Archive for November, 2009
Now that winter has set in and the days are getting shorter, many people are beginning to crave food that’s as filling as it is delicious. Light, frivolous salads are fine in summer, but by this time of year we’re looking for something a bit more substantial. Seafood is always a good bet, and lobster bisque is among the creamiest, most savory dishes of all. Whether served as an appetizer or entrée, this recipe won’t disappoint.
Ingredients:
33 ounces of lobster meat, either fresh or canned as preferred
¾ cup flour
1 stick margarine
1 ½ tsp. sea salt ground from a salt mill
½ tsp. cayenne pepper
black pepper, to taste
4 cups heavy cream
4 cups milk
¼ cup dry sherry
Directions:
1. Thaw lobster meat if frozen and save liquid in the can for later use. Chop meat coarsely. Melt butter in stock pot over medium heat, stir in lobster and liquid from cans, then cover reduce heat. Cook 10 minutes.
2. Flour and cayenne pepper should be stirred in, and the pot allowed to simmer another 10 minutes. Add cream, sherry and milk.
3. Season to taste and serve with crackers.
We often think of black pepper as playing a subtle, secondary role in cooking. There are so many meals one might prepare that could taste “too bland,” in which case they could use some spicing up. That’s what pepper is traditionally for: adding some excitement and pizzazz to an otherwise ordinary dish. Growing up, I would sprinkle generous piles of pepper on my macaroni and cheese to kick it up that extra notch. In recent years, I’ve found that pepper can be made the primary flavor additive in a recipe. Take this one for black pepper chicken, for 
example.
Ingredients:
1 boneless chicken breast
1 white onion
1 green pepper
2 Tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. black pepper fresh from a Cilio pepper mill
¼ tsp. granulated sugar
2 Tsp. olive oil
Directions:
1. Cut chicken and green peppers into thin strips. Use half of soy sauce to slather on chicken.
2. Heat up a wok and add oil. Once hot, add sliced onions to stir fry. Then add black and green pepper. Stir-fry for about 1 minute, then add chicken.
3. When chicken is cooked, add remainder of soy sauce and sugar. Stop stir-frying when onions have caramelized with sugar. Serve hot.
If specialty coffee drinks were a fully furnished home, espresso would be the rock-solid foundation. Without that rich, full-bodied flavor underlying the sweetness of cappuccino, mocha and others, you’d just have a lot of style and no substance. Many people believe they know the secret to making the perfect espresso, and there’s no doubt that it takes time and dedication. Depending on your patience and level of commitment, you can even start from scratch.
Blending is a process many coffee lovers take for granted. Believe it or not, producers and wholesalers take care to blend different types of coffee beans to achieve an optimal balance of pleasing aroma, sweetness and other factors. Roasting is yet another step that most coffee consumers don’t trouble themselves with. It’s a common misconception that espresso should be roasted extra dark. In truth, this method will result in a bitter brew more often than not.
The next step is grinding the beans – an end that can be achieved in one of two ways. A typical grinder heats up the espresso, in effect dulling its taste and aroma. That’s why many coffee connoisseurs prefer a conical burr grinder that grinds consistently without creating friction-based heat. Tomorrow we’ll continue with this step-by-step outline, all the way to ridding a coffee maker of mineral deposits with a descaler.
It’s a well known fact that not all coffees taste the same. The climate of a given growing region – along with the richness of the soil – plays a large part in determining the resulting flavor. It’s also worth noting that different cultures prepare their coffee in different ways, some roasting the beans longer and others adding an abundance of sugar. Yemeni coffee is one of the most popular blends in the Middle East; it’s a dry, sweet coffee that pairs well with a portion of baba ganoush and pita bread. Here’s a recipe I’ve found to be convenient and delicious.
Ingredients:
1 eggplant
1 can garbanzo beans, drained
3 cloves garlic
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 Tsp. ground sesame paste
sea salt, to taste
Directions:
1. Cut eggplant in half and place in oven at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. Cool, then scoop out interior of eggplant.
2. Combine in blender with all ingredients except oil. Use Cilio salt mill to grind out a dash of salt over the top. Mix until smooth, slowly adding oil as you go.
3. Spread over pita and enjoy with Yemeni coffee.
Establish a Coffee Machine Maintenance Schedule
Like all consumer appliances, every make and model of coffee maker is different. Overarching rules about maintenance and cleaning are just that – general tips. Once you’ve owned and used a particular machine for several months or years, you’ll get to know it inside and out. Most importantly, you’ll be able to detect the slightest variation in taste and compensate for it immediately.
If you live in an apartment with a roommate, spouse or significant other, it’s best to coordinate your coffee machine maintenance schedule. Leave each other notes on the fridge if and when you took care of the cleaning. It’s a good rule of thumb to descale coffee makers once every few months. Some people also invest in a container of canned air – the tool many people use to clean keyboards – for dusting the coffee machine.
As we alluded to above, you’ll develop an ability to taste it when the coffee maker acquires a lime scale buildup. This is caused by an overabundance of mineral content in the water, but it’s not necessarily a cause for concern. If you know that your household has hard water, that just means you’ll need to decalcify it more often using either vinegar or a specialized product like Durgol.
Three Factors That Go into Great Espresso
Espresso is a drink that’s enjoyed in many parts of the Western world – from sidewalk cafes in Rome to trendy. Lately, the delicious beverage is becoming a fixture of average American kitchens as well. Although brewing the perfect cup of espresso is more an art than a science, in today’s blog we’ll attempt to boil it down to three essential parts – those parts being pressure, temperature and timing.
You might note that all three of those factors can be controlled with utmost precision, but that’s without accounting for numerous other variables – the quality of the coffee beans, the consistency of the grind, etc. When brewing espresso, the espresso machine should be heating water to between 190 and 195 degrees. By the time the drink reaches your cup, it may have cooled off by as much as 30 degrees.
Pressure mostly has to do with the tamping process, which we detailed earlier this week. Thirty pounds of pressure is a good rule of thumb, and learning to apply a consistent amount of pressure to the coffee will improve your odds of brewing a dependably tasty cup of coffee. Timing is the factor that should be most indicative of your success when making espresso. Bear in mind that a single shot should be made with 7 grams of coffee, yielding 1.5 ounces of espresso in roughly 25 seconds. Any significant derivation from those figures will spell trouble.
We’ve discussed many elements of the espresso experience – from selecting the best beans to crafting a delicious cappuccino to decalcifying a machine. Up to this point, however, we’ve neglected to mention the importance of tamping the coffee. In short, the main goal is to create a solid, consistent barrier of coffee through which the hot water will flow. If any part of this barrier is weak or nonexistent, the hot water will flow to that low-pressure area and the end result will be a weak brew.
Begin by distributing the grounds evenly into the filter. Hold the filter with a straight wrist, pressing the tamper down over top with about five pounds of pressure. When done correctly, you’ll note that some of the grounds will spill out of the filter. Next, you need to apply 30 pounds of pressure to achieve the perfect shape and density in the pellet of coffee. Until you get used to gauging the pressure you apply, try working on top of a bathroom scale.
Whether you rely on one of the top-of-the-line automatic Saeco espresso machines or a manual espresso maker, you should familiarize yourself with the tamping process. It pays to be knowledgeable about every step of the coffee making process. If you’re looking to purchase a tamper, steer clear of plastic, round-bottom versions. The tamper should be made of a light metal such as aluminum.
Although we’ve discussed ways to reduce the buildup of calcium and other minerals in the integral parts of an espresso machine, it’s time to revisit those cleaning techniques. Bear in mind that even if it were possible to prevent mineral deposits from forming inside the machine, you wouldn’t want to. That’s because the same water conditions that promote buildup also make coffee more flavorful. For this reason, all coffee lovers are stuck with the task of periodically descaling their machine’s boiler.
Before you begin, make sure you have all the tools required for the task: a large plastic container and a high-quality decalcifier such as Durgol. Take the water reservoir out of the machine, drain it of any liquid and fill it with warm water. Add the decalcifying agent to the reservoir and stir until it dissolves. Replace the reservoir and turn the machine on. Place the plastic container below the steam wand in order to catch any drippings.
Open the steam valve to allow all of the Durgol to drain into the container. This process should take a few minutes at the most. The liquid that has collected in the container should be thrown out. Rinse the water reservoir and fill it with regular water for brewing. Now run the machine through a “rinse cycle” without any decalcifier or coffee. By the time you’ve collected all the water in the plastic container, your machine is clean and clear.