Aunt Elisabeth’s * mantra always has been “few but only the best ingredients!” Here’s her  way to prepare this Italian classic:

panna cotta:
400g whipping cream
50g sugar
1/2 vanilla pod (scraped)
3 sheets gelatine

cranberry sauce

Mix a jar of high quality cranberry preserve with a generous amount of gooseberry liqueur

Soak the gelatine in a bowl of cold water for 10 minutes. In the meantime bring cream, sugar and vanilla to a boil always stirring. When the mixture has come to a boil continue stirring  on low heat for 2 or 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Drain and squeeze the gelatine, then stir it into the cream making sure that it  melts completely.
Pour the mixture into small molds and put them into the fridge for at least 3 hours.

*when younger, aunt Elisabeth and her husband Hugo (both passionate gourmets) used to throw some incredible dinner parties practically living in the kitchen the days before the feast.