coffee

Holiday Gifts Guide for Food Lovers

November 24, 2017

Guys! The holiday season is upon us! Are you just as excited as I am? I can’t wait to start decorating my Christmas tree (which I am probably doing as you read this) and start shopping for gifts. I love trying to find fun, useful, and unique gifts for my friends and family. But I know, from experience, that it’s not always easy.

One thing I know pretty well is food. So if you have anyone in your life that likes to eat, cook, or bake food, or drink coffee or wine, this holiday gift guide is for you! I have an exhaustive list of gift ideas that I can almost guarantee will satisfy at least one person on your list.

FOR THE HOME COOK

1| Cookbooks. Pick out one of your favorite, most used, or interesting looking cookbooks that you think your friend or loved one would appreciate. Go one step further by bookmarking your favorite recipe (or the one that looks most delicious). If there are any unusual ingredients, spices, or cookware, add those to the gift along with the cookbook so that they have everything they need to make the recipe you picked out.

Here are some of my favorite cookbooks:

Cookbook Beyond Curry Indian Cookbook. Tag recipe for Hyderabadi Lamb Biryani. Pair with a mortar and pestle, spices (like Garam Masala, saffron, cardamom pods), and a nice heavy pot.
Cookbook Eat Mexico. Tag recipe for Tacos al Pastor. Pair with a tortilla press, achiote paste, and any spices you think they may not have in their collection.
Cookbook The Food Lab. Tag recipe for Pasta with Olive Oil and Three Flavors of Garlic. Pair with a pasta roller and cutter set (either as an attachment for their Kitchen Aid mixer or a manual set), and a nice quality olive oil.

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2| Kitchen Gear. Any home cook knows the importance of having the right gear. For instance, having the right knife, pot, or even tongs can make a huge difference. If you have a friend or loved one who would like to get more into cooking or you know needs a little upgrade in the kitchen, I highly recommend the following items:

A quality chef’s knife is a must-have in any kitchen
A cast iron skillet that can be used from grilled cheese to steaks
A meat thermometer, which is the only reason I no longer overcook chicken
A large chopping block to go along with that new chef’s knife
Countertop garden for anyone who likes to grow their own herbs
A pizza stone and peel for those who love to make pizza at home

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3| Cooking Classes. There are so many places to take cooking classes these days. Your local Sur la Table and Williams-Sonoma probably offer classes regularly. Often local colleges will offer some cooking classes open to the public. Just do a quick Google search and I am sure you can find several options to suit your loved one’s cooking or dietary preferences. Buy them a gift card or pick out a class you know they will like that you can take together!

FOR THE HOME BAKER

4| Cookbooks. The gift idea above doesn’t just have to be for home cooks, it could also be for home bakers! If you know someone, like me, who loves to bake all sorts of goodies, is addicted to the Great British Baking Show, or is constantly watching cake decorating videos on Youtube, well I have some great gift ideas for you!

Cookbook How to Cake It. Pair it with a squeeze bottle (Sir Squeeze A lot), cake pans, a cake turntable, and an offset spatula.
Cookbook Laduree Macarons. Pair it with a silicone baking mat with circles already drawn on.
Cookbook Bouchon Bakery. Pair it with Valrhona 70% chocolate (needed for the chocolate chunk cookies) and black cocoa powder (needed for the Knockout Cookies).

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5| Baking Accessories. As someone who bakes A LOT, I am all too familiar with just how many baking accessories there are. Nowadays, there you can find anything from basic cookie cutters to intricate piping tips that any baker would love to have in their collection. Here are some of my favorites:

Russian Piping Tip set to make awesome cakes and cupcakes like this
Large baking sheets (they fit so many cookies)
A beautiful pie dish set
101 cookie cutter set because you can never have enough cookie cutters
Adorable measuring spoons
A kitchen scale, because a true baker knows the value of a kitchen scale

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FOR THE COFFEE LOVER

6| Craft coffee bar. Craft coffee is pretty much the new craft beer. Here in Charlotte, there are craft coffee places popping up everywhere. There is everything from coffee on tap, pour over coffee, and signature espresso cocktails. All for the low low price of $5-10 (yikes!). If you have a coffee lover in your life who may be spending a bit too much on coffee at these fancy coffee shops, why not give them everything they need to make their own craft coffee at home?

Start by picking out how they like to make their coffee. Do they like iced coffee? Pour over coffee? Maybe they just need a shot of espresso first thing in the morning. Don’t worry, you don’t have to buy an expensive coffee maker (unless you really love them) if you don’t want to.

French press (my favorite way to make my morning coffee)
Pour-over coffee dripper, an easy (and cheap) way to make delicious coffee
Cold brew coffee maker for those who like a cold cup of coffee year round
Single-serve coffee system for those that like their coffee ready the minute their get up in the morning
Espresso maker which will make the recipient feel like they are living in their favorite coffee shop
Single-serve espresso maker for the latte lovers
The coffee maker that does everything except grind coffee beans

Okay, next pick out the coffee to go with the coffee maker. I love picking out local coffee for friends and family who live across the country. If this is a gift for someone who lives in another city or state, find your favorite local coffee roaster (your local grocery store probably has some in stock) and pick up a bag of BEANS. I stress beans because they stay fresher longer. If your friend is a coffee snob, they will appreciate the coffee beans and will likely have their own coffee grinder (if not, toss one in!). If you can’t decide which coffee to get them, consider a subscription so they can try new coffee every month!

Last, add any coffee accessories.

Coffee tumblers to keep the coffee hot (or cold)
Flavored syrups, either store-bought or homemade
A milk frother in case you don’t get them the fancy latte maker
A cute seasonal coffee mug

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FOR THE WINE LOVER

7| A wine subscription. We have one family member who always gets a wine related gift. Every year. Without fail. It’s not because we don’t know what else to get them. It’s because we know it will be greatly appreciated! This year, I think a wine subscription is in order. I think it’s great because it lets them try things they may otherwise overlook. There are some great wine subscriptions options from single-serving subscriptions to let you try before you buy, to subscriptions that send you the whole dang bottle so you can share with your friends (or not).

8| Wine accessories. These make great stocking stuffers for any wine lover. From wine charms to modern wine bottle openers, your wine lover will be happy with any of these gadgets.

Cork Pop wine bottle opener so that they can feel like every bottle of wine is a bottle of champagne
Insulated Wine Cups for those that want to take their wine on the go
Wine novelty socks just because
Cute wine charms or glass markers
Corvain wine system that allows you to pour a glass of wine without opening the whole bottle
Wine decanter or aerator (or both!)
A wine bucket for the host or hostess with the most or mostest
A wine carrier so they can take their wine with them wherever they go

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I hope this has helped you with any of your holiday shopping dilemmas! I know that there is often that one person that whose gift just alludes you. Well, if they love food, coffee, or wine, I am sure they will like anything on this list. If not, give me a shout and I am happy to help!

Boozy Frozen Latte

June 21, 2017

Summer’s here! If you live in the South, like me, it has felt like Summer since May. And if you live in Arizona, you can’t wait for Summer to be over already!

For me, that means that my morning cup of coffee has now turned into a nice cold cup of iced coffee to help me beat the heat.

While normally I stick to a plain (quick) cup of coffee during the week, on the weekends I like to treat myself to a latte or something equally as fancy. This past weekend, I went full on Iggy Azalea (I hope someone get’s the Fancy reference) and made myself a spiked frozen latte. Don’t worry, my plans for the day included laying by the pool, which means a nice frozen cocktail at 10 am was perfectly acceptable!

I was inspired to make myself this nice morning cocktail after my husband came home from New Orleans raving about the frozen Irish coffee he had at a spot called Erin Rose. I didn’t really need much convincing after that. Frozen = cold. Irish = boozy. Coffee = coffee. It seemed like the perfect way to start a lazy day by the pool!

HOW I MADE IT

There are lots of ways to make frozen coffee or espresso drink. Most of them include blending espresso with ice. But that just makes the espresso more watered down. Instead, I poured some milk into an ice cube tray the night before so I would have fresh milk ice cubes to blend with my espresso.

Speaking of espresso, I brewed two shots of my favorite Gourmesso pods which work perfectly in my Nespresso machine. Since I was blending the espresso with lots of milk (and other good stuff), I wanted that espresso to really pack a flavor punch. I went with the Ristretto Blend Forte because it’s a dark roast with tons of flavor (its a 10 out of 10 for intensity). That way I knew my espresso wasn’t going to be overpowered by everything else. Once the espresso had cooled to room temperature, I poured it into the blender with the milk ice cubes.

Now for the booze. I took inspiration from the original boozy coffee, the Irish coffee, and added a shot of Baileys Irish Creme to the mix. I also added a shot of Kaluha to really make that coffee flavor pop.

And for some extra creaminess, I added a splash of heavy cream. Just a splash.

Now I leave the hard part for the blender. It’s as simple as making a morning green smoothie! But, soooo much better (and not quite as healthy).

I poured it into a nice insulated cup (after I poured it into these glass cups so I could take fancy pictures), then took it with me to the pool. While other’s were drinking their Bloody Mary’s, I had a delicious frozen latte.

This is the perfect frozen cocktail for the Summer, whether that’s relaxing by the pool, beach or off on vacation! If you want to make this later in the day (because it’s also a great dessert), you can make this with your favorite decaf coffee (you can see more Gourmesso coffee capsules here). Just make sure to pick something that is really rich so that you maintain the delicious coffee flavor!

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Chocolate Hazelnut Espresso Biscotti

May 15, 2017

Today is my mom’s birthday. So everyone say “Happy Birthday” to my mom!

This year I am actually home for my mom’s birthday (and Mother’s Day). Normally I would just send her a card and maybe mail her a gift, but this year since I will be there (which I think is a gift in and of itself) I thought would kick it old school and hand make her something like I did when I was a kid. Maybe a card made out of construction paper and a macaroni picture frame.

No. If I know my mom, there are two things she would like more than a handmade card and a macaroni picture frame (there are a lot more than two, but let’s just pretend): a nice big cup of coffee and something chocolate. Fortunately, I have the perfect recipe to make that will check both boxes! Chocolate Hazelnut Espresso Biscotti!

Biscotti is the absolute perfect treat to make for anyone in your life who is a coffee drinker. But these chocolate-hazelnut variety amp up the flavor even more. Chocolate and coffee are made for each other.

Since this was my first time making biscotti, I referenced a few difference recipes, but this one looked the best so my recipe is largely based on it. The only difference is that my dough is flavored with both good quality cocoa powder and ground espresso. I like using the same espresso grounds that I would use to make my morning latte. They are already so finely ground and taste delicious.

I used Gourmesso’s Colombia Arabica espresso, which was perfect because it was strong and flavorful, but not overpowering. Gourmesso, for those of you who are not familiar, makes Nespresso compatible capsules that are way cheaper than your typical capsules. For references, the Gourmesso capsules I used were 49 cents per capsule. A similar Nespresso capsule costs 74 cents. Not too shabby! Plus they have a ton of flavors and varieties.

Making biscotti dough is exactly like making cookie dough. First cream together the butter and sugar. Add in the eggs and vanilla, then mix in all your dry ingredients.

What you will end up with is a pretty wet dough. It’s not going to be the consistency of your classic chocolate chip cookie, it will be very very sticky!

Split the dough in half and form them into two logs. Definitely wet your fingers down when you do this so that the dough doesn’t stick to your hands.

Bake them until they have expended and cracked a bit. They will have a crispy crust, but be a little spongy when you press down on the top.

Once your biscotti logs have cooled to room temperature, you can cut them into slices. Use a serrated knife to get nice even cuts. Then lay the slices on the baking sheet, cut side down and bake again until they are nice and crunchy!

Now, these biscotti are good plain. They do not need any help. But a little extra chocolate never hurt anybody. Especially espresso-spiked chocolate.

I mixed in a bit more espresso grounds into some melted chocolate to get this rich chocolate flavor. You may be wary about this step if you don’t want a strong espresso flavor. But really espresso just brings out the chocolate flavor more than actually imparting it’s own flavor. Like I said, they are a match made in heaven.

There are a couple techniques to top these with some chocolate. You could just take a spoon and drizzle chocolate on top. Or you can dip them in chocolate.

To dip them, pour the melted chocolate into a tall skinny glass. Then dip the biscotti in and immediately press into some chopped hazelnuts.

Um, yum right? Coffee and chocolate are a great combination. But hazelnuts and chocolate are just as good (if not better!).

I dare you to have just one biscotti with your coffee or espresso. I had about five with my Vanilla Gourmesso Coffee. The crunchy cookies just soaked up the delicious coffee and it made it impossible to stop at one.

Sounds like the perfect homemade birthday gift for mom!

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Tiramisu Cupcakes

February 27, 2017

I have a pretty high standard for tiramisu. My former boss was married to an Italian chef. Not just a chef who specialized in Italian cuisine, a chef who worked in Italy his entire career until he met his wife. You know he made some pretty mean tiramisu. So yeah…the bar is high.

And this is probably where I should tell you that these tiramisu cupcakes are just as good as my former boss’s Italian chef husband’s tiramisu (say that 5 times fast). Yeah…they aren’t (dude, his tiramisu is legit). But, they are pretty dang good! And just a tad easier.

Instead of ladyfingers, I made my favorite vanilla cake, which just so happens to be Trader Joe’s vanilla bean cake mix (don’t hate!). Once they were nice and cooled, I poked a couple holes into cupcakes using some left over (unused) chopsticks.

Then I poured over an espresso cream over top, which soaked right into those holes faster than I can put back a cup of coffee on Monday morning.

Next, I topped off these coffee-soaked cakes with a whipped cream-marscarpone icing. Which, as you may guess is made up of whipped cream and marscarpone cheese (and a bit of sugar, of course).

Tiramisu isn’t tiramisu without a hint of chocolate. Like traditional tiramisu, I dusted the tops of each cupcake with some cocoa powder.

Pretty easy right?! I would much rather make these tiramisu cupcakes than actual tiramisu. There’s almost no assembly required.

And if you are wondering why in the heck did I poke all those holes?

That’s why! All that creamy-coffeey (making up words over here) goodness works it’s way right down into the cupcake which makes the cakes super moist and extremely flavorful. Like having a shot of espresso along with your cake.

The best (and only) way to have a shot of espresso, in my opinion.

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Bunny Ears for your Coffee Cup

March 25, 2016

Bunny Ear Cookies-9

Happy Good Friday, everyone! Unless you don’t celebrate Easter, then just Happy Friday!

Since Easter is just around the corner, I wanted to squeeze final Easter post just in time for Sunday’s festivities. My last, but quite possibly my favorite Easter post of the year are these are bunny ear cookies. What makes these extra cute is that they are meant to sit right on top of your coffee mug to transform your average cup of joe into a festive Easter bunny! Aren’t they adorable? Once again, I can’t take full credit (y’all should know by now I have almost no original ideas). I saw Dominique Ansel (of cronut fame…this isn’t the first time I’ve copied him) post a picture on Instagram of his latest confection creation – a ice cream cup that had very similar cookie bunny ears. Since I won’t be attempting to recreate the cronut anytime soon, I thought I would give these bunny ears a shot!

I used the same technique as I did with these Easter cookies – covering the cookie in fondant, then tinting the centers with pink luster dust.

To get the cookies the right shape, I found a cookie cutter that claimed to be a football. But as you can see its a little flat and uneven. It may make a terrible football, but it was the perfect shape for bunny ears! Once the cookies were rolled out, I cut a small slit in the bottom of the cookie wide enough for to fit around the lip of my coffee mugs. I made the opening even wider because the cookies expand in in the oven, so I wanted to make sure there was enough space left after baking.

I then rolled out the fondant and cut it in the same shape. I “glued” the fondant onto the cookie with just a little bit of water, then brushed on some pink luster dust down the center of the cookie. From the back of the cookie (the cookie side, not the fondant side), I cut out the fondant, following the cut in the cookie. Once that fondant was removed, I smoothed all the edges and my ears were done!

All that was left to do was to find a cup of coffee to stick these on!

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I’m kind of obsessed with these even though my husband thinks I am a little crazy. I guess he just doesn’t get it. Where is his sense of whimsy!?

I think these will be my new Easter tradition, especially if we have people over for brunch or there are kids around. Who wouldn’t want some cookie ears with their coffee?

But these ears don’t just have to go on a cup of coffee, it can be a glass of milk or a mug of hot cocoa. I mean, how cute would these be with a generous swirl of whipped cream on top?

I do think that adding a little face to the mug or cup is necessary, though. I used food black food coloring and a toothpick for the eyes and pink food coloring and a paint brush for the nose. You could also use stickers or markers depending on how much you are about your dishes.

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Wouldn’t your kids love these cookies? They can even help you make them!

Also, high five to my friend Michelle who helped me come up with the name for this post. I was totally lost on what to call this one, but her idea was perfect!

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Homemade Extracts

September 1, 2014

If you are an avid baker, you may already be familiar with how easy it is to make vanilla extract. But that is not the only extract that can be easily (and cheaply) made at home! A few weeks ago, I tried my hand at making several different types of homemade extracts, which I am happy to report, pretty much all turned out well.

I started by washing and drying 5 glass bottles I purchased at the container store. I just washed them out with soap and water, then I dried them in a warm oven. This not only makes sure they are bone dry, but they also get sterilized in the process.

Once the glasses were nice and dry, I filled them up with a pretty arbitrary amount of chopped almonds, lavender, coffee beans, lemon peel, and vanilla beans. Making extract isn’t really an exact science. The more of ingredients you put in the bottle, the more intense the flavor will be. But you can also get an intense flavor by letting those ingredients sit in the vodka for a longer period of time.

Then I just topped off each bottle with vodka. It doesn’t have to be the best vodka around, but don’t go too cheap. You want to make sure that the extract tastes like coffee or vanilla, not flavored vodka.

Unfortunately, unlike other recipes, you won’t be able to enjoy this one for at least 4-6 weeks. To get a rich and flavorful extract, the vanilla beans, coffee beans, almonds, lemon peel, lavender buds, etc. need to sit and release their flavor for quite a while. But if you are patient, you will have yourself some great, homemade extracts that can be used for any of your baking purposes.

For some of the extracts, you may want to strain out beans/buds/nuts. For instance, I strained out the coffee beans, almonds, and lavender buds. But I kept the vanilla bean and lemon peel. Both are big enough that they won’t be poured out when I use the extract. Plus, I can keep topping off the bottle after use.

Homemade extracts make an awesome holiday gift! If you get started now, you can have them ready in time for Christmas (or well before)!

Just a side note, the coffee extract is very strong so use sparingly. And the almond extract is not as strong as the store bough variety. Honestly, I will probably stick with my store-bought almond extract.

Have you made any other type of extract?

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Cold Brewing Coffee

July 22, 2014

Now that it’s warm and muggy outside, a hot cup cup of coffee just doesn’t sound very refreshing. Unfortunately, I still require that nice jolt of caffeine in the morning to get me going. Last summer, I experimented with different methods of brewing coffee for iced coffee which ranged from throwing a bunch of ice cubes into a cup of hot coffee to cold brewing the coffee grounds.

While the former can be done at the last minute if I desperately want an iced coffee, the latter yields a much better tasting, richer, and not so diluted cup of iced coffee.

The best part is that cold-brewing doesn’t require anything special. Actually, you can cold brew coffee without any special machine or equipment. You just need a little time.

The night before, I pour 1 part ground coffee and 2 parts water into a seal-able container. I mix it up a little bit and leave the coffee in the fridge overnight.

The next morning, I place a coffee filter over a cup or jar and make sure that it is fastened to the container so that it doesn’t fall in with the coffee. I like using a ball jar because I can make sure the rubber band, or twine in my case, is anchored in those groves. This part takes a little bit of patience. I pour the coffee mixture up to the top of the coffee filter then walk away and let it go to work. Then I give it a minute or so the fill it up a bit more.

This step also takes some time. But you can do this well ahead of time and store the filtered coffee for the week to use whenever you want a cup. If you like a nice big cup of black iced-coffee in the morning, then I suggest brewing 1.5 to 2 cups of water for every day you want a cup (for 5 days, I would brew 5 cups of ground coffee with 10 cups of water).

But if you are like me and like a healthy dose of milk in your coffee, then you may only need one cup of water for every day (for 5 days, I would brew 2.5 cups of ground coffee with 5 cups of water).

Do you switch to iced coffee in the Summer? What is your favorite way to brew it?