Wild Mushroom Flan With A Warm Spinach Salad

2 Tablespoon Olive oil
1 Pound Wild and exotic mushrooms; stemmed, cleaned, and sliced
1/2 Cup Minced onions
4 Teaspoon Chopped garlic; divided
1 Teaspoon Chopped thyme
1 Teaspoon Chopped parsley
8 Eggs
1 Quart Heavy cream
1 Cup Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/4 Teaspoon Nutmeg
Salt; to taste
Freshly-ground black pepper; to taste
6 Ounce Raw bacon; chopped
3 Tablespoon Balsamic vinegar
1/2 Cup Julienne red onions
10 Ounce Spinach - (1 bag); cleaned, stemmed
1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter twelve 4-ounce ramekins. In
a saute pan, heat the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the mushrooms and
saute for 2 minutes. Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper. Add the
onions and tablespoon of garlic. Saute for 1 minute. Remove from the heat,
stir in the herbs and cool. In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and cream
together. Stir in the cheese, nutmeg, and mushroom mixture. Spoon the
mushroom/cream mixture into the ramekins. Place the ramekins in a baking pan
and fill the pan with enough water to cover 1/2 of the ramekins. Place the
pan in the oven and bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until the flan is set. In a
saute pan, render the bacon until crispy, about 10 minutes. Turn the crispy
bacon and bacon fat into a mixing bowl. Whisk in the balsamic vinegar.
Season with salt and pepper. Toss the spinach and red onions with the
vinaigrette. To serve, run a knife around each ramekin, invert each flan
onto a plate. Mound a small amount of the spinach salad in the center of
each flan. This recipe yields about 12 servings.