Recipe challenge #1: Custard

There's something about scalding milk that's always made me nervous.  There's such a fine line between scalding and burning the milk, and I had that happen to me last week when I made my first ever batch of homemade caramel.  The whipping cream and sweetened condensed milk burned on low heat in less than a couple of minutes, forcing me to pour the first batch down the kitchen sink.
Custard involves scalding milk and egg yolks, and if you're not careful when tempering the two together, you end up with hot milk and scrambled eggs, which can really tick you off since that means the garbage disposal gets fed again, and you don't.  Yeah, yeah - the calories look better on the garbage disposal, but that's not the point...your wasted cash and time is.

Tonight I'll do some reading on the internet and learn about custards, then take the plunge tomorrow morning, but I think I'll start with this one from My Kitchen From Scratch:



Why custard?  Simple: I have five egg yolks that need to be used up, so this seemed like a good recipe to try.  I thought about sable cookies, but the last time I made them, I wasn't impressed with the dry texture.  Creme brulee came to mind, but I don't have a torch to finish up the job.  It's on my list of "kitchen wants", and that list is quite extensive.

Now if I could just win the lottery and properly outfit a kitchen with the gadgets and pans of my dreams....siiiigh.   :)