Ever since having crème fraîche panna cotta at Gramercy Tavern with my husband, I knew I wanted to recreate it at home. Served in miniature ramekins with a dot of bright green tarragon oil and a few supremes of grapefruit on the top, the panna cottas were presented as a gift from the kitchen before our main desserts arrived. They were beautiful and so, so good -- by far the best panna cottas I’d ever had. I’m convinced that crème fraîche makes everything better. <br />Back at home, I went about my research to recreate this recipe. I combined my favorite elements of multiple panna cotta recipes I found online and in my cookbooks, including ones by Claudia Fleming and Tom Valenti. I also decided to use turbinado sugar instead of granulated white sugar, to amp up the flavor. My first attempt at making the panna cottas was a success -- fortuitous since I was making them for a dinner party and didn’t have a back-up plan. As a nod to the Gramercy Tavern, I chose to serve mine straight from the ramekins, topped with macerated strawberries and tarragon. They went over very well. <br />Any number of fruit and herb combinations would be lovely here depending on the season. A few ideas: strawberries and tarragon; blackberries and basil; raspberries and mint; and blueberries and lemon thyme. Or you could copy Gramercy Tavern and go with a combination of grapefruit and tarragon -- there's nothing wrong with that.

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