Tinfoil Chef

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A large majority of people require at least one good cup of hot coffee before they’re able to function first thing in the morning. If you want your coffee to give that instant energy and mood improvement, Espresso can be an ideal solution. There’s a lot of ways to make Espresso to suit your personal taste.

Espresso was first produced in Italy and it’s been very popular all over the world since. making great espresso is something of an art form, and without the knowledge of coffee it can be difficult to do.

Espresso is made using a special espresso machine. It’s basic function is pretty much the same as ordinary coffee makers. You put coffee grounds into it, add hot water and start it up.

Some espresso machine’s have a measure to insure that you use the right amount of coffee. If yours has one then it’s a good idea to use it. Smaller Espresso machines need water added a cup at a time. Larger machines can hold enough water for several cups.

Once the water tank is filled and the coffee grounds are loaded in the machine you simply press a button and hot water runs through the coffee grounds and into your cup. For the true espresso lovers among us, it’s is ready to serve at this point. If you decide you don’t want your coffee quite so strong theres a few things you can do.

You can put a little bit of milk and foam in the espresso to make it a Macchiato. For a weaker espresso, called a lungo, more water is used. Doubling the amount of coffee grounds in an espresso, sure to give a serious energy rush is called a Doppio.

I think almost everyone knows about cappuccino, which is made from an espresso with froth and milk. If you add milk to an espresso without the froth you have a cafe latte where the milk is warmed up and floating on the top of the drink. Those with more of a sweet tooth, you’ll like a mocha with chocolate and milk added.

Espresso, with just a little milk is called a Cartado, there’s also an Americano, an espresso that is diluted with hot water.

No matter what your taste you can find an espresso coffee to suit your taste.

Technorati Tags: coffee, macchiato, espresso, cappuccino, espresso machine, european coffee, strong coffee, italian coffee

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Before I get to the Apple Dumpling Dessert, I’m going off topic briefly to talk a bit about Saint Xavier University’s Online Master of Science in Nursing program. That’s right, it’s an online course for an online MS nursing CNL (Clinical Nurse Leader) degree.

This school isn’t some fly-by-night outfit run from somebody’s web server either. It’s an established, accredited school that first opened it’s doors in 1846 and is fully accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. All content and direction of the online courses are still overseen by their faculty and instructors.

Their MS-CNL program was designed to meet the needs of today’s Nurses with the flexibility of online delivery which makes it easier for people with busy work schedules to still fit in higher education.

Graduates of their online Master’s degrees find themselves prepared for wide variety of demands of the field and the changing needs of employers. Combined with a weekend of applied campus experience, the online course’s flexibility is designed for today’s busy students. These online programs give students the flexibility to complete a degree around the busiest of personal schedules.

Now, since all of that studying and degree earning has no doubt made you hungry, it’s time to reward ourselves with that Apple Dumpling Dessert.

Start out by peeling, coring and then thinly slicing 2 1/4 pounds of cooking apples. Then put the apple slices in a 12 inch skillet and add 3/4 cup sugar, a cup of water and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and stir well.

While that’s heating up, stir together 1 cup of biscuit mix and 1/3 cup of milk until the mix is moistened.

When the apple mixture gets to boiling, dumpling mixture in 6 portions over the apples. Let that simmer uncovered for another ten minutes. Sprinkle it with cinnamon and sugar. Then cover and simmer until the apples are tender and the dumplings are cooked all the way through (about another 10 minutes).

Apple Dumplings:
2 1/4 pounds of tart cooking apples
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup of water
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 cup of biscuit mix
1/3 cup of milk

Topping:
1 tablespoon of sugar mixed with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

I know they’re technically a dessert, but I think they’ll go just great with a hot morning coffee.

Technorati Tags: recipe, treats, apple dumplings, dessert

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We’ve been spending a lot of time away from home this month and one of the things that I aways end up missing is the coffee I have at home. Oh, it’s nothing super special, In fact it’s an off-brand of coffee that I chose because it was the lowest price. But after all the time we’ve spent in hospitals or eating away from home and some of the truly vile concoctions that come out of coffee dispensers in these places I have never been so glad to come home and brew up a pot of my familiar el cheapo coffee and fix it the way I’ve been doing for years.

Sitting here enjoying the last of that first pot of home-brewed coffee in a couple of days I decided that it would be only appropriate to dig into the collection of coffee recipes and put one of them up tonight.

This one is called “Alpine Carnival”

You start by dividing two tablespoons of instant coffee and 1 teaspoon of vanilla evenly between two cups.

Then in a small saucepan, dissolve two tablespoons of brown sugar in a teaspoon of water. Stir the dissolved sugar over a medium heat until it reaches a full boil.

Once it comes to a boil immediately remove it from the heat and stir in 1 and a half cups of boiling water. Divide sugar mixture between the two cups and top with a dollop of whipped cream.

Technorati Tags: good coffee, coffee at home, recipe, cheap coffee, bad coffee, coffee

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Have you forgotten Canada? Like a lot of Americans I have to admit that I often forget about Canada, mostly because American media doesn’t tend to carry a lot of news out of Canada. Except of course for sports, which I generally don’t follow very much with the exception of NFL Football, where you can at least hear about Canadian sports once in a while.

I know there’s a good number of celebrities that many don’t realize are origianlly from Canada such as William Shatner. Others like Professional poker player Daniel Negreanu aren’t generally known very much outside of their particular field.

There’s not a lot of places here in the US where you’ll see company logo shirts with Canadian themed logos on them unless you’re in the northern tier of stats.

So when I ran across this recipe labeled “Canadian Coffee”, I did a bit of a double take. Looking it over I have to say that it looks good, though you probably wouldn’t want to fill a thermos with it to take to work.

For the topping, whip 3/4 cup of Whipping cream with 4 teaspoons of maple syrup until you get soft peaks and set aside.

Mix 3 cups of hot, black, double strength coffee with a half cup of Rye Whiskey and a quarter cup of pure Maple syrup.

Pour coffee to within an inch of the top and spoon the topping onto it.

Technorati Tags: recipe, drinks, rye whiskey, canadian coffee, maple syrup, coffee

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I’ve got a couple of Coffee recipes here that sound equally tempting.

The first one is a Chocolate Mint Coffee Float. For each serving mix a half cup of coffee and 2 tablespoons Creme de cacao liqueur. Top it with a scoop of ice cream (preferably mint chocolate chip)

This next one also sounds very interesting, Coconut Coffee

Bring two cups of half-and-half and a 15 oz can of cream of coconut to a boil over a medium heat, stirring constantly. Stir in four cups of hot brewed coffee. When you’re ready to serve, hit it with a shot of sweetened whipped cream.

Technorati Tags: mint coffee, coffee, mint, coconut coffee, coconut, recipe, mint chocolate chip, chocolate, whipped cream

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I’m not normally into alcoholic drinks but there’s a little story behind this one. The other day my wife and I were watching the Scripps national spelling bee and one of the words was “Advacaat”. What caught my attention was the definition given for the word looked very much like a recipe for something served with coffee so I jotted down the word (not wanting to rely on a memory that’s busy enough already as it is) so that I could look it up later.

It turns out that Advocaat is a Dutch equivalent of eggnog. The part about it that struck me funny is that the literal translation of Advocaat from it’s Dutch origin is “Lawyer”.

To make the Advocaat you start out with 9 large egg yolks at room temperature and add a teaspoon of vanilla extract and two cups of fine granulated sugar. Beat this mixture until it becomes a smooth, pale yellow color with a very thick consistency.

With a mixer running on minimum speed, slowly add two cups of Dutch Brandy. When the brandy is completely incorporated, put the Advocaat mixture in the top portion of a double boiler with the heat on low and slowly warm it. When it’s just nicely warm it’s ready to serve.

The Coffee part of this recipe comes in when you add a shot of Advocaat to strong black coffee that’s been allowed to cool and stir it in. The coffee takes on a rich and milky consistency and has a hint of vanilla flavor.

Technorati Tags: treat, advocaat, egg nog, cocktails, recipe, coffee, dutch brandy

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