Rose Panna Cotta

Fresh flowers are easily my favorite way to decorate my apartment, even though my boyfriend doesn't necessarily agree (he has a thing against falling petals). Regardless of what he thinks, I'm getting into the habit of buying fresh cut flowers to place here and there. I love how a simple arrangement can instantly bring an entire room to life, and they always make me smile.

I've used flowers in a few of my food photos before, but I wanted to try to really feature them, instead of just placing them in the background as an accent (clearly a result of working on foraging cookbooks at work). Since I'm not going to be foraging anytime soon (because I live in the concrete jungle and it's a balmy 13 degrees right now), my photos will have to make due with what I can pick up at my grocery store.

And since its Valentine's Day, what better flower to work with than the rose? And since we're all procrastinators (don't deny it--I'm posting a V-day recipe the day before and you're here reading it), what better dessert to work roses into than panna cotta?

Panna cotta is perhaps the easiest dessert ever. It's incredibly hands-off; it takes just a few minutes (like 15 max, and that's including 10 minutes where you're not really doing anything). I've tried many different panna cotta recipes (from chocolate to yogurt to buttermilk), but this one uses my favorite base recipe. Out of all the variations I've tried, this one is the creamiest, richest, and sets the fastest (always a plus). My cousin Angie has been making this version for years. It's normally made with a bit of vanilla extract for flavor, but in honor of everyone's favorite holiday, I swapped it out for a little rose water. Rose water can be a little strong, so don't go overboard with it. I found a teaspoon to be plenty, but even 3/4 teaspoon would be enough to give a nice hint of floral flavor.

This creamy rose water panna cotta is a luscious, indulgent treat to make for your Valentine. And since it takes less than 15 minutes to prepare and needs a few uninterrupted hours in the fridge, it's perfect for making ahead. Valentine's Day is saved!

Rose Panna Cotta
recipe adapted slightly from À La Carte, by María Villegas

Ingredients

For the Panna Cotta

1 cup milk
3 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
2 ⅓ cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon rose water
7 tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt

For the Topping

fresh strawberries, thinly sliced
very finely chopped unsalted pistachios
Directions


Add the milk to a medium saucepan and sprinkle the gelatin on top. Let stand for ten minutes.  In the meantime, prepare an ice bath in a large plastic bowl.  Add the cream and rosewater to a bowl.  

After ten minutes have passed, heat the milk and gelatin over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the gelatin has dissolved. Remove the saucepan from the heat, add the sugar and salt, and stir until dissolved.  

Slowly pour in the cream mixture, whisking constantly.  Transfer the cream mixture from the saucepan to a clean bowl, and place the bowl in the ice bath.  Leave the mixture sit in the ice bath for ten minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has thickened.  After the ten minutes, pass this mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, and then pour into small ramekins or pretty glassware. 

Cover the panna cottas with plastic wrap, and place in the fridge to firm, at least four hours. Serve chilled with a sprinkling of finely chopped pistachios and a few thin strawberry slices.

Serves 6-8

Chocolate Panna Cotta

My obsession with panna cotta has been well documented here. It all started a few years ago when my cousin Angie shared this delectable panna cotta with a simple strawberry sauce. I never thought I could love a dessert without a trace of chocolate as much as I loved that panna cotta. It was just divine! Since then, I've expanded my panna cotta repertoire to include both buttermilk and Greek yogurt versions, and while I love both of those, the original cream and milk only version is still my favorite. Luscious and smooth, it's truly something special.

While I had ventured out of the traditional panna cotta realm before, I never strayed far from the same basic sweet cream flavor. Sure, some versions added a hint of tang, but essentially, it was a similar flavor profile. I hadn't thought about making a chocolate version until recently, and I thought that would be a good place to begin experimenting. I envisioned a super smooth and velvety chocolate treat that was just rich enough to save for special occasions, but not enough that you'd want to skimp out on your share!

White Chocolate and Raspberry Ice Cream

With this crazy winter we've been having over the past few weeks in NY, it feels like V-day has really crept up on us out of nowhere. Can you believe it's this upcoming Saturday? Neither could I until I saw different shades of red and pink taking over my Instagram account last week. It looks like I forgot all about it (again) but hey. There's still a full week before the big day and that's plenty of time to bake up, or in this case, freeze up, something tasty and special to share with someone special.

With all the messy winter weather we've been having, enjoying a scoop of ice cream may be the last thing on your mind. I don't blame you- I'm craving warm, comforting dishes all the time now, but even so, personally, I don't think I'll ever be able to refuse a bowl of that creamy frozen goodness.  Even in the dead of winter, ice cream is still one of my top choices for dessert and comfort food in general. It makes me feel like a kid again, and homemade ice cream is always a special treat. It's creamier and richer than any ice cream you'll buy in the store, and if you make it yourself, the flavor combinations are endless. With Valentine's Day just around the corner, a white chocolate and raspberry ice cream couldn't be a more fitting flavor for the occasion.

Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Woah!  Red Velvet, white chocolate, and pink M&M candies?!  Now if this doesn't scream Valentine's Day to you, I don't know what will.  It's definitely not as subtle as my last two chocolate heavy posts, but I actually think this one might be my favorite.  I'm a huge chocaholic, but I'm also really infatuated with cookies.  I can't ever get enough, and I just find them to be the most comforting dessert of all.  I love cookies for their simplicity and their versatility.  I can get as much enjoyment out of eating a cookie straight up as it is as I can if I choose to crumble it up into a milkshake or use them to sandwich a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  I'm also an enormous fan of M&M candies to the point where I refuse to ever buy them, simply because I know that once I start eating them, I'll have a really hard time stopping myself from eating an entire bag.  However, since it's Valentine's Day and pink M&M's are lining the shelves in supermarkets, I had to incorporate them into some kind of dessert!b

When I was planning my Valentine's Day desserts I knew that I definitely wanted to include something that kids would love for the holiday too, because Valentine's Day isn't just for adults!  I remember when I was little that I loved writing Valentine's Day cards for everyone in my elementary school classes, and Valentine's Day arts and crafts were always a lot of fun.  Even better though were all the Valentine's candy and chocolates that came along with the Valentine's Day cards!  I'm such a sucker for fun-size and holiday theme candy that I sometimes feel like I'm still five years old.  There's just something about a pink M&M or a fun size Kit Kat bar that makes it infinitely better than its regular version.  That might just be me, but it's something I've always felt.  I'm the type of person that still gets excited about chocolate chip cookies with M&M's mixed into them, so in the end, my kid-approved Valentine's Day dessert option was a no-brainer.  Red velvet cookies with white chocolate chips and pink M&M's.  Super Valentine's Day themed, super sweet, super pink and red, but also super good!

Chocolate Raspberry Tart

This past weekend, on Saturday, to be specific, I made you guys a tart.  Not just any tart, but a really good, over the top kind of tart.  The kind of tart where there's lots of chocolate and raspberries, and a good amount of mascarpone whipped cream to balance everything out.  This tart is the stuff dreams are made of, I tell you.  

Valentine's Day is this Friday, and I'm ready.  I'm embracing the holiday like I've never embraced it before, at least in a foodie sense.  I spent a good amount of time contemplating good Valentine's desserts, and I actually had a hard time with it.  All I could think of involved copious amounts of chocolate, strawberries and raspberries, and anything that was originally white turned into varying shades of pink and red.  While there's nothing wrong with any of that, I couldn't help but feel that resorting to something in one (or more) of those categories seemed a little uninspired.  Was I really about to end up making yet another chocolate overload dessert kind of creation?  As much as I hated to admit it at the time, I ended up doing just that.  But then, I decided to just get over myself, and accept this tart that I had just made for what it was.  Pretty. Damn. Good.  Very damn good, actually.

Strawberry Shortcake

Hello and happy Friday, people!  I hope everyone has had a lovely week and is ready to start their weekend!  I haven't had a chance to really put together any sort of concrete plans, due to the upcoming super duper mega snow storm that is supposedly going to hit at some point in the weekend.  Given that there is a very strong chance that I'll be snowed in at some point, I've gone ahead and planned out a list of the things I want to bake during the weekend (what better way to spend a weekend where you're snowed in, right?). Most of the things I have on my list have chocolate and the colors red and pink involved in some way. While I typically tend to ignore the upcoming holiday that falls smack dab in the middle of February, aka exactly a week from today, I know that not everyone shares my Valentine's Day apathy.  Before we jump to any conclusions, I'll set it straight that I am not bitter because I don't have a Valentine (I do, and I've had him for the past four years).  I just feel like it's a silly excuse for a holiday.  I don't really get what the magic or importance of Valentine's Day is, if there is even any at all.  Regardless, with Valentine's Day there's always ridiculous amounts of mini fun size chocolate and pink M&M's (these are the best things ever), and perfect opportunities to make all things red velvet.  Any holiday that comes with a promise for chocolate, pink M&M's, and red velvet cake means that it deserves at least some acknowledgement, right?  I know I already have holiday edition candy in my kitchen cabinet, so it looks like I do celebrate the holiday, even if it's by myself in my kitchen.

Anyway, that was a lot of somewhat incoherent rambling (I apologize for this, but I'm running low on sleep).  Since it turns out that I do celebrate Valentine's Day, at least in the food sense, and I know that lots of people out there also celebrate the occasion, I have to share a few themed treats, albeit subtle treats.  This strawberry shortcake is one of those subtle treats.  There's no chocolate, pink M&M's, or red velvet anywhere in this cake, but that doesn't matter.  What this cake does have is a lot of love, and that's what counts, right?  You see, this strawberry shortcake is THE cake and dessert that comes to mind when I think of my mama.  My mom has had this recipe for strawberry shortcake since before I was born, and I've been eating it ever since I was old enough to eat cake (age two I guess?).  My mom always made this cake during the summer, and since my birthday falls at the end of June, I celebrated many birthdays with a thick slice of strawberry shortcake.  Despite being a major chocolate freak (this was my birthday cake last year, in case you need a refresher), I don't think I'll ever be able to say no to a slice of my mom's strawberry shortcake.  It's so good that it's been requested dozens upon dozens of times, not just by me, but by my entire family as well.  I think it goes without saying that this is my actual favorite cake of all time.  There's just a lotta love and memories all rolled up in this cake.  

Chocolate Waffles

Waffles, again!  I know, I know, this is the third waffle recipe I'm posting on the blog, and the fact that there's only been two pancake recipes and absolutely zero recipes for French toast (whattt...???) might suggest that I am a bit of a waffle fanatic.  This is, by the way, a totally true statement.  I've brought you guys classic Belgian waffles and spiced brown butter waffles, and now, I'm presenting to you what I think is the most special waffle so far. It's indulgent, delicious, and super special.  I mean, how good does a chocolate waffle drizzled with chocolate syrup and topped off with fresh berries sound?  It sounds pretty good to me!  

I know I've mentioned before that I used to eat frozen waffles every single day before school for YEARS.  It was my favorite option for breakfast, and I liked pretty much every waffle variety that Eggo came up with. Chocolate chip and banana were my favorites, but I still loved plain waffles with good old syrup (and when I say syrup, I don't mean maple.  I mean Aunt Jemima's butter-flavored syrup).  My dad always worked nights, so he would be home in the mornings and would stay up long enough to get me and my sister to school, and he'd always make us breakfast.  Sometimes, my dad would like to make breakfast feel just a little more special by placing my waffles on a big plate, pouring over a really intricate drizzle of chocolate syrup, and finishing the waffles off with a dusting of powdered sugar.  It might not have been the healthiest breakfast, but I loved it regardless!  It seemed so fancy back then, and it always looked so pretty!

Red Velvet Roulade

Oh look!  A recipe for something red velvet with cream cheese frosting!  What a surprise!  I'm sure that if you're an avid stalker of Tastespotting or Food Gawker (which I am, of course- I pretty much always have at least one tab open to either of these sites, if not one for each), you'll be seeing a red velvet version of almost everything around this time, whether it's in cake form, cupcake form, pancake form, and even cinnamon roll form (I'm slightly upset that this thought never occurred to me...).  In any case, I hope to add one of my own photos to these food-porn galleries in the form of this red velvet roulade with cream cheese frosting.  I haven't seen too many photos of one of these on the galleries!  

It's February 6, and I'm sure the reason for recent increase in red velvet baked goods is pretty obvious- Valentine's Day is quickly approaching!  I've always found the holiday to be a bit silly, but that's not to say that I find Valentine's Day goodies to be ridiculous as well..in other words, let's closely analyze the food trends of the holiday, shall we?  There's chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate, strawberries and other red berries are everywhere to be seen, desserts are often presented in mini form, normally white desserts are magically turned pink, and great care goes into making all foods, even savory ones, seem just a bit more special.  There's nothing wrong with these trends, at least in my opinion!  Maybe heart-shaped pancakes and waffles are a bit much for me, but that's really the only thing that seems a little overdone.  Other than that, bring on the chocolate-covered strawberries, pink macarons, and mini trifles, because I'm ready!

Spiral Slice-and-Bake Cookies

I've never really been a fan of Valentine's Day.  I've always just found it to be a silly sort of holiday with no real meaning behind it.  I guess it's the whole, overly-commercialized aspect of the holiday that bothers me.  It just seems to be a holiday created specifically for chocolate and greeting card companies to put production in overdrive for several weeks after the Christmas holidays...at least until Easter rolls around anyway.  It's not that I'm a single, bitter human being who feels that whole "forever alone" thing and sees Valentine's Day as a day that is instead a "Singles Awareness Day."  I am none of the above, but regardless...I have always viewed Valentine's Day as a day that should be treated just like any other.  I mean after all, do we really need a special day to tell someone we love them?  Does receiving chocolate in a heart-shaped box on February 14th mean that we're "super-loved" on that specific day?  I like to think not.  There is no reason to have a day dedicated to telling someone you love them; that should just happen every single day of the year.

However...before I sound like a really bitter, awful person who hates on Valentine's Day in spite of the majority of the population's general approval of the holiday, I must say there are two  good things about it.  Really, there are.  The first doesn't really apply anymore, but it goes wayyy back to elementary school.  I mean, who didn't love getting those cute little cards from your classmates?!  They usually came accompanied with a tiny chocolate, or a red heart-shaped lollipop, and they were awesome.  Any opportunity for some free candy was always welcome when I was younger.  Awesome Valentine's Day thing number two: Valentine's Day colors are red and pink, with pink obviously being the more important of the two, for me at least anyway.  I love pink.  Valentine's Day gives me the excuse to make all things pink, without having to pay attention to how bright or obnoxious the shade of pink may be.  Like these slice-and-bake pink spiral cookies.  The pink is super bright and very in-your-face, but whatever.  I love them. 

Raspberry Cream Cheese Brownies

Brownies are one of those types of desserts that people seem to form strong opinions over.  Some like cake-like brownies, and others like dense fudgy brownies.  Personally, I love rich dense brownies, simply because I feel like the chocolate flavor comes through much better, since fudge brownie recipes call for real chocolate as opposed to cocoa powder.  Regardless of this fact, I will never turn down a brownie of any sort.  I mean, it would be silly to do such a thing.  Brownies are so easily adaptable and come in so many different flavor combinations that choosing a fudgy brownie over a cake brownie would simply be unfathomable.  Yes, just unfathomable.

There's something about the combination of brownies and cheesecake that people really seem to love...including me, obviously.  I may not be the biggest fan of cheesecake itself (although I do enjoy a small slice of plain cheesecake with raspberry topping every now and then), but when cheesecake gets baked into anything else, whether it's a muffin or a cupcake, or a brownie, like in this case, I think the combination is really just outstanding. 

Chocolate Crepe Cake

Crepes are one of those desserts that I really, really, really, love, but for some reason that goes beyond my capacity to understand, are also one of those desserts that I hardly ever eat. I really don't know why.  It's kind of dumb actually.  I mean, making crepes is just about one of the easiest things ever. All you need is a blender, and a skillet.  Maybe even a spatula, if you're not into the fancy flick-of-the-wrist kind of flips (I stick to a spatula, thank you very much).  They require so little effort to prepare, can come in a ridiculous number of different flavor combinations, and can be made relatively quickly...WHY DON'T I MAKE CREPES MORE OFTEN?!

I decided to take care of business and make myself some crepes.  But not just any old crepes. If I was going to make crepes, I was gonna go BIG.  They had to be part of some really spectacular and delicious sort of dessert.  This obviously meant stacking the crepes into cake form.