Like really, really, REALLY excited. Plus, it’s Friday…excitement should already be in the air. I mean, I know it is for me.
It’s been a long three days back in the real world. Whoever said vacations make you feel revived was totally lying. Ok, well maybe not totally, I mean, I feel pretty excited to be back working, but at the same time I have been playing a mad game of catch up. UGH (help!) Plus, the trek home from Florida left me totally drained, and it’s not because of the late arrival home Tuesday night. On the longer of my two flights back home, I sat next to one of “those” people. And no, I am not talking about the lady on the last leg of my flight with the crying baby – that did not even phase me. No, no, on my first flight I sat next to one of those people who loves to talk, learn all about you, tell you about themselves and then talk some more. Yeah. On top of that I had my dad sitting behind me making jokes about how this kid was so “into” me (notice the word kid). Guys, he was fourteen. Fourteen. He also told me that one, he would have never thought I was twenty-one (he guessed fifteen…it’s getting old) and two, I was really short for being twenty-one. Really??? I am five-four, that’s not that short, is it? So I can’t seem to stop dreaming about the Florida sunshine, 8o degree days and miles of sandy beaches. Ok, and maybe all the pineapples and mangos too…ah, and fruity drinks. Yeah, it may take me a while to break out of my vacation funk. Slowly but surely I guess.
Ok, moving things right along, on to these crazy and awesome chocolate peanut butter bubble panna cotta. You may be a little confused, but don’t fear them. If you are into mousse and pudding-like things, peanut butter and chocolate than you are going to NEED these. Really, you will. No joking around here.
The only thing semi odd about these panna cotta are the boba pearls. If you have never had boba, they’re basically just really large tapioca pearls. They add awesome texture and great flavor, AND they are super fun. They just sit at the bottom in a creamy, honey milk. Sort of like pudding, but maybe just a little thinner. It depends on how thick you let things get, but either way will be delicious. And like I said, they add some really awesome texture to a fairly textureless dessert like panna cotta. Perfect!
Next comes the peanut butter layer. It’s like a super creamy mousse. Think of a buckeye filling, but just a little more whipped. Peanut butter lovers beware, this layer is a tad addicting. Now the panna cotta. I made mine of the chocolate variety…of course. Would you expect anything else? I hope not. To be honest, I was a little scared of panna cotta because it always seemed so fancy and elegant to me. But you know, it’s actually a really easy dessert. It helped that I pretty much de-fancified this panna cotta with my layers of peanut butter and boba pearls. Figures, I just can’t leave anything as it. Oh well, I like fun foods, what can I say.
Here’s the thing though. You can’t just stop with the panna cotta. You see, you absolutely must make some honey roasted peanuts for a little added crunch and sweetness. It’s a must. And you clearly need to top each panna cotta with a rather large scoop of chocolate ice cream. See I have decided that we really need to go all out here, and a scoop of ice cream on top is just what these need. So don’t skip. And if you could see me, you would see me saying all this in my most serious voice, with my serious face. It’d be super embarrassing, but I don’t care. The ice cream and peanuts are mandatory. No question about it. And since I am giving orders…
Go make these and have a beyond awesome weekend!
