Each one has their share of disaster so have I when it comes to a lot of things. The big question here is popping the champagne bottle. As you might not wanna know what I did with my first champagne bottle.
I was a fresher and amidst a group of equally enthusiastic first timers.We were there to celebrate my grades at engineering. In the fit of the moment we decided to get a champagne bottle. None of us had the slightest clue of what we were handling. It was hot weather and we were huddled in the corner of a downtown restaurant. Goes without saying who has the most effervesce, well in this case its the Author :-). The others watched in pure amazement. The only visual guide in my memory was seeing Michael Schumacher popping the bottle post his jubilant wins. Huh….thats my tutorial 🙂
What followed is pure bad history. The girls are cheering yeah….go for i!! I gave the bottle a shake. Aimed it right at the ceiling and uncorked the bottle. Catastrophe is an understatement . The fizz went right up to the ceiling drenching the other guests to an unwanted in-house rain. The cork went straight ahead and hit the head of the bald manager. The girls who were right behind my back seemed to have vanished into thin air.
I was on the fire line facing the wrath of the manager. I went and individually apologised to all the guests. Somehow they all took it in good spirits. But the manager couldn’t take the impact of the cork. He made me pay double the bill amount. Which was much better than sitting and cleaning the walls.
From that day on I have always taken a back seat when it comes to popping the question.(Grin). So when my hubby suggested a champagne panna cottaI was like ‘No ways’. He gladly volunteered to do the popping. While I was happily left to do the mixing and freezing.
This festive season I bring you an extremely luscious and luxurious dessert. It is called the Raspberry and prosecco panna cotta. Creamy and bubbly Madagascan vanilla panna cotta topped with raspberries jelly. If you want to bring a wow factor to your celebrations, indulge in one of my sweet masterpieces.Bold flourishes and feather light creaminess, a true treat for all senses. I do like to enjoy classic flavours during christmas but a little touch of sophistication gives a sense of pride to the host and sweet memories for the guests.
- For the raspberry jelly
- 150 gm raspberries
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 gelatine leaves
- For the Prosecco Panncotta
- 250 ml Cream
- 150 ml Milk
- 150 gm castor sugar
- 1 Pod Madagascan vanilla
- 100 ml Prosecco
- 5 leaves of gelatine
- 6 ramekins or silicon moulds
- an ice bath
- Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water.
- In a heavy bottom pan add the water and dissolve the sugar over medium heat. Then add your raspberries. Crush them with the back of your spatula or spoon. Let the juices be released into the liquid and thicken. This will take around 5 minutes.
- Then squeeze the water from the gelatine leaves and add it to your raspberry. Give it a quick stir and ensure the gelatine has completely dissolved.(around 30 seconds)
- Then sieve the raspberry jelly into a jug.This is done in order to remove the seeds and any traces of non-dissolved gelatine.
- What you get a pure puree and transfer it into ramekins about the thickness of a 0.5 inches.Cover it with a cling-film. Allow it to cool for 3 hours in the fridge.
- Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water.
- In a heavy bottomed pan add the cream,milk and sugar. Dissolve the sugar over medium heat.
- Slit the vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds with the back of a knife and add it to the above mixture.
- Also the pod as well and bring it to a simmer.
- Then squeeze the water out of the gelatine leaves and add it to the creamy mixture. Give it a quick stir. Remove from heat.
- Then cool it down completely over the ice bath and gradually add the Prosecco. Pass the mixture through a sieve into a jug.
- Take the chilled ramekins out of the fridge and gradually pour the creamy bubbly mixture into the ramekins over the raspberry belly. Cover them back with cling film.
- Allow it to chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours.
- Then un-mould and serve for eating. It is best eaten when chilled.
I am having this right now humming to Christina Perri’s A thousand years while I sink into the this magical pairing. It sure strikes your romantic chord. Candles and more. I am so grateful to the unconditional love of that special one in my crazy and self motivated journey.
I have died every day waiting for you
Darling, don’t be afraid I have loved you
For a thousand years
I’ll love you for a thousand moreAnd all along I believed I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me
I have loved you for a thousand years
I’ll love you for a thousand moreOne step closer
One step closer
Amazing post, gorgeous pictures and …the writing!!! All superlatives, Roy 🙂
YOu give popping the bottle a whole different meaning – and Michael Schumacher as a teacher might not have been good for champagne! But I do love everything about this dessert! Love!