panna cotta with raspberry sauce

I had never tasted panna cotta before my sister served it during one of her recent dinner parties. I said no thanks when she offered because milk and cream in a gelatin state just doesn't sound appetizing to me (plus, I don't drink milk) .

I had a flashback to Home Economics class when I was in junior high and the teacher forced me to try some dessert that was milk based. I must be scarred from it because I still can't remember what that dessert was but I do remember the scalded milk taste and I wish I could have spit it out on that horrid teacher for making a spectacle out of the whole situation.

But, my curiousity was peaked when I saw the bright strawberry sauce she had with it. So I tried some off my hubby's plate and I have to admit, it was pretty tasty. Creamy and sweet, not scalded milk tasting and it didn't have a gelatin texture like Jello as I thought it would have.

When I looked up the recipe I was amazed at how easy it is to prepare too which is perfect when you want to wow folks at a dinner party, because this is quite the nice looking dessert. You can make it up to two days before and serve with any type of fruit sauce. I've added the original strawberry/raspberry recipe but since I had no strawberries, I omitted them and just added more raspberries.

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panna cotta with raspberry sauce
yields 4 servings

1 cup milk
1 pkg (7 g) unflavored gelatin
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup whipping cream (35% fat)
1/3 cup granulated sugar

raspberry/strawberry sauce:

1 pkg (300 g) frozen or fresh raspberries
1/2 cup sliced strawberries
2 tbsp granulated sugar

Pour milk into saucepan and mix in gelatin. Let stand for 5 minutes. Warm over very low heat until gelatin dissolves. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla.

In separate saucepan, stir in cream with sugar over medium heat until dissolved and small bubbles form around edges. Remove from heat. Stir in gelatin mixture.

Pour into 4 greased 1/2 cup moulds. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until set. Can be made ahead and refrigerated, covered, for 2 days.

Recipe from: Panna Cotta with Raspberry Strawberry Sauce, The Complete Canadian Living Cookbook.