Maggie's Flan

We chose Maggie as our third Kitchen Goddess for a couple of reasons.  First, I heard from her daughter that her food is the real reason why friends come over, which is definitely one of our requirements. Then I learned that her flan won a contest at Maggie's law firm in Miami.  If a group of demanding litigating Cubans choose your flan as the best in a tasting contest, it has to be good! 

Maggie is a typical Cuban woman, fun loving, headstrong, voluptuous, beautiful, and finds any excuse para fiestar, bailar y comer. (party, dance, and eat) And THAT is how she stays beautiful, she burns those flan calories pachangueando! (partying)

With this blog post today I honor yet another cook who has been doing it for her family for years simply for the satisfaction of hearing others say: ¡Maggie, ño que rriiicooo!

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In North America we say "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger".  The Cuban version is, lo que no mata, engorda, what doesn't kill you, makes you fatter.  Maggie's simple yet sinful flan does exactly that!  When I shot this on Friday we kept eating "little" bites here and there, and although I felt my veins clogging up and my heart beating extra fast, I survived, with a couple of extra pounds!

The reason we HAD to taste it was because our food stylist Yvonne Clark, had made a couple of variations for us, one lighter than the other.  For the "darker" version she cooked the sugar a few minutes longer, being careful not to burn the sugar.  Either way it was delicious but I LOVE that deeper caramelo flavor.  As a result we ran into a little problem, we almost ran out of flan to shoot!  

The recipe is super simple.  When possible, try to make it with whole, organic ingredients, it makes a difference.

Yvonne, Kristen, and I, hope you enjoy it as much as we did.  Let us know if you survive, in the Cuban sense.

 Click on image for recipe.