restorative beverage!