Beet Panna Cotta

• ½ pound red beets, peeled, cut into ½” pieces
• 2 cups heavy cream (I bet this would be just fine with either milk or half and half or even fat free half and half substituted)
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon unflavored powdered gelatin
• 3 tablespoons honey
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Meyer Lemon Mousse

• 1 tablespoon finely grated Meyer lemon zest
• ½ cup fresh Meyer lemon juice
• ½ cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces, divided
• ½ cup sugar, divided
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 large egg
• ½ cup chilled heavy cream
• OR - if you have lemon curd in the freezer you can just add that to the whipped cream!!

Beet panna cotta

  Bring beets, cream, and salt to a simmer over medium heat in a medium saucepan.\\ 
  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer very gently until beets are tender, 25–30 minutes.\\
  Let cool slightly.
  
  Meanwhile, combine gelatin and 2 Tbsp. cold water in a blender; let sit 5 minutes for gelatin to soften.
  Transfer beets and their cooking liquid to blender; add honey and vanilla and purée until smooth.\\ 
  Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl; discard solids.\\
  Divide purée among glasses and chill until set, 3½–4 hours.
  Do Ahead: Panna cotta can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and keep chilled.

Meyer lemon mousse

Making lemon curd

  Bring lemon zest and juice, ¼ cup butter, and ¼ cup sugar to a simmer over medium heat in a medium saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat.
  Whisk egg yolks, egg, and remaining ¼ cup sugar in a small bowl until pale and thick, about 2 minutes.\\
  Whisking constantly, slowly pour hot lemon mixture into egg mixture.\\
  Transfer back to saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until curd is thickened and whisk leaves a trail, about 5 minutes.\\
  Remove from heat and add remaining ¼ cup butter, whisking until melted and curd is smooth.\\
  Transfer curd to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing directly onto surface. Chill until cold, at least 2 hours.\\
      Do Ahead: Lemon curd can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.\\
  
  When ready to serve, whisk cream in a small bowl to soft peaks and gently fold into curd.\\
  Spoon mousse over panna cotta.

  Recipe by Odd Duck, Austin
  
  Notes: initial testers said it's really rich.\\
  You could definitely substitute milk for cream, also serve in the small cups so it's only a bite or two per serving. \\
  Also: even out the amount of mousse and panna cotta, so there's a lemony bite in each bite. 
  Finally, experiment with putting a small amount of star anise (one or two petals of a pod) into the cream and beets as they cook. \\
  It might soften the "earthiness" of the beet flavor.