Adventures in LA, Cuidad and Ojai: Cajeta Flan with caramel
My quest for the perfect Cuban sandwich led Bob and me to Cuidad in downtown LA. Cuidad, opened twelve years ago by the Feniger/Milliken team, will close for a month and re-open as a downtown Border Grill. As we've loved Cuidad's food over the years, we wanted to sample the menu one last time. Although the Cuban sandwich at Cuidad was double the cost of the Versailles version it wasn't quite twice as good, but it was definitely better. The cheese was oozy, the ham smokey, the pork loin slices tender, the pickle/yellow mustard balanced just right, and the bread...oh, the bread. Much better, soft in the middle—chewy not cakey, yeasty, and crispy to the bite. Bob had excellent Baja-style fish tacos and we shared an appetizer plate of stuffed pequillo peppers, spinach empanadas, and mango ceviche. Imagine our delight, stuffed as we were, when our server brought out a slice of cajeta flan with caramel sauce. This silky, creamy, luxurious flan is made with goats' milk, eggs and half & half.
Cajeta Flan with caramel (from Epicureous.com)
For the caramel:
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
For the flan:
1 (10-to 11-ounces) jar cajeta (goat’s-milk caramel; about 3/4 cup)
2 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 (1-inch-wide) strip of lemon zest
1/2 vanilla bean
3 whole large eggs
4 large egg yolks
Equipment: one 9-10" glass pie pan
Accompaniment: whipped cream
Make caramel:
Bring sugar and water to a boil in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved, then wash down any sugar crystals from side of pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. Boil, without stirring, swirling pan occasionally so caramel colors evenly, until dark amber. Coat bottom of glass pie pan with half the caramel. Add a small amount of water to the other half and simmer until caramel is pourable.
Make flan:
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
Put cajeta, half-and-half, and lemon zest in a heavy medium saucepan. Split vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape seeds into saucepan, then drop in pod. Bring to a simmer, stirring until smooth.
Whisk together whole eggs and yolks in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in hot liquid, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve into another bowl. Ladle custard into round 9" baking dish.
Bake in a hot water bath until edge is set but a quarter-size spot in center is still wobbly, 30 minutes.
Remove dish from water bath and cool at least 30 minutes (custard will continue to set). Unmold just before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature on a puddle of caramel with extra drizzled on top.
Day Trip to Ojai
The next day we hooked up the Garmin and drove to Ojai, about one and a half hours northeast of LA. Ojai is a distinctly Southern Californian village: home to artists, new age musicians, alternative medicine practicitioners spiritual seekers, the woo woo is nicely balanced by golfers, wine buffs, and shopping tourists. Above Ojai near Santa Clara is Meher Mount, the Meher Baba spiritual center, our destination. Garmin efficiently guided us off the 405, through miles of vegetable-laden fields and up a a smooth, winding road to a hilltop sanctuary. The stillness was deafening—we'd forgotten how quiet the outdoors can be.
We sat at the edge of the cliff in the warm sun, watched the hawks wheel across the blue sky, and stored up as much tranquility as we could hold. Back in the car, down the mountain, and into the controlled chaos of Los Angeles traffic, we pulled onto our street, ready to face another California week.
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