How To Cook With Coffee

Are you…

• overwhelmed by the task of cooking healthfully with real foods?
• interested in traditional cooking with whole and natural ingredients but don’t know where to start?
• confused by the the zillions of websites, pages of information, and oodles of recipes across the internet?

Do you wish…

• there was a straightforward, fundamental, healthy cooking plan that a reasonably intelligent person can follow?
• you could access such a plan and all its components online, at your convenience?
• you could watch video demonstrations, listen to teaching audios on your iPod, and read corresponding print documentation in the comfort of your own home during baby’s nap time?

Good news — look no further. You’ve found that plan!

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup 100% Brazilian Dark Roast, ( or any dark roast ) whole beans
• 4 oz. milk chocolate (pieces)
• 3 tbsp cocoa

Preheat oven to 350º F. Place coffee beans on baking pan and roast for 8 to 10 minutes.

Removed and let cool. In double boiler, melt chocolate until very creamy.

Add coffee beans and stir until completely coated. Remove with slotted spoon allowing excess chocolate to drip off and place beans on waxed paper so they do not stick together.

Once the coffee beans have cooled sufficiently, but the chocolate is still a little soft, roll the beans in your hands to form round balls. Roll each one in cocoa and set aside until chocolate has hardened.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Enjoy this coffeehouse-style drink anytime. Pumpkin melts right into the coffee and adds body and natural flavor. Creamy fat free evaporated milk adds richness and calcium, without adding extra fat. This is a great satisfying specialty beverage for all year round.

Ingredients

• 1 cup strong coffee
• 2/3 cup (5 fl.-oz. can) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Fat Free Milk
• 1/4 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 1 to 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or ground cinnamon

Directions

COMBINE coffee, evaporated milk, pumpkin, sugar and pumpkin pie spice in 2-cup microwave-safe glass measure or small saucepan. Heat until very hot (if using stove, use medium-low heat and stir occasionally). Carefully pour into mugs.

TIP: To make a foamy top to your latte much like your favorite coffee house creation, prepare as above. Carefully transfer hot mixture into blender container; cover with lid and then hold down lid with folded towel or potholder. Blend for 1 minute.

Makes two 8-oz. servings

• 3 Cups Whole Milk
• 1 1/2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream
• 3 Eggs
• 2 Egg Yolks
• 3/4 Cup Sugar
• Dash Salt
• 1 Cup Crunchy Peanut Butter, Divided
• 1 Tablespoon Vanilla
• 12 Slices (1/2 inch) Day Old French Bread

Lightly butter 13 x 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. In medium saucepan, combine milk and cream. Cook over medium heat until bubbles just begin to appear around edges; remove from heat.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, 2 egg yolks, sugar and salt. Slowly add milk mixture, whisking constantly. Whisk in 1/2 cup of peanut butter and vanilla.

Spread remaining 1/2 cup peanut butter over one side of the bread slices; arrange in baking dish, peanut butter side up. Pour egg mixture over bread (slices will float). Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.

Heat oven to 350°. Place baking dish in large roasting pan or broiler pan; pour hot tap water into roasting pan almost halfway up sides of baking dish. Bake 45 to 55 minutes or until top is puffed and a knife inserted in center comes out almost clean. Let stand 30 minutes; serve warm.

Sauce

• 6 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Cut Up
• 1/2 Cup Light Brown Sugar, Packed
• 1/2 Cup Coffee Liquer or Very Strong Coffee
• 2 Egg Yolks, Beaten
• Garnish with Chopped Peanuts

Melt butter in heavy small saucepan over low heat. Stir in brown sugar and liquer; cook 2 minutes or until brown sugar dissolves. Remove from heat; let stand 1 minute to cool slightly. Whisk in 2 beaten egg yolks. Return to low heat cooking 4 to 5 minutes or until mixture coats the back of spoon, stirring constantly. Serve warm sauce over pudding. Garnish.

Coffee Semifreddo "Drowned" in Coffee

Semifreddo:

• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 3 ounces very strong espresso
• 6 egg yolks
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 8 cups strong decaffeinated coffee, cooled
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

In a 3-quart saucepan bring the milk to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove from heat and add the espresso.

In a mixing bowl, beat the yolks until pale yellow. Gradually add the sugar and beat until light yellow ribbons form when the beaters are lifted. Stir in half of the hot milk, then stir in the remaining milk. Cook over low heat without boiling until the mixture coats the back of a spoon thickly and sets slightly, about 4 to 5 minutes.

Stir in the vanilla and chill for 1/2 hour.

Whip 1 1/2 cups of the cream to stiff peaks and fold into the custard mixture.

Transfer to an ice cream machine and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. (The semifreddo can be made up to 2 weeks in advance).

Whip the remaining 1/2 cup cream to soft peaks.

Place 1 scoop of semifreddo in each of eight tall glasses.

Pour 1 cup of cooled coffee over each scoop, dollop with whipped cream, and dust with cocoa.

Makes 8 servings.

• 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 3 eggs
• 1 envelope unflavored gelatin
• 1/2 cup cold strong coffee
• 2/3 cup sugar
• pinch of salt
• 5 tbl. bourbon
• 4 tbl. coffee liqueur
• 1 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350°F. To make crust, mix the crumbs, sugar, melted butter and nutmeg, and spoon into a 9-inch pie plate. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and against the side. Bake 5 minutes. Cool thoroughly.

To make the filling, separate the eggs and set aside. Sprinkle the gelatin over the coffee in a saucepan. Add 1/3 cup of the sugar, salt and the egg yolks. Stir thoroughly. Cook over low heat only until the gelatin is dissolved. Do not boil. Remove the mixture from the heat. Add the bourbon and the liqueur. Chill until it starts to thicken but do not let it jell. Beat egg whites until stiff, adding the remaining sugar gradually. Fold them into the gelatin mixture. Whip the cream and fold it into the mixture. Spoon this into the crust and chill for 5 hours. Garnish with more whipped cream if desired.

Ever wonder why coffee always taste so good when it was made over a campfire?

The secret is whole eggs. This includes the shells which gives coffee that rich flavor. It makes getting up in the morning in the outdoors a pleasure. With the pure, fresh water of the mountain stream, coffee reaches its height.

• 1 - cup ground coffee
• 2 - eggs
• 1-1/2 - cups cold water
• 12 - cups freshly boiled water
• 1/4 - teaspoon salt

1. Wash eggs, break shells, and beat slightly.
2. Put 1-cup cold water and eggs in large coffeepot and mix.
3. Add salt and coffee grounds.
4. Pour boiling water into pot onto coffee grounds and stir.
5. Cover pot and stuff the spout.
6. Put over fire or on store, over direct heat.
7. When the coffee comes to a boil, let simmer 3-minutes.
8. Pour in 1/2-cup cold water to settle grounds. Let stand 1-minute, and serve.

If you've never tried shoofly pie, or made one, you really should. A specialty of the Pennsylvania Dutch, it's a very full-flavored, molasses-y pie with a part jelly-like, part crumbly filling. It's noteworthy that historians aren't sure where the pie got its name. One theory says that the sweet stickiness of the pie was a real fly magnet. Another claims that the name came from the French chou-fleur - cauliflower - which the surface of the pie is said to resemble, texture-wise. In any event, I don't know that the Pennsylvania Dutch ever add coffee to theirs.

It's not at all out of the question: the coffee flavor has a certain compatibility with the molasses.

So why wouldn't a clever and thrifty cook substitute leftover coffee for the boiling water that is typically used?

Bottom line: this is a delicious pie, especially with a scoop of vanilla ice cream to balance the forward flavor. Easy, too, since you can use a frozen pie shell from the supermarket (or make your own, of course.) I'd love to know what youthink about this pie, so don't hesitate to email me and let me know.

• 1 9-inch frozen pie shell
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 6 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup unsulphured or blackstrap molasses
• 3/4 cup boiling brewed coffee
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

1. Remove the frozen pie shell from its packaging, then put it back in the freezer for the time being. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Combine the flour, 1/2 cup of the brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Mix with your hands. Add the butter. Using your fingers or a pastry blender, rub or cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles a fine meal that forms small clumps. Set aside.
3. In another medium bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar and molasses. Add the boiling coffee, stirring to dissolve the brown sugar.
4. Whisk in the baking soda, vanilla, and beaten egg.
5. Pour the molasses liquid into the frozen pie shell. Scatter the crumbs evenly over the liquid; don't press them down. Put the pie on the center oven rack and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees. Bake until the filling is fully set, about 25 minutes longer. When done, the center should not be soupy and the filling should wobble as a whole. Transfer the pie to a cooling rack and cool thoroughly before slicing.

Makes 8 servings