Somehow, the pleasure of having a Panna Cotta had escaped me till this past week. Frankly, I am not sure how. Even though I am not a fan of custards, flans, Crème Brule and the like, something about a Panna Cotta has always intrigued me.  The talented Tartlette, has made a few Panna Cottas, and I salivate over the thought of eating one. I just never did act on my desires, which is till this past week.

Coming across a Bourbon Panna Cotta in Frank Stitt’s amazing cookbook was the answer to my dilemma; how to finally experience this dessert, while staying true to my mission, cooking Southern food. Of course I should have been so smart month’s ago and thought to add Bourbon to a plain Panna Cotta. Just by having Bourbon on the ingredient list automatically makes it Southern.

This is an easy dish to make, please don’t let the caramel scare you off. The only truly hard part is waiting the six hours or overnight to dig into this creamy vanilla-pecan scented dessert, which finishes off with a kick of Bourbon at the end. Don’t make the same mistake that I did. If you haven’t had a Panna Cotta, run don’t walk to the nearest grocery store to buy your ingredients and get cooking. You won’t want to miss this, trust me.

Frank Stitt- Frank Stitt’s Southern Table

1 cup plus ½ cup sugar

½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons water

4 cups heavy cream

½ cup pecans, toasted and chopped

3 tablespoons good bourbon

2 cups whole milk

2 envelops unflavored gelatin

Set aside eight or ten – 8 ounce custard cups or ramekins.
Combine the ½ cup sugar, lemon juice, and water in a small heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, boiling until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat to medium, brushing down the sides with a wet pastry brush to remove any sugar crystals, and cook, shaking the pan to swirl the caramel, until the caramel is a mahogany in color 10-20 minutes. Do not stir the caramel mixture.

Once the caramel is ready, spoon a tablespoon or so of the caramel mixture into the custard cups and swirl to cover the bottom. Repeat until all the custard cups are coated with the caramel. Set aside while you make the custard.

In a medium saucepan, combine the cream, the 1 cup of sugar, toasted chopped pecans, and bourbon, bringing the mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat. Simmer the custard for about 10 minutes to infuse the cream with the flavor of the bourbon and toasted pecans.

While the mixture is simmering, put the milk in a medium size bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over the top. Do not stir. Let the gelatin soften for about 5 minutes, this will allow a skin to form on the top of the milk.
Pour the cream over the gelatin mixture, whisking to dissolve the gelatin. Strain the mixture into a large bowl or measuring cup. Pour into the caramel lined cups and refrigerate overnight or at least 6 hours.

To unmold, run a knife around the edge of each cup and carefully invert onto a dessert plate. The caramel will have melted some, forming a sauce around the Panna Cotta. Enjoy!