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Jules: Crème brulée can never be Jello. You could never be Jello.
Kimmy: I have to be Jello!
Jules: You’re never gonna be Jello!

It’s a scene from My Best Friend’s Wedding, which, though I shall forever be a bitter bridesmaid, is one of my all-time favorite movies. Julia Roberts’ character, Jules, is trying to convince Kimmy, played by Cameron Diaz, that someone as classy as she (Kimmy) couldn’t possibly be right for someone as plain as Dermot Mulroney’s character, Michael. Jules says that Kimmy is creme brulee, and that Michael needs a simple girl who’s just Jello.

I am Jello. So it’s quite amazing that I somehow found it in myself to make panna cotta. It’s an Italian dessert made of cream that’s similar to the French creme brulee. However, panna cotta is cooked first on the stove top, not baked in an oven, and gets its body from gelatin.

Flavoring for panna cotta is traditionally vanilla or almond, but that just seemed, well, a little too vanilla, so it became lime - lime juice to soften the gelatin, and zest added to the cream. I don’t like citrus and I say one thing and yet do another. Maybe I’m not as easy as Jello afterall.

The cream, whole milk, sugar, and lime mixture with gelatin is ladled into molds (I had to use small plastic cups) then chilled in the refrigerator. After a good six hours, the panna cottas slipped right out of their cups, smooth and wiggly, and got simple accessories from the farmers markets. Fresh strawberry puree, blueberry compote, and the one that got a little haute couture, avocado! As strange as it sounds, avocado’s texture matches panna cotta, and it’s a natural with lime.

By sarah (see more of her posts). You can find more of sarah's writing at her own website The Delicious Life