Creme caramel

Set a skillet wide enough for a water bath in the oven.

Dry caramel: on high heat, scatter a thin layer of sugar over the saucepan and wait for it to melt from granules to clear liquid; sprinkle on further thin layers, then stir as it turns golden, avoiding clumps. Take it fairly dark for bittersweet contrast without burning.

Pour the caramel into the pie plate and tilt quickly to coat the surface before it hardens.

In the same saucepan add two cups of whole milk and a half teaspoon of kosher salt and bring slowly to a simmer without boiling over; the stuck caramel dissolves into it.

Crack four whole eggs, add another half cup of sugar and whisk well.

Preheat the oven to 325 and boil water in a kettle for the water bath.

Slowly pour the hot milk into the eggs, whisking, to raise their temperature gradually and prevent curdling. Add two teaspoons of vanilla extract.

Pour the custard gently into the pie plate, set it in the skillet in the oven and pour hot water most of the way up the sides without letting it into the custard.

Bake gently, probably 35 to 40, until it has a wobble (the whole thing moves together) rather than a jiggle (ripples); a jiggle needs longer.

Let it cool in the water bath until no longer hot, maybe 30 minutes, then chill at least an hour or two.

Cut around the sides to loosen, flip onto a plate, slice and spoon the caramel juices over.