I always thought the making of an Irish Coffee to be pretty basic, so was rather stunned when I ordered one at a local pub and was delivered some horrid concoction of whiskey, Bailey's Irish Cream, with a stir-in of instant coffee. I still shudder when I think of it, and have to shake my head at that waitress/bartender who delivered it with such aplomb, and then, upon seeing my rather horrified look, pulled it back and asked, "What's in an Irish coffee?" Well, coffee for one, Irish, for another, i.e. Irish whiskey, either Jameson or Old Bushmill's if you want to be authentic (It's permissible to drop a sugar cube in first if you like your coffee sweet, but I'm a purist so omit it.), and, in the name of all things holy...whipped cream!!
I have a set of glassware that makes it easy, pour the whiskey to the first line, the coffee to the second, and top with real whipped cream (REAL WHIPPED CREAM - do NOT use Redi-Whip or heaven forbid, something non-dairy like Cool Whip. Cows, people! Cream comes from cows, not chemists!). (This set of Irish coffee mugs has similar markings, but run a bit on the pricey side.) Warming and wonderful, I guarantee no matter how bad your day started or may have become, Irish Coffee will make it all better.Here is a recipe for those of you without the appropriate glassware:
Traditional Irish Coffee
1 c freshly brewed hot coffee
1 jigger Irish whiskey (1½ oz.)
Heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks
Fill a footed mug with hot water to warm; empty. Place sugar cube into the bottom of the glass. Pour in whiskey. Pour in hot coffee into warmed glass until it is about ¾ full. Top with a dollop of the whipped heavy cream. Serve hot.Now...back to my book!
St. Patrick's Day Mysteries:
Nelson Demille: Cathedral
Andrew Greeley: Irish Gold
Jane Haddam: A Great Day for the Deadly
Lyn Hamilton: The Celtic Riddle
Lee Harris: The St. Patrick's Day Murder
Jonathan Harrington: A Great Day for Dying
Wendi Lee: The Good Daughter
Dan Mahoney: Once in, Never Out
Leslie Meier: St. Patrick's Day Murder
Sister Carol Anne O'Marie: Death Takes Up A Collection
Ralph M. McInerny: Lack of the Irish
Janet Elaine Smith: In St. Patrick's Custody
Kathy Hogan Trochek: Irish Eyes
Noreen Wald: Death Never Takes a Holiday
2 comments:
Thanks for linking. Think I'll have an Irish coffee now. :-)
Just Stopping by from TMTT. I wonder if I could use bourbon instead of whiskey in my coffee. (Maybe it wouldn't be irish then.) Either way Happy St. Patricks Day and while I'm here I wanted to invite you to check out my Iron Chef Challenge This month's themed ingredient is canned tomatoes, so link up a recipe using those and you could win a prize. It should be a lot of fun, hope you can join us!!
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