Panna Cotta

The recipe below is part of a healthy and delicious spa menu developed exclusively for Epicurious by Ananda spa in India. While the recipe is not low in calories or fat, almost anyone can fit this dessert into a healthy diet by taking small servings of the panna cotta and sabayon and upping the portion of the antioxidant-rich berries. If you are following an Ayurvedic diet, the experts at Ananda recommend this for the vata dosha, and in moderation for the pitta dosha. Be sure to start this recipe one day ahead.

This recipe was created by chef Lachlan Mackinnon Patterson of Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder, Colorado. It's part of a special menu he created for Epicurious's Wine.Dine.Donate program. Start this recipe a day before you plan to serve it. Both the pear jam and the panna cotta are best if chilled overnight.

This recipe was created by chef Ryan Hardy of the Little Nell in Aspen, Colorado. It's part of a special menu he created for Epicurious's Wine.Dine.Donate program.

**Improv:**Fresh or frozen thawed raspberries would also be great alongside the panna cotta.

Think of that old-fashioned dish of grapes baked in sour cream and brown sugar. Now imagine it as something light and elegant, and you'll understand this dish.

Mascarpone is an Italian cream cheese sold at many supermarkets and Italian markets.

Roasting the berries intensifies their flavor. Try substituting basil for the tarragon.

Lewis Rossman of Half Moon Bay, California, writes: "I'm a chef, and Mediterranean is probably the best way to describe the kind of cooking I do at my restaurant, Cetrella. There's an emphasis on seafood, plus several dishes inspired by places I've visited like Provence and Catalonia. This is one of my favorite recipes from the menu. It also happens to be the thing I make at home all the time."

When leading ladies such as Christina Applegate and Kate Hudson crave a facial followed by some light fare, they venture to this day-spa-cum-café. Kinara's menu is slightly more indulgent than standard spa cuisine, featuring a cheese plate, steak, Champagne, and dessert. Of course, this treat does more than satisfy your sweet tooth — all the fruit in it made the USDA's list of the top 20 antioxidant-rich foods.

If you're using reactive metal molds for your panna cottas, make sure there are no rust spots — the acid in the buttermilk and the fruit will react to the exposed rust and cause the panna cotta to discolor. We had the best luck with molds made of nonreactive materials such as stainless steel, glass, and ceramic.

Tangy buttermilk custards are a delicious foil for sweet tropical fruit.

A classic Italian dessert receives a double dose of berries.

Port wine and balsamic vinegar deepen the fresh fruit flavors in the cherry sauce. Be sure to get started at least one day ahead; the panna cotta custards must chill for 24 hours before serving.

(Panna Cotta con Salsa di Fragole al Vin Santo) As tiramisù became the Italian restaurant dessert of the 1980s, so did panna cotta take over in the 1990s. The original recipe for "cooked cream" comes from Piedmont, but Tuscans have appropriated it. Their version of the eggless custard is often topped with honey and pine nuts, since the Tuscan city of Pisa is Europe's largest producer of pinoli. This recipe incorporates those ingredients into the custard, then tops it off with a delicious strawberry sauce laced with Vin Santo, the cherished dessert wine of the region. Begin making this one day ahead.

"As a fan of the television show 'Molto Mario,' " writes Melissa Raney Davidson of Upper Arlington, Ohio, "I was excited to have the opportunity to dine at one of chef Mario Batali's restaurants while I was in New York on business. The dinner I had at Pó in Greenwich Village was wonderful, and the panna cotta dessert was light and smooth — truly one of the best I've ever had." The restaurant is under new ownership now, but they still serve a similar dessert. Here is chef Mario Batali's recipe.