For Christmas this past year, my Aunt BB gave me an Italian cookbook that’s been popular for decades.  Patricia Wells’ book chronicles some of her favorite recipes from the best Trattoria’s in Italy.  The first page I opened to happened to be a picture of an Almond-Vanilla Cream dessert, better known as Panna Cotta.  It just looked so perfect and delicious I had to try it first.  I’d never had panna cotta before and the recipe seemed fairly easy.  I thought for sure that strawberries would be the best fruit to pair with the panna cotta since the picture did as well.  But I actually think I preferred the lemon zest and the strawberry with mine.  Next time, I think I’ll try raspberries and probably more lemon zest.

Panna Cotta

Ingredients:
Unsalted butter for preparing the ramekins
4 tsp (about 2 packages) unflavored gelatin
2 cups whole milk
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp pure almond extract
Assorted fresh fruits, for garnish

Directions:
1.  Butter eight 1/2 cup ramekins; place on a tray
2.  In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over 1/4 cup of the milk and stir to blend; set aside until the gelatin completely absorbs the milk, 2 to 3 minutes
3.  In a large saucepan, combine the remaining 1 3/4 cups milk, the confectioner’s sugar, and the cream, and bring just to a boil over moderate heat, whisking to dissolve the sugar
4.  Remove the heat, add the softened gelatin and milk and the vanilla and almond extracts, and whisk to completely dissolve the gelatin
5.  Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a large measuring cup or bowl with a pouring spout
6.  Pour the mixture into the ramekins; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set, about 4 hours (can be prepared up to 1 day in advance; refrigerate until serving time)
7.  To serve, run a sharp knife along the inside of each ramekin, to help loosen the cream; dip the bottom of each ramekin into a bowl of hot water, shaking to completely loosen the cream
8.  Invert onto chilled dessert plates and serve with fresh fruit alongside, such as sliced strawberries, raspberries, cherries, or lemon zest