Flan And Mojitos Courtesy Ballet Hawaii

Septime Webre

Five years ago, artistic director and famed choreographer for the Washington Ballet, Septime Webre, was invited by Ballet Hawaii to bring his production of Peter Pan to the stage at Neal Blaisdell Concert Hall. He gladly accepted and was immediately captivated by the islands of Hawaii. Since then he has staged Alice In Wonderland and Cinderella, to both critical and audience acclaim.

Webre is much in demand as a choreographer; as a dancer, he was featured in works by George Balanchine, Paul Taylor, Antony Tudor, Alvin Ailey and Merce Cunningham.

Webre is now bringing the crowd-pleasing, swash-buckling story of Peter Pan back to Honolulu Aug. 8-10, with such characters as Tinkerbell, Captain Hook, Crocodile and mermaids on surfboards! Webre says, “Peter Pan really is for everyone — an iconic tale that speaks to the child in all of us. For the adults, there is virtuosic talent and humor, and for the kids a high-flying adventure they’ll never forget.”

The seventh son of a Cuban mother and French father, Webre was the first child in the family to be born in the United States, but says Cuban culture was at the center of his home life. Every Christmas Eve, they celebrate with Noche Buena, the traditional Cuban feast. Here he shares one of his favorite recipes from that dinner, along with his specialty, the traditional Mojito.

Delicious Cuban Flan

Preheat the oven to 385 degrees

In a blender mix

* 3 cups milk
* 5 eggs
* 1 cup sugar
* 2 teaspoons Mexican vanilla (regular vanilla extract will do)

Put half a cup of sugar in the bottom of a loaf pan and caramelize it over a medium flame until melted. Then, pour the milk/egg/sugar/vanilla mixture over the caramelized sugar, place the loaf pan in a larger pan with water in it (a bain marie) and bake for 2 1/2 hours in a 385-degree oven.

Let the flan rest for 5 minutes, then turn the pan over on to a plate and serve warm or cold.

Septime’s Mojitos (makes a large pitcher)

Pour freshly squeezed lime juice in a measuring cup to 5 ounces. Add white sugar until the mixture reaches 8 ounces. Stir this mixture until the sugar dissolves (or use simple syrup). Muddle 20-40 fresh mint leaves into the lime/sugar mixture.

Put mixture in a large pitcher. Add 2 cups of white rum and 4 cups of seltzer or club soda.

Add the secret ingredient — 16 dashes of Angostura Bitters.

Chill and serve over ice with mint to garnish.

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