So guys as promised the first Challenge of the year is here. I chose this ingredient simply because I love it. I´m addicted to it, I consume it daily. It also has yet to be featured as a challenge ingredient. A side from being a cook, my family produces and exports this ingredient, my country (Brazil) is one of the worlds largest producers and exports it. You may see it a lot in desserts or sauce work, its bitter, its dark, and we probably have it every morning, it´s.... COFFEE!! Coffee may be tricky, but it isnt just a drink. It can be used as a rub, in a sauce, it can be infused into dishes in a really creative way, it´s also quite often seen in desserts. I really want to see versatility with coffee. It´s one of my food passions, and since I cant start my morning without it, well I just had to start off my year with it too, as well as the first challenge of the year. I have a really big passion for this ingredient, I do gigs at a cafe, I spend hundreds of bucks a year on coffee. I produce small quantities of this treasure, and follow the market as well, so to me it was a pretty easy decision on what I would choose for this challenge. For newcomers the guidelines are on this link... https://cheftalk.com/threads/monthly-cooking-challenge-guidelines.92248/ So let´s start off the month with some fun and coffee. I declare that the challenge has begun!!
Shucks. If I were still homebrewing beer, I'd be putting together a coffee stout. I'm sure I'll come up with some other ideas. mjb.
That's going to be a difficult one for me. I like Irish coffee, but I have never cooked with coffee.....
I've got a few ideas - coffee and meat and I can see working a treat. Beans seem a good idea - I'm thinking on those lines. Desserts are easy and I have lots of ideas. But fish/seafood doesn't seem to go with coffee.... could that ever possibly work? I have an idea percolating... Its certainly an interesting challenge!
Desserts are easy and I have lots of ideas. But fish/seafood doesn't seem to go with coffee.... Sounds fishy to me...
So I have here a dish to break the ice. It´s a pasta dish, pretty simple handmade pasta, with some veggies, but the trick is the meat. Lamb marinated with a variety of spices, including cinnamon and coffee.
Yes, I didn't realize how dirty it was until I posted that picture. Tomorrow the machine get shut down for cleaning, blowing out the dust, etc. mjb.
I´m pretty anxious to see who´s going the first dish of the challenge this weekend. Hope you guys are brewing up some ideas (no pun intended with the "brewing").
Here ... I'll kick it off ... ... TiraMisu My cheese mix uses ordinary mascarpone w/ half as much very dry ricotta and heavy whipped cream. That way is not so diabetes inducing. Into that goes a good few drops of almond or hazelnut oil and oil of coffee. Along with that is a cup of confectioner's sugar. I blitz this up real nice in a stand mixer. Where I shop there are two(2) types of ladyfingers; soft and crunchy. I used both and combinations ... I think I like the crunchy best. A trick for assembly is to touch the bottom of each end so they stick to the plate and not move on you. Layers is up to you; I like two(2) or three(3) depending on my attitude, number of servings and who is paying. The coffee mix is 50% really freakin' strong coffee and 25% coffee liquor and butterscotch schnapps. Assembly is ladyfinger, coffee juice, cheese ... repeat. The cheese mix is added by squeezing nice lines from the famous zippy-bag w/ cut off corner. On the top layer after the cheese a nice skim of whipped cream goes on then a dusting of powdered cocoa mixed w/ some confectioner's sugar. You can go strait cocoa if you like. Enjoy.