Caramel: 1/3 cup sugar

Custard:

• 6 eggs
• 6 tablespoons sugar;
• 2 cups milk, half & half, or cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla.

• Find a larger dish or pan that will contain the flan pan, man. Put water in the larger pan, put the flan pan down into it so that the water surrounds the flan pan. Put them both into an oven on separate shelves and start heating them up to 350 degrees.

• Put the sugar into a small frying pan and heat over moderate heat until the sugar melts and turns to caramel. Shake, don't stir.

• Take the flan pan out of the oven now that it's warm, and pour the hot caramel into it. If the caramel cools and doesn't cover the bottom of the pan, put it back into the oven until the caramel runs all over the bottom.

• Meanwhile, make the custard by mixing the eggs and sugar emulsifiably and adding the milk and vanilla. You can flavor it, too, with chocolate, etc., but you're on your own.

• Take both pans out of the oven, pour the custard into the flan pan and place the flan pan into the water pan, add more water as necessary, and bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. Use the standard custard test (insert a knife and if it comes back dry, its done).

• Remove from the oven, cover, and immediately place in the refrigerator.

• To Serve: remove from the refrigerator and run a knife around the edges, lick the knife and place a large serving plate upside down over the flan pan. TURN OVER BOTH TOGETHER QUICKLY. Remove the flan pan and admire the results.