When my family travels to the Midwest a couple of times each year, every meal ends in at least one dessert.

There are cookies, pies, coffee cake, cobblers, crisps, bars, homemade ice creams, but when I'm making food at home in New York, I find there to be an incredibly sad lack of dessert on most evenings. I try to put veg forward food on the plates and my kiddos sweet tooth still runs more into the nibble of candy rather than the hunk of chocolate cake category, so I haven't been as consistent as I would like in supplying a good sweet finish to the final meal of the day. I'm looking to rectify this. I think I can do it in 3 ways:

1. Quick to prepare desserts, made in less than 30 active minutes, that I can make in a smaller scale, (because we aren't feeding an army and I want variety here).
2. Desserts which may freeze or store well, so we can have it now and later in the season.
3. Desserts that pack and transport well, so that we can share with friends.

I'm starting off with Panna Cotta, which may sound fancy, but with only 5 ingredients and taking less than 20 minutes of active time, absolutely fills the need for Quick Dessert.

Panna Cotta - makes 8 small servings

1. Sprinkle gelatin over 2 T cold water in a very small saucepan (or metal measuring cup). Allow to stand for 1 minute to soften, then heat the mixture over low heat until the gelatin is dissolved. Remove from the heat.
2. Combine the heavy cream, half-and-half and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat while stirring. Remove pan from the heat.
3. Stir in the gelatin mixture and the vanilla extract.
4. Divide the cream mixture into eight 1/2 Cup ramekins and cool to room temperature.
5. Cover the ramekins and move to a refrigerator and chill at least 4 hours.
6. These panna cotta can be unmolded after dipping in hot water for a few seconds each, or eaten straight from the ramekins :0). Serve alone, with fresh berries and whipped cream, or fruit compote.