subject: Add Some Gourmet Coffee To Your Cooking [print this page] For the purist, a strong cup of gourmet coffee, enhanced with the exact right amounts of cream and sugar, is as close to heaven as we are allowed to come. For the adventurous cook, the gourmet brew lends a new kick to some traditional recipes.
The next time you are feeling outrageous in the kitchen, brew up a pot of your favorite coffee and tie on your apron. It's time to cook with caffeine.
Gourmet Coffee Adds a Kick to Texas Beef
We know it can be dangerous to expose a man's secrets surrounding his barbecue techniques. A favorite ingredient in one Texan's grilled beef burgers is a healthy portion of ground coffee in the rub. He mixes in about one tablespoon of ground beans to this rub, along with brown sugar, pepper and his signature mix of spices.
A few minutes before grilling his beef patties, he rubs them down with a good helping of the rub. As soon as they hit the grill, the spices and scent of coffee start to sizzle.
Gourmet Coffee and Brownies: A Perfect Match
Baked goods, especially those made with rich cocoa, are even better when infused with a bit of coffee flavor. Try making a batch of double fudge mocha brownies. Use the best cocoa you can find (not too sweet; a bittersweet cocoa has the richest flavor). Add two tablespoons of finely ground espresso beans to the batter. Bake as usual, and enjoy the amazing aroma as coffee blends with cocoa in wafts from the oven.
It may be hard to find the patience to let them cool, but please restrain yourself. When they are cool enough to cut, brew a fresh cup and slip into coffee break bliss.
Beef Stew with a Gourmet Coffee Twist
Every family has their own tried and true recipe for beef stew. Some families use their own blend of spices; others swear by a red wine base. Have you tried coffee? Try adding about a cup of brewed espresso to the Dutch oven before you brown the beef. The flavors will mix with the spices and create something out of this world. By the time the stew is ready, the coffee flavor will have mellowed to a delightful afterthought, and the skin of the beef will have a heavenly dark color and spicy taste.
So think outside the cup, and add some coffee to your old family recipes.
