Asparagus Flan w Cheese Sauce Serves 8 (First Course)

Make flan: Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 325. Butter an 8×2″ round cake pan and line bottom with a round of wax paper, then butter paper. Steam asparagus in steamer over boiling water, covered, until very tender, 6-8 min. Puree asparagus in a food processor until smooth, 1 to 2 min. (You will have about 2 cups puree.) Whisk together eggs, milk, cheese, salt, pepper, and nutmeg in a bowl, then whisk in asparagus puree. Pour asparagus mix into pan and bake in hot water bath until flan is set and wooden pick or skewer comes out clean, 50 min to 1 hour. Transfer pan to rack and cool slightly, 10-15 min. Make sauce while flan cools: See Sauces/Cheese Sauce. Run a thin knife around edge of flan to loosen, then invert a serving plate over pan and invert flan onto plate.. Remove pan and discard paper. Cut into wedges and serve immediately with sauce.

Asparagus 2 lb, trimmed
Cheese, Parmesan 2T freshly grated
Egg 4 large
Milk 1.33 c whole
Nutmeg 0.125 tsp freshly grated
Pepper 0.5 tsp
Salt 1.25 tsp