Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Raspberry Gelee

Over the weekend, my school had "Nite Lites", its big, annual benefit.  It's lots and lots of fun every year- definitely a can't miss event!  The entire school is transformed for dinner, drinks, music, and fun in a theme more and more creative than the year before.  This year, the theme was "Night at The Museum" and I was amazed at all of the fun and festive touches- reproductions of famous paintings created by our junior high art students, an Easter Island head built by one of the dads, and of course, a huge T-rex "skeleton" was on display.  Everything looked awesome!

As in previous years, I was asked to do desserts for the event.  Also as in previous years, I waited a little longer than I should have to start making the desserts.  Someday I'll learn my lesson not to wait to the last minute, but I have to admit that I was pretty happy with how my treats turned out.  I went with my standby- buttermilk panna cotta- because it is simple to put together, the recipe multiplies easily, and you can adapt it in countless ways to create an impressive dessert (see my recipes for panna cotta with balsamic strawberries and panna cotta with cranberries and cinnamon shortbread).  For Nite Lites, I topped the panna cotta with a layer of raspberry gelee and garnished it with fresh raspberries, a mint leaf, and a mini meringue kiss.  I dipped the bottom of each kiss in a layer of white chocolate and let the chocolate set fully before garnishing.  This meant that the meringue wouldn't get soggy sitting on top of the dessert.  The desserts turned out really tasty and were simple enough for the procrastinators (like me) who wait until the night before!

Buttermilk Panna Cotta
*Makes 12!

Ingredients:
3 cups buttermilk
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
2 cups cream
2/3 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla bean paste

Directions:
-Pour buttermilk into a mixing bowl and set aside.
-Bloom gelatin in the water and set aside.
-In a medium saucepan, combine cream and sugar.
-Bring this mixture to a simmer.
-Remove from heat, add vanilla, and incorporate bloomed gelatin fully.
-Strain this mixture into the buttermilk.
-Cool slightly.
-Pour panna cotta into glasses or punch cups and chill until set (3-4 hours).

Raspberry Gelee

Ingredients:

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

2 Tbs. cold water

16 ounces raspberries, fresh or frozen
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Directions:
-Bloom gelatin in the water and set aside.
-Puree raspberries and use a fine mesh strainer to strain out the seeds.
-Combine puree with sugar in a medium saucepan.
-Bring to a simmer, stirring often to dissolve the sugar.
-Remove from heat and incorporate bloomed gelatin fully.
-Once gelatin is dissolved, pass the gelee through the fine mesh strainer set over a clean mixing bowl.
-Allow gelee to cool slightly before portioning equally over the chilled and set panna cottas.
-Refrigerate until raspberry gelee is set.
-Serve with fresh raspberries, mint leaves, and meringue kisses, if desired.

My Dinner with Charlie Baggs (and LeCreuset Winner!)

Thanks to all who entered the first ever Kitchen Notes Giveaway!  Who knew that having a contest could be so fun?  To select the winner, I used Random Integer Generator...

...and the winner is comment #10, Laura.  Congratulations, Laura!  The cobalt blue bakeware set is yours!  Please email me at meghanscarsella@yahoo.com with your contact information and I'll send the prize your way.

Now, on to the next matter at hand- my dinner with Charlie Baggs!  You may or may not have heard his name before, but I guarantee, he's had an impact on what you eat.  Charlie runs a food service consulting firm specializing in product and flavor development, culinary training, and nutritional labels for a wide variety of big-name companies and restaurants.  His clients include Gerber Baby Food, Tyson Chicken, Tropicana, and Hershey's, just to name a few!  Mike and I, along with our friends Matt and Lindsay, had the opportunity to have dinner, prepared by Charlie and staff, in his research kitchen.  What a treat it was!

Charlie and his staff set a beautiful table and dotted the kitchen with votive candles and bunches of flowers.  We were greeted with some canapes and shooters of butternut squash soup.  Then one of Charlie's chefs, Adam, served as mixologist and whipped up some amazing cocktails using Hum Spirits to start the meal, as well as a trio of non-alcoholic libations to be paired with the amuse bouche.  For the life of me, I can't remember what each one was, but they complemented the flavors of the amuse perfectly!

As we were seated for the meal, Charlie and Katie, his intern from Kendall College, were hard at work finishing  and plating the meal.  They didn't at all object to me nosing my way into the kitchen to take pictures and ask questions.  It's always fun to watch the chefs at work!

On the menu for the evening?

1. Arugula salad with shaved fennel, blood oranges, avocado, spiced pumpkin seeds, and a citrus vinaigrette.

2.  Pan-seared whitefish and asparagus puree with slow roasted eggplant and tomato sauce.

3.  Roasted chicken, flank steak with chimichurri, whipped potatoes, and roasted vegetables.

4.  Cheese plate with dried fruits and spiced nuts.

The meal was amazing- focusing on flavorful presentations of simple ingredients.  The highlight of the meal, aside from having Charlie's 10 year old son as our special guest and honorary server, was the dessert.  They prepared a s'mores pudding parfait, which was so delicious and as I learned later, quite easy to put together.  Chase, Charlie's son, generously shared a copy of the recipe with us and I think it is the perfect dessert to serve when company comes.  Try it for yourself and see what I mean! 

S'Mores Pudding Parfait

From The Hershey Kitchens

Ingredients:

1 package (4-serving size) vanilla cook&serve pudding and pie filling mix*

1 cup Hershey's semi sweet chocolate chips

1 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs, divided

Toasted miniature marshmallows

Directions:

1.  Prepare pudding mix as directed on package.

2.  Remove from heat.  Immediately add chocolate chips and stir until melted.

3.  Cool 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4.  Pour into bowl and press plastic wrap directly onto surface.  Refrigerate 3-4 hours or until cold.

5.  To assemble each parfait, place 2 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs in bottom of each dessert or parfait glass.

6.  Top with 3 tablespoons chocolate pudding.

7.  Place 1 tablespoon graham cracker crumbs on top, followed by two more tablespoons of chocolate pudding.

8.  Just before serving, garnish with toasted miniature marshmallows.  (Katie simply placed the marshmallows on top of the dessert and toasted them with a kitchen torch)

9.  Serve immediately!  (Makes 6)

First Ever KitchenNotes Giveaway!

Eeek!  How is it April 15 already?  Time has just flown by and I can't believe I haven't posted anything here on KitchenNotes for over two weeks.  Between sunning and swimming with my family in Florida over break and then coming back to find that my laptop's hard drive had crashed (don't get me started on that one), I guess I've been a little preoccupied...

 It's nothing that a giveaway can't cure, though!  That's right- KitchenNotes is having a giveaway for the first time ever and I happen to think the prize is pretty great.  I am an unabashed fan of all things LeCreuset, so the lucky winner will get a LeCreuset Bakeware set in the color of your choice.  The set includes a 9-inch and 5- inch stoneware baking dish in either Caribbean, Cobalt, Cherry, or Kiwi.  I'm awfully partial the caribbean and I use my set for just about everything- especially for whipping up a quick tiramisu.

This fun little contest is thanks to CSN Stores.  You might be familiar with their site, Cookware.com, because of the amazing array of all things kitchen-related (and their great sales).  In my opinion, they have an especially good selection of LeCreuset.  Beyond that, I'm pretty sure CSN sells everything under the sun- dinnerware,  grills, even home bars - and has a BBB rating of A+, so you can online shop in peace!

I encourage you to check out the CSN sites, but to win my contest, all you have to do is leave a comment here on KitchenNotes with your first name, last initial, and the LeCreuset color you like most (caribbean, cobalt, cherry, or kiwi).  Easy, right?

The deadline for entering is Saturday, April 17 at 11:59 P.M.  

I'll choose the winner randomly on Monday, April 19 so be sure to check back and see if you won.  Good luck and thanks for stopping by!