My Panna Cotta Journey

What follows is a condensed, fictionalized stream of thought in regards to making a dairy-based gelatin dessert:

Panna Cotta - it's fun to say! It's also easy to make. Except for the small detail that it separates on me. There's the super smooth top portion where all the cream has risen to and a gelatinous, clear section at the bottom. No matter, because it's still delicious. It's delicious and it's easy to make. Yum. With fresh summer fruits. Double yum.

Hm, wait. Since it's easy to make, I'll likely be making it a lot, so is there a way to fix the layer issue?

Out comes Nigel Slater (or rather his remarkable book - Kitchen Diaries - I believe the man himself has been happily out for a while now) - I've made his rosewater yoghurt panna cotta previously and it was perfectly smooth. Let's add yoghurt into the mix!

Harumph. Adding the yoghurt cured my panna cotta of its separation anxiety, but it now has a grainy texture for some reason. What happened?

Scientist nr.1 (my mother) walks by, warily eyes the ever present panna cotta pots in front of me and offhandedly mentions that the yoghurt is curdling from the heat of the milk I am adding it to.
You just bought yourself another batch of panna cotta, Scientist nr.1! (My father will be Scientist nr. 2, I call him for math advice.)

Yes!! Letting the milk/cream/vanilla mix cool before adding the yoghurt, works! But in the course of all the tinkering my gelatin proportions are all off and my dessert is either runny or a Jell-o consistency. Argh!!!!

Grumble. Tinker. Wait. Taste.

Mmmm... Smooth, creamy, tangy from the yoghurt Panna Cotta! With some fruit on top. Yum.

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Fun With Cans - Pea and Shrimp Risotto

So here's a risotto recipe, just in time, while New York is still enjoying some glorious spring weather. In a few weeks summer will be here and the city will become the hellhole I know it to be in July through August.  Standing in front of a pot of something boiling will be inconceivable. For now though, a bowl of something warm and filling is still appreciated on some evenings.

Even though I grew up eating plenty of fish, I've never been very confident cooking it. It sees that fresh fish always requires a more delicate hand than I am willing to extend. Preserved seafood however- smoked mackarel, salted roe, canned salmon and tuna, etc, while often not really in need of cooking, is something I love incorporating into meals.

It can be as simple as having some anchovy filets to add to Pasta Puttanesca. My mother made an awesome, Russian-style, mayo-heavy rice salad with canned salmon. I loved Alton Brown's ode to the sardine with his sardine-avocado sandwich. Once I got sick of that, I simply started breaking up the fish and using it as a sort of sauce with past (just add some red onion or capers, something to brighten up the lot).

Now, stinky, oily fish might not be for everyone (everyone is missing out!). Did you know though, that for just one easy payment of a couple of bucks, you too can be the proud owner of a can of wild small shrimp. These little buggers are minuscule, apparently caught in the Pacific Northwest, and are a really nice, low fat protein boost. Not at all oily, but rather packed up in water, they're a great intro to canned, preserved fish and a nice change up from your regular ol' can of tuna.

In this risotto, I paired the shrimp with frozen peas, and even though we're talking about ingredients that are preserved (the good kind - canned and frozen), their sweetness gives the risotto a fresh, spring-like quality. The hit of wine in the beginning and the Parmesan at the end add some acidity and grounding saltiness to balance things out.

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