Lemon Panna Cotta

I can not remember the first place or time I had Panna Cotta. Maybe it was somewhere on Guam? Ah, yes... now I remember. It was Sam Choy's - a Hawaiian restaurant chain. Either way, Panna Cotta is definitely on my top 10 list of favorite desserts. How can you hate a silky smooth mixture that goes down perfectly with a heavier meal? It leaves you satisfied, but not over stuffed. I have always favored custards, puddings, and the like over cakes and heavier desserts.

Imagine to my delight, when I found not only is it good - it is also SO easy to make!? Really, there are no more steps than making Jello; maybe just a bit more measuring. It is perfect for a last minute dessert if you have guests coming over and do not know what to make. All you need to do is simply unmold and throw a few berries on top and voila! you have an easy impressive dessert.

I was rediscovering past issues of Cooking Light when making meal plans and came across a feature on citrus fruits. I do not know why I did not see this before; but, this time this recipe jumped out at me. It took no more than a few minutes to assemble and sat in the fridge while we ate. Afterwards, dessert was ready!

You can really taste the lemon in this, it has a pretty near perfect balance of sweet and tart. I am not entirely sure why the vanilla bean had to be added because I could not detect it. I may just substitute extract next time as to not waste precious beans. Typically, when I serve this to my family I do not fuss with the unmolding, etc. After all, it does not take much to please toddlers.

Recipe may be found here.