How to make vanilla extract after semi-panna cotta. Afraid of failing

"Cooking is improvisational; recipes are a guide not a formula for intimidation. Make do with what you have and how you like it" - Mireille Guiliano

Today everything went smooth and surprisingly well. I had a lovely Saturday which started with a long run watching the sunrise, followed by a nice granola breakfast. I enjoyed the morning silence at home while Nick and the kids were at the market buying fruits and vegetables. The peace and quiet ended as soon as I crossed the doors of the mall in Rockwell. So noisy! I don't like the crowds in the shops and the long queues to pay during this season. One hour was enough for me to do some of the Christmas shopping but it was very productive since I was by myself without kids!.

When I got back home, I felt like making panna cotta, a delicious Italian dessert made of cream,  gelatine and sugar. It is one of my favourites and so simple to make that it is perfect for dinner parties. 

I am a recipe girl, as you have probably noticed. I like to follow a recipe  because I work better if I have a method to guide me step by step. The truth is I am afraid to fail if I improvise or do something isn't in the recipe. I have always been like that, over conscious to make mistakes. It is my weak point. I am a perfectionist and it could be a good thing but also stressful. 

With the years, practice and observance in the kitchen I have gained more self confidence. My work for Stephanie Alexander's program really helped me to care less about the imperfect cooking and to enjoy more about cooking together with the children.

I went through my cookbooks to look for a nice recipe of panna cotta. I liked the panna cotta of   Stephanie Alexander and Maggie Beer in their Tuscany cookbook, but I didn't have all the ingredients. I choose Donna Hay's recipe then, but I tweaked it by accident. I added the chocolate cream to the vanilla cream too soon, when the last one wasn't yet firm.

The result was a firm vanilla panna cotta in the outside and a delicate and deliciously creamy chocolate hidden inside. This is why I call it semi- panna cotta..."cooked cream" but not quite settled in the middle. I was satisfied with the flavour and the texture of my own version of the panna cotta.  My family asked me for seconds and were disappointed when they saw there were no more in the fridge.

And believe it or not, I was thrilled with the mistake I made. It won't be the last one, I know, but there is always a lesson to learn from it. Every day I try to cook in a way that I can learn new lessons, without a fear to fail, just for the joy of cooking and sharing.

Vanilla extract

Fill a jar or bottle with cheap vodka. Add the vanilla bean you have used in a recipe (like in the panna cotta below), making sure it is well  rinsed off. You will need at least 3 vanilla beans in the jar or bottle for at least 3 weeks.

 

Vanilla extract after 10 days...it is getting a lovely brownish color and already smelling more vanilla than vodka.

Chocolate "semi - panna cotta"

Recipe from Donna Hay, makes 6 moulds

Basic panna cotta:

• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 teaspoons gelatine powder
• 500ml pouring (or also known single) cream
• 1/3 icing sugar, sifted
• 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped

Add these ingredients to make chocolate panna cotta:

• 50g white chocolate, chopped (I didn't use it because I find it too sweet. I made plain vanilla)
• 50g milk chocolate, chopped

1. Place the water in a bowl and sprinkle over the gelatine. Set aside for 5 minutes or until the water is absorbed. It is important the gelatine is completely integrated with the water before adding to the cream or the panna cotta may not set.
2. Place the cream, sugar, vanilla bean and seeds in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally. Add the gelatine and cook, stirring until the gelatine is dissolved.
1. Once you have boiled the cream mixture, pour half into a clean saucepan and the other half in another saucepan. Add the white and milk chocolates to each saucepan, separately, and stir until they are dissolved.
2. Add half the gelatine mixture to each pan and stir until it is dissolved.
3. Strain the milk chocolate mixture and pour into 125ml lightly greased moulds. refrigerate until firm. Pour over the white chocolate mixture and refrigerate for 4 hours.
4. Remove the panna cotta from the fridge 5 minutes before serving. If it is difficult to remove from the mould, dip it into warm water and gently shake the unmould.

Optional: add most of the gelatine to the vanilla cream (or with white chocolate if you like) and just a bit to the milk chocolate. Then place only the vanilla cream into the moulds and kept them in the fridge for 30 minutes or until the top was still wobbly, and then add the milk chocolate mixture that was set aside to the vanilla almost set panna cotta. 

Note: don't forget to grease the moulds as it will help to remove the panna cotta. I have also experimented with some orange or even lavender oil to grease the moulds in the past and it gives a distinctive flavour to the creamy panna cotta.

Life is about experimenting, anyway.

Buen provecho!