Girls Night Panna Cotta

 

Monday night is girls night.  Or ladies night, as we sometimes call it.  I got to host tonight, and I was so excited since I've been out of town for a while, and was missing my girlfriends.  Always a super fun and relaxing evening, catching up, telling stories, and snacking on whatever goodies people came up with.  This time I decided to make panna cotta - one of my all time favorite desserts, and a simple one at that.  To liven it up I soaked some fresh raspberries in Grand Marnier, and scooped a few onto each cup.  And it's always fun to get to use the china I found with my mother-in-law at our favorite consignment shop in Phoenix :)

Ingredients
1 pint (2 cups) heavy cream
2 cups milk (I used whole milk, but anything thing will do)
1/2 cup sugar
1 vanilla pod
6 Tbs cold water
2 packets plain powdered gelatin
a drizzle of Grand Marnier and berries for garnishing, if desired

Procedure
In a medium saucepan, combine the cream, milk, and sugar.  (Most recipes call for all cream, but I find that substituting milk for half of the cream tastes just as wonderful).  Split the vanilla pod in half lengthwise, using a small paring knife.  Using the back of the blade, scrape out the tiny vanilla beans and add them to the cream mixture.  Toss in the pod as well.  Heat over medium low heat until the sugar dissolves and the cream is warm to the touch.  No need to let it boil.  Turn off heat.

In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatine powder over the water.  Let stand for 5 minutes.  Stir the gelatine mixture to make sure there are no chunks, then mix it into the warm cream.   Divide evenly into 8 serving dishes.  I used teacups!  Refrigerate for at least 1 hours before serving.

About 30 minutes before serving, toss berries in Grand Marnier and let stand.  To serve, scoop a few berries into each dish.

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