Goat Cheese Panna Cotta with Cranberry–Port Glaze

One of the first things I do before typing in a recipe is check to see if it’s all ready out on the world wide web somewhere.  Call me lazy, but there is no sense in me typing it in, if someone else has done the work.  So, as I was getting ready to write this post from Bakeless Sweets: Pudding, Panna Cotta, Fluff, Icebox Cake, and More No-Bake DessertsI did my normal check and googled “Goat Cheese Panna Cotta.”

Oh my.  I have failed you, dear readers.  There is a whole world or Goat Cheese Panna Cotta out there and I had no idea.  How about Goat Cheese Panna Cotta with Carmelized Figs, Goat Cheese Panna Cotta with Grand Marnier Soaked Strawberries, and Cherry, Hibiscus, and Goat Cheese Panna Cotta!  I had no clue.  From this day forward, I will put goat cheese permanently on my grocery list and work my way through the list.   It will be my penance for leaving you high and dry when it comes to goat cheese panna cotta.

But back to the goat cheese panna cotta that I did make.  Oh my.  This was so good. So very, very good.  The panna cotta part is almost like a cheese cake has that gorgeous texture from the goat cheese.  The perfect topping for that cheese cake like panna cotta is the cranberry port glaze, tart and sweet at the same time.  And see how my glaze isn’t perfectly clear, it has a bit of the panna cotta floating on top.  All my fault.  You chill the panna cotta while you make the cranberry port glaze, and then you remove them from the fridge and gently pour the glaze on top.  My problem was that I had to pour it a little at a time to keep things even…we are all about keeping things even at the Sidewalk Shoes household – no one can have a little more than the other (except in case of eggplant and turnips in which case I am more than happy to get the short end of the deal).  So, the first pouring was great, but each successive little pour disturbed the panna cotta.  If you are all about even, I would suggest pouring the glaze in a measuring cup and figuring out what ⅙ of it is and then pouring.  And believe me, as good as this glaze was, you are going to want your fair share.

If you don’t own Bakeless Sweets: Pudding, Panna Cotta, Fluff, Icebox Cake, and More No-Bake Desserts by now, I don’t know what to say to you.  It’s amazing.  I love it.  If you are not a big fan of baking (like me) you need this book.

Goat Cheese Panna Cotta with Cranberry-Port Glaze

Panna Cotta

• 8 ounces softened goat cheese
• 2 teaspoons powdered gelatin
• 2 cups whole milk, divided
• ⅓ cup sugar
• ⅛ teaspoon cardamom powder (I subbed nutmeg because I was out of cardamom)
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch salt

Cranberry-Port Glaze

• 2 (12-ounce)bags fresh cranberries
• 1 ¼ cups sugar
• ½ cup ruby port
• 1 long sprig rosemary
• 2 ½ teaspoons gelatin

Crumble the goat cheese and set it aside.  In a wide shallow bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over ½ cup of the milk, and let it soften for 5 minutes.

Warm the remaining 1 ½ cups milk and the sugar in a 2 quart saucepan over medium high heat until small bubbles form on the side of the pan.  Whisk in the goat cheese and stir until it melts.  Add the milk and the gelatin, and whisk vigorously until the gelatin is dissolved and all of the goat cheese has melted. Turn off the heat and stir in the cardamom, cinnamon, and salt.

Divide this mixture into 6 dessert glasses and put in the fridge to chill while you make the cranberry-port glaze.

Heat the cranberries with the sugar, 1 cup water, the port and the rosemary sprig in a 2 quart saucepan over medium-high heat.  After it comes to a simmer, cook for 15 minutes, or until all of the cranberries have burst open.  Strain through a fine mesh sieve and then sprinkle the gelatin over the liquid and let it sit for 5 minutes to soften.  Pour the cranberry juice back in the pan and heat it up, stirring gently until all of the gelatin has dissolved.  Turn off the heat, and let it cook for 15 to 30 minutes.

Evenly divide the cranberry mixture over the prepared goat cheese panna cotta.  Chill for at least two hours, but preferably overnight.

Makes six ½ cup Gluten Free Servings!

This will be my entry for Foodie Friday at the every so lovely Rattlebridge Farm.