You may be asking yourself, "What is a Blanc Manger". Well, dear readers, Dorie describes a Blanc Manger (pronounced blah-mahn-jay) as panna cotta's kissing cousin.
Let me give you a little history about me and Panna Cotta, shall we? We used to never get along. When presented with the option for panna cotta as a dessert when I was younger, I always thought back to the scene in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation where the family is gathering for Christmas Dinner, and Ellen's crazy Aunt and Uncle show up with a green jello mold with cat food as garnish and the camera pans the table as the family tries to make their way through dinner, crunching an all.
You know the Aunt and Uncle I'm talking about? Who gave us such hilarious lines like:
Is Rusty still in the Navy?
and
Clark: Since this is Aunt Bethany's 80th Christmas, I think she should say grace.
Aunt Bethany: What dear?
Nora: Grace!
Aunt Bethany: Grace? Grace died 30 years ago.
Uncle Lewis: THE BLESSING!
Aunt Bethany: Oh. I pledge allegiance, to the flag...
Pure genius. It is not Christmas without that movie, in my opinion.
Now, you are probably wondering why I compare panna cotta to this dessert. Unfortunately, I do not have an answer for that. No one can argue with the logic of a once picky eater.
Now, however, I love panna cotta. The creamy, smooth refreshing texture is something I look forward to in a dessert. And its "kissing cousin", the blanc manger, did not let me down. The whole texture of the ground up almonds thing did not help my case for remembering the green jello mold with cat food as garnish, however, this was an absolutely delicious dessert that was easy to make. A little milk, a little cream, some ground up almonds, some gelatin, and voila! A very impressive dessert. I made two versions: a blueberry version (with the fruit on the inside) and a fig version with fig jam (no fruit on the inside) that was atop a graham cracker sable from Johnny Iuzzini's dessert book, Dessert Fourplay (get this book for some fantastic professional dessert ideas). I liked it better without the fruit on the inside, as I didn't want anything getting in the way of that delicious blanc manger.
On another note, today is Jack's birthday! So we'll be celebrating by polishing this off and then tonight, I'm making him duck confit with date stuffed gnocchi (which also will be my Top Chef post for tomorrow). Needless to say, I hope I don't mess it up! But I hope it will be the perfect dinner for my little Harry Potter look-a-like.
Seriously, the older Harry Potter gets (not Daniel Radcliff, but Harry Potter), the more he looks like Jack. I couldn't get over it while watching the movie this time around.
Check out Susan of Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy for the recipe and check out TWD to see more great blanc mangers!
Blanc-manger is in fact very close to being panna cotta... made the same way, really. In my family though, blanc-manger has been made way longer than panna cotta; our great-grand-mothers used to make it. But of course... you have Italian roots. No wonder.
Yours are very delicate and well presented... brava!
Posted by: Vibi | July 21, 2009 at 09:46 AM
Haha, I agree that it is not Christmas until National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation has been watched. ;-)
Beautiful Blanc Manger, and I love the presentation!
Posted by: Tracy | July 21, 2009 at 10:20 AM
These look gorgeous. I really like the fig one. So pretty. Your posts crack me up. Good luck with the birthday dinner.
Posted by: Kim | July 21, 2009 at 10:55 AM
So true: it's not Christmas without that fabulous movie. I love that Aunt Bethany wrapped her cat.
I almost used blueberries for mine, and using fig is pure genius!
Posted by: Erin | July 21, 2009 at 11:43 AM
Your two versions look incredible, especially the fig version! And I love the graham cracker sable base. What a great idea! Happy Bday to Jack!!! :)
Posted by: Lauryn | July 21, 2009 at 12:05 PM
clearly both versions are delectable and elegant, but i might be partial to the blueberry tower. very, very nicely done, and hooray for national lampoon. :)
Posted by: grace | July 21, 2009 at 12:49 PM
Lovely photos! Now I'm craving fresh figs. My blanc-manger turned into ice cream, a dessert I always look forward to.
Posted by: Clivia | July 21, 2009 at 12:50 PM
T,
Are those my favorite fresh figs I see?
I have been having a problem leaving comments on your posts, wondering why.
Posted by: Stacey Snacks | July 21, 2009 at 01:12 PM
Both look gorgeous- love the figs especially! Wishing I had found time to make this one. boo.
Posted by: Spike | July 21, 2009 at 01:23 PM
Your blanc-manger versions look very elegant and tasty. We just have fresh raspberries here, my blueberries have ways to go.
Great pictures
Ulrike @ Küchenlatein
Posted by: Ulrike | July 21, 2009 at 01:23 PM
Yours came out perfect!
Posted by: Carolina | July 21, 2009 at 01:28 PM
Wow, you made it. Congrats! I cheated and made strawberry Jello instead. I know it's not the same but since you made two . . can I take credit for one then? ;)
They look fantastic!
Posted by: Sugar B | July 21, 2009 at 03:00 PM
I love that movie. This dish looks perfect. A great way to celebrate Jack's bday.
Happy birthday to Jack!
Posted by: jenn | July 21, 2009 at 03:14 PM
Mmmm blueberry version. Mmm mmm yum.
Posted by: The Duo Dishes | July 21, 2009 at 03:50 PM
Christmas Vacation is one of my favorites... and that's definitely one of the highlights of the movie! Your Blanc Manger looks beautiful... nothing like the dessert in the movie!
Posted by: Jen @ My Kitchen Addiction | July 21, 2009 at 04:45 PM
Looks wonderful! I made mine with figs too and loved them in this! (although I used pistachios which probably wouldn't have helped with the green jello mold fright...)
Posted by: Charli | July 21, 2009 at 05:28 PM
It looks wonderful! I haven't had panna cotta in a long time - I didn't like it in the past but I wonder if I would now.
Posted by: Jill | July 21, 2009 at 06:31 PM
Figs! I love figs and I bet they were sooo good with the blanc manger. The addition of a graham cracker base is perfect.
Posted by: CarolPeterman | July 21, 2009 at 07:58 PM
Glad you liked it, and you like panna cotta now, too! I loved this dessert, although yours is a lot prettier!
Posted by: Madam Chow | July 21, 2009 at 08:22 PM
Oh my! Yours look so elegant! You've really kicked it up a notch.
I liked it too.
Posted by: Jacque | July 21, 2009 at 08:24 PM