Pure Silk, Pure Delicious, Pure Heaven

Panna Cotta

Recipe courtesy "How to Cook Everything: 2,000 Simple Recipes for Great Food," by Mark Bittman (www.howtocookeverything.com);
illustrations by Alan Witschonke. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., publishers (2008), www.wiley.com.

3 cups cream, or 1 1/2 cups cream and 1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 package (1/4 ounce) unflavored gelatin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or to taste) or 1 vanilla bean
1/2 cup sugar

1. Put 1 cup cream in a medium saucepan and sprinkle gelatin over it; let sit for 5 minutes. Turn heat to low and cook, stirring, until gelatin dissolves completely.
2. If using vanilla extract, add remaining cream and sugar to gelatin mixture and heat gently, just until sugar dissolves; add vanilla and proceed to Step 3. If using vanilla bean, cut it in two, lengthwise. Scrape out seeds; add seeds and bean pod to pot, along with the sugar and remaining cream. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until steam arises. Turn off heat, cover, and let steep for 15 to 30 minutes.
3. Remove vanilla bean, if you used it. Pour mixture into 4 large or 6 small custard cups. Chill until set, about 4 hours. Serve in cups, or dip cups in hot water for about 10 seconds, then invert onto plates. Serve within 24 hours.

Mark Bittman's Panna Cotta Variations

Buttermilk Panna Cotta
Substitute 1 1/2 cups buttermilk for half the cream. Use all buttermilk in Step 1. Proceed with the recipe.

Almond "Panna" Cotta (with almond milk)
Almond milk replaces the cream: Substitute almond milk for the cream, almond extract for the vanilla and 2 teaspoons agar for the gelatin, if you like. In Step 2, use the directions for the vanilla extract. Proceed with the recipe.

Tembleque (with coconut milk)
A Caribbean dessert made with coconut milk: Substitute coconut milk for the cream. Dissolve the gelatin in 1/2 cup coconut milk (as directed in Step 1), combine it with the remainder of the coconut milk, and skip to Step 3. Garnish the unmolded custards with a dusting of ground cinnamon just before serving.

Karo(R) Raspberry Sauce

So Easy!
Recipe Source: Karo(R), Ach Food Companies, Inc. (www.karosyrup.com)
1 (10-ounce) box Birds Eye Deluxe Whole Red Raspberries in Syrup
1/2 cup Karo Light Syrup
Puree raspberries in blender, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve to remove seeds. Makes about 1 1/4 cups sauce.

Source:http://peninsulaclarion.com/arts-entertainment/food/2012-06-13/pure-silk-pure-delicious-pure-heaven