A Failed Attmept

Well, I finally got around to making the Roasted Garlic and Aubergine Custards with Red Pepper Dressing from the cookbook. This was a long and challenging recipe. I don't know why they'd put it in a book of appetizers and party recipes, because it's too complicate for a party. Basically, you have to roast the garlic, grill the peppers, fry the aubergine (eggplant), and finally mix it all together to make the custard. Then, to top it all off, you have to make the dressing, which isn't that hard, but it's still another thing to have to do. Frankly, I think it takes too long to make, and there are too many things that could go wrong. I don't mind making it for myself, or with a bit of help, but if I were having a party, this is not something I'd make for my guests. Also, it's got loads of garlic in it, so even though it tastes good, it'll make your breath reek for the rest of the night and into the morning.

First, here's a picture of the dish from the book:

Now, here's a picture of my completed dish:

Notice a difference?

There are two things that went wrong here. 

1) Too much cream and not enough egg.  I didn't want to make six custards, so I cut the recipe in half.  I made sure to cut everything in half, except maybe the amount of aubergine, but in the end, I don't think that mattered.  The recipe calls for 1/2 pint of cream and 2 large eggs.  I used 1/4 pint cream, and 1 medium egg.  Okay, so I used an egg that may be a couple ounces lighter, but I don't think that made a lot of difference.  I think I should have used two eggs, and probably a little less cream.  I mean, I cooked these things for 10 minutes longer than the recipe calls for, and they still didn't firm up.  I finally gave up because the top was looking all right:

but when I flipped it over, the bottom still needed cooking:

More egg and less cream would have fixed this problem.

2) Look at that picture at the top again.  See how it's all browned and crispy?  Do you know how you make custards?  Do you know what the recipe says?  The way you make custards, and the way the recipe says, is by baking them in a water bath.  This is to ensure that the custard doesn't dry out, and that the custard is cooked at a constant, low temperature.  Do you know what doesn't happen in a water bath?  Crispy, brown edges, that's what.  I don't know how they made what's in the picture, but it wasn't the way they said in the recipe. 

Anyway, I still ate it, and you can't go wrong with cream and garlic, so it was pretty tasty.  Actually, I quite liked the dressing.  It's just roasted pepper, tomato, red onion, roasted ground cumin, olive oil and vinegar.  So it's nothing surprising, but it's still pretty tasty.  I might make that again.

Next recipes: Number 189 from the book: Grilled Scallops with Brown Butter (Where am I going to get unshelled scallops?), and The Yummiest Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies.