Cafe Pergolesi Espresso Steak Rub Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 cup ground sweet ancho chile or chile powder

1/4 cup Cafe Pergolesi ground espresso

4 Tablespoons hot smoked Spanish paprika

3 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 Tablespoon dry yellow mustard powder

1 Tablespoon salt

2 Tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

1 Tablespoon powdered ginger

2 teaspoons Chipotle chile powder

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

Preparation Instructions:

Mix all up and store in an airtight container.

Tips:

Keep for use on grilling steaks and other meats.

Apply liberally to one side only, put this side down first.

You can grill on an open fire or on a griddle indoors.

If using 1″ steaks, about 4-5 minutes on each side will give you a medium rare steak.

I like to put a half teaspoon of herb butter on top of steak when serving.

Another suggestion is to mix a few tablespoons of this rub into about 1/2 stick of butter,

and my favorite idea – add some chocolate powder

If you’ve ever had coffee in New Orleans, you may find there’s an added, unfamiliar but pleasant zip in that cup. It isn’t the water and it isn’t special beans. More than likely, it is the chicory doing a zydeco dance on your taste buds.

What is Chicory?

Basically, chicory is a type of flowering plant of the Asteraceae family. While there are half a dozen varieties, only two are commercially cultivated for human consumption. Chicory grows very easily in much of the US, sometimes found as a weed called coffeeweed, succory or blue sailors.

Chicory plants are usually bushy with lavender or blue blossoms. While the flowers are beautiful to look at, the roots are actually what is used in the beverage making business. The greens are sold as endive, radicchio, Belgian endive, French endive or witloof in grocery stores. Cultivation is usually done in complete darkness so the greenery of the plant can be harvested and sold as well.

Chicory and Coffee

Dating back for many decades, the root of the chicory plant has been baked, milled and substituted or added to ground coffee to add a spiciness similar to but distinctly different than cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. It is believed that the French started this tradition and influenced cities like New Orleans to do the same. The essence of a coffee drink, when mixed with chicory, is less harsh and has less acid than plain coffee brews.

It’s Good for You

There are dozens of medicinal uses and benefits of including chicory in your cup of coffee. It’s been used for centuries in Germany, Rome and France to treat everything from liver and gallbladder problems to a laxative and dyspepsia.

The most recent discovery is that chicory is high in insulin, containing up to 20% of the blood sugar stabilizing chemical. This is great news for those suffering from Type II diabetes. Taken alone or mixed with coffee from beans, those stricken with diabetes can naturally and holistically stabilize their blood sugar levels and help maintain healthy levels.

While medical professionals will steer you away from treating many internal health problems on your own, you can use a strong pot of chicory coffee, taken throughout the day, to care for a number of ailments. Dyspepsia (chronic upset stomach), loss of appetite caused by nearly anything, liver trouble, gallbladder problems and intestinal worms can all be treated to some extent with chicory root beverage. Chicory is frequently prescribed to cancer patients going through chemotherapy to counter the appetite depleting and constipation often associated with the treatment as well as the disease.

Make a Chicory Coffee

Traditional chicory coffee is made with a French press. Start with about a quarter cup each ground chicory root and ground coffee beans. Both should be the texture of rough sand. Place both the chicory and the coffee beans in the bottom of the French press.

Boil enough water to just about fill the French press. Use filtered water if possible. As the water comes to a boil, pout it into the press. The beans and chicory root will float to the top of the water. Press the French press plunger down just far enough to hold the grounds under the water.

Allow the mixture to steep for about five minutes. Press the plunger in all the way to compact the grounds and release their essence into the water. Pour into cups and sweeten with a cube of sugar or artificial sweetener and milk or cream.

The spent grounds make a great lawn and garden fertilizer. If you compost, adding the grounds will infuse nitrogen into the resulting soil. Worms will swarm to your compost and garden to munch your grounds.

Gourmet Chicory Coffee

If you don’t want to experiment at home, then you can also get New Orleans-style coffee with chicory roasted and ground to order from specialty coffee roasters. Chickadee Brand coffee is a popular organic, Fair Trade coffee roasted by Big City Coffee and available throughout Louisiana and online at http://BigCityCoffee.com

Delicious Homemade Coffee Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1.5 cups whole milk
.75 cups sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

Preparation:

In a medium saucepan, mix the previous ingredients. Stirring to dissolve sugar, simmer over medium-low heat.

Add .25 cup roughly ground coffee beans. I like to take some whole organic coffee beans, put them in a bag, and hit them with a rolling pin until I get a quarter cup. Cover, remove from the stove, and let the beans steep for 30 minutes. After the half-hour is up, strain the liquid in to a clean saucepan, doing away with the coffee grounds.
Bring the mixture back to a simmer.

Beat 2-3 egg yolks (large) in a bowl.

Stir around a 1/2 cup of the milk blend in to the eggs yolks, slowly. Then, stir the milk-egg blend back in to the saucepan. Stir constantly, cook over a low heat until the mixture reaches 175 degrees Fahrenheit, and coats the stirring spoon. Under no circumstances should this mixture boil! Put the liquid in a bowl, and let it cool in the refrigerator. When cold, mix in:

1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups heavy cream

Pour this in to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the directions.

Alternatively, if you have to ice cream maker, instead of pouring the mix into an ice cream maker, pour it in to any freezable container and put it in the freezer. Stir it every half hour to make sure it freezes properly. This will not yield quite the same creamy texture as the ice cream maker will, but it’s still delicious.

Enjoy!

I’m from New Orleans and I’m not going unless they serve beignets and cafe au lait in Heaven…here’s the beignet recipe I use while down here in the waiting room.

Ingredients for a Devine Beignet:
•1 envelope active dry yeast
•1 1/2 cups warm water (approx. 105°)
•1/2 cup granulated sugar
•1 teaspoon salt
•2 eggs, beaten
•1 cup evaporated milk
•7 cups all-purpose flour
•1/4 cup shortening, softened
•oil for deep frying
•powdered sugar

I was five and a half when I had my first chickory coffee au lait and two huge beinets outdoors at Du Monde’s Cafe in the French Quarter…enjoy!

Preparation:
In large bowl, sprinkle yeast over the warm water; stir to dissolve and let stand for 5 minutes.
Add sugar, salt, beaten eggs, and evaporated milk.
Whisk or use electric mixer to blend thoroughly.
Add 4 cups of the flour; beat until smooth.
Add shortening; gradually blend in remaining flour.
Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 4 hours or overnight.
Roll out on floured board to 1/8-inch thickness.
Cut into 2 1/2 to 3-inch squares.
Deep fry (yes, this is southern cooking!) at 360° for 2 to 3 minutes until lightly browned on both sides.
Drain on paper towels and sprinkle generously with powdered sugar.
Serve piping hot with Big City coffee.
Makes 1 Serving (4-5 dozen!)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brewed espresso
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 2 tbsp. dark rum
• 2 tbsp. Grand Marnier or orange liqueur of choice
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Curled orange rinds for garnish

1. In two large glass mugs divide brewed espresso
2. Add 1 tablespoon sugar to each and stir until dissolved, then mix into each 1 tablespoon rum and 1 tablespoon orange liqueur
3. Drizzle 1/2 cup cream over back of spoon so most of cream stays on top of the coffee
4. Repeat with second mug
5. Garnish with curled orange rinds
6. Serves two

Here’s a great pick-me-up for a hot, humid day…not for the faint of heart!

• Pour about 3 oz of whole milk into a tall, chilled glass
• Add one or two ounces of brewed espresso
• Plop in 2 scoops of your favourite ice cream
• Slowly add Coca-Cola (Coke!) over the whole thing
• Stir the whole mix unti a dense head of foam appears at the top of the glass
• Slurp the foam that is spilling over the sides of the glass
• Sip the rest at your leisure!

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups water
4 cinnamon sticks, broken in half lengthwise
3 1/2 tbsp. brown sugar
3 tbsp. ground espresso or Mexican coffee
Cinnamon sticks for garnish

PREPARATION:

Combine water and cinnamon sticks, bringing to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 3-4 minutes.
Stir in sugar and simmer briefly until dissolved. Raise heat and bring to boil.
Stir in coffee and simmer 1 minute. Remove from heat.
Let sit 2 to 3 minutes, allowing coffee to steep.
Strain and pour into two mugs.
Serve with fresh cinnamon sticks.
Makes 2 servings

Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and fat…

Ingredients :
Freshly Brewed Coffee
1 – Tablespoon Brown Sugar
3 – Tablespoons Irish Whiskey
Heavy Cream, Whipped until Slightly Frothy

Thanks to Ann Schreiter Jonak for asking on Facebook…

1) Start with great coffee!
2) Fresh roasted and ground a day before brewing.
3) An even grind, not too fine or too course
4) Use a glass/glass-lined French Press, not plastic
5) Let the water boil, then settle before pouring
(filtered water tastes best!)
6) Use less water than you think you should
7) Steep for about two minutes
Plunge, count to 20 and serve
9) I pour any coffee left in the press into a pre-warmed stainless thermos
10) Since coffee will continue to brew as it sits in the press, the
combination press and thermos might not be such a good idea!
11) Sweet Maria’s has a French Press Tip Sheet @ http://zwurl.com/gfge
12) Enjoy!

As promised, here’s our favorite, even-I-can-do-it, Tiramisu recipe…
the cinnamon is optional – I like it, but some folks say it confuses their tongue;
I think it might be the smell that throws them off….Enjoy!

Ingredients:
[adapted from the Frugal Gourmet]

Espresso, or extra-strength Big City coffee, 1/2 cup, tepid
sugar, 1/2 cup
brandy, 1/4 cup
egg yolks, 2
mascarpone cheese, 1 pound
ladyfingers, 1/2-pound package
semisweet chocolate, 4 ounces shaved
ingredients: icing

whipping cream, fresh, 1 cup
vanilla, 1/4 teaspoon
powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons
ingredients: garnishes

cocoa powder, for dusting
cinnamon powder, for LIGHT dusting (optional)
shaved chocolate

Directions:

Line the inside of a loaf pan with large sheet wax paper.
Stir espresso, sugar and brandy in mixing bowl until sugar dissolves. Reserve 1/3 cup.
Whisk egg yolks into this, and add the cheese. Whisk until smooth.
One at a time, soak ladyfingers in reserved coffee (don’t oversoak).
Place crosswise in pan, trim if necessary, and completely layer bottom.
Spread on half of cheese mixture, then 1/2 of shaved chocolate.
Repeat with ladyfingers, then remaining cheese, then rest of chocolate.
Cover with remaining ladyfingers.
Bring up flaps of wax paper, Wrap pan in plastic wrap and refrigerate 6 hours.
When serving, invert pan on serving platter, tapping bottom to remove “loaf.” Remove paper.
Whip whipping cream, vanilla and powdered sugar together until stiff. Spread over the “loaf.”
Dust with shaved chocolate.

Makes 1-8 servings