Panna Cotta Classic

Alright, I know I've already extolled the virtues of panna cotta -- the rich, creamy, ridiculously easy Italian dessert -- around these parts, so I won't spend our precious time convincing you to make it. You're already convinced, right? Just need that two-person-sized recipe, right?

Well wait no longer, friends. Take this wonderfully simple recipe from Lynne Rossetto Kasper of the Splendid Table, and just trim it a tad. Lynne adds sour cream just before molding and chilling to lend a real depth of flavor, which works quite well in my humble opinion. This whole thing takes about 15 minutes total (plus a few hours' chilling), and as you can see here, you don't even have to unmold to enjoy.

Vanilla Panna Cotta with Fresh Cherries and a Pomegranate-Cherry Reduction

(Serves 2-3; total time, about 4 1/2 hours [includes chilling])

1/3 tsp unflavored gelatin

2 tsp cold water

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2-3 Tbsp sugar

Pinch salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup sour cream

Fresh cherries, pitted

1 cup pomegranate-cherry juice

2 Tbsp sugar

1. Place water in a small bowl and sprinkle gelatin over. Let stand 5 minutes to soften. Meanwhile, combine the cream, sugar, salt, and vanilla in a small saucepan and set over medium heat. Warm mixture, make sure everything is dissolved, but do not boil! Once combined, stir in gelatin mixture and whisk it in. Take off heat and let sit 5 minutes, then gently stir warm cream mixture into sour cream, a little at a time.
2. Divide between 2-3 ramekins, coffee cups, or other serving dish of your choice. Cover and stash in the fridge at least 4 hours.
3. While your panna cotta is chilling, put the juice and sugar in a small pan over medium heat. Bring to boil and just let 'er rip for a long while, until reduced by 2/3rds and syrupy.
4. Serve panna cottas with chopped cherries and fruit reduction.

Honey-Sweetened Panna Cotta

If you're not already enjoying panna cotta on a regular basis, you need to start STAT. This is a dream of a summer dessert, invented by those sun-drenched Italians, and kicks the pants off the insta-boxes of powdered horse hooves masquerading as pudding. And it is SO easy.

What is it? Well, according to Alan Davidson, panna cotta is "an Italian dessert made with cream and sugar mixed together and brought to a simmer with some added milk and a little gelatin, then moulded and chilled. If a flavouring is used, it should be delicate." Traditionally, it divvied into individual ramekins, then released with a sharp knife and inverted onto your dessert plate. It can be flavored in myriad ways and garnished with fresh berries and compotes, chocolates and caramels, or anything else your sweet tooth is dying to gnaw on.

This recipe uses yogurt (instead of the more traditional milk) which gives it a nice tang, and is made to be eaten straight out of the mold--no inversion necessary. We enjoyed it plain because it was so pure with the natural sweetness of the honey, but would be perfect with some macerated berries or thinly sliced stone fruits.

Honey-Sweetened Panna Cotta

(from Gourmet, July 2008--serves 1-2)

1/3 tsp unflavored gelatin

1 Tbsp water

1/3 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup yogurt (low-/no-fat is fine)

1 Tbsp honey

dash vanilla

1. Put the water into your smallest saucepan. Sprinkle gelatin over top and let soften 1 minute. Whisk in cream and turn on medium-low heat, gently warming until gelatin is dissolved (just a couple of minutes -- do not boil). In a separate bowl, combine yogurt, honey, and vanilla.
2. Off heat, whisk yogurt mixture into cream. Divide between two (very) small ramekins -- or just one for a single serving. Cover and chill at least 3 hours.

Sorry, no pictures. We ate it too fast...