Yogurt Panna Cotta - by Lisa

Whipping up this dessert was super simple! I think I had everything done, including clean up, in 20 minutes (for the panna cotta part that is).

I started with the gelatin. While it set up, I whisked together the half 'n' half, sugar and salt on the stove top.

That took just a couple of minutes, and then I combined it with the gelatin. After whisking that together, I stirred together the yogurt and vanilla in a separate bowl.

From there I combined the half 'n' half mixture with the yogurt mixture, poured it into individual cups, covered them and set them in the fridge to set up overnight. So easy!

Beth suggests serving this dessert with her brandied cherries, and since that sounded good to me, that is exactly what I did! Since the panna cotta needed a night to set up, I decided to make the brandied cherries the following afternoon.

The cherries were just as easy to make as the panna cotta! I purchased the smallest bottle of brandy I could (since we're not exactly brandy connoisseurs :P ) and a bag of frozen cherries. I had everything else I needed already in my pantry. (FYI, I periodically juice a bunch of lemons at once and then freeze the juice in ice cube trays. This gives me a fantastic supply of 1 Tbsp sized cubes of fresh lemon juice!)

It all got mixed together on the stove top, and within 10 minutes, I had a delicious looking pot full of brandied cherries. I left it on the counter top to cool for the rest of the afternoon.

The tasting moment finally arrived. I let my almost 4 year old have some after dinner (sans cherries), and he positively devoured it! Next up was hubby who, I think, devoured his even faster than our son! He thought it was yummy, creamy and delicious. Next up was me. I sampled both the cherries and the panna cotta individually first. I really liked the taste and texture of the panna cotta. It was sweet with just the slightest bit of tang. I wasn't as excited about the brandied cherries tho. I think I would like them better without the brandy flavoring. However, when I mixed the two together, it created a pretty nice blend of flavors, and I liked the bursts of cherries mixed in with the panna cotta. Overall, this really is an impressive looking (and sounding!) dessert that truly is super simple to make. :)