Cooking with Coffee

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I am still shaking my head over the whole stockpiling toilet paper thing. I mean, come on, if worse came to worst, you could always fill a squirt bottle with water and you have your own personal bidet. If you leave a bit of the Dawn washing liquid in that bottle before you fill it, you have your own personal power wash. And who’s to say that isn’t better for the environment anyway, much less your nether regions, but I digress. I was thinking about what my personal stockpiling item would be (not that I advocate stock-piling under any circumstance), and mine would definitely be coffee. As such, I decided to go through the blog and see how many times I used coffee in cooking and baking. The numbers surprised me. Here is a nice collection of recipes containing that most wondrous of ingredients. Clicking on the name beneath each picture will take you straight to the recipe. Have fun!

What would your stockpiling item be?

Coffee-Crusted Filet Mignon (for Two)

Coffee-Chipotle Pork Chops

Classic Meat Sauce

Slow Cooked Red-Eye Roast Beef Sandwiches

Black and White and Red-Eye Chili

Slow Cooker Roast Beef with Red Eye Gravy

Slow Cooked Short Ribs

Coco Loco Rib Rub

Ham Steak with Red-Eye Gravy

Sugarfire Smokehouse Coffee Barbecue Sauce

Favazza’s Sicilian Chicken

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You know how it is, when you want something that you can’t have, that it makes you want it all the more? That’s me these days with really good, can-only-get-it-in-a-restaurant, Italian food. There are three of us who go out to dinner every month, and we tend to eat a lot of Italian food in the doing. We recently had lunch together at an Italian restaurant that had the most out-of-this world food that you can imagine. We were talking about going back, and then everything hit the fan, and, well, here I am. Wanting restaurant-quality Italian food, and unable to get it.

But wait! A friend (one of the above mentioned two) said that she had a recipe from one of our local favorites for Sicilian chicken that she had never tried. She sent it to me, and at first glance, it looked daunting. I mean, it’s just me; do I really want to go to a lot of trouble? Well honestly, that all depends, but I wasn’t feeling it when I’d planned to make this dish. Fortunately, it’s largely text. When you break it down, particularly if you make individual components of this recipe at various times of the day, it goes together in an absolute flash, and is restaurant quality delicious. Favazza’s (You can find Favazza’s magnificent recipe for Steak Modiga here), creator of this recipe, is located in the Italian section of St. Louis called “The Hill” (where Baseball great Yogi Berra grew up). People come from miles around (and by this I mean from all over the country), to eat on “The Hill.” This chicken dish is one of those reasons why.

Favazza’s Sicilian Chicken

For Sicilian Sauce

3 or 4 large cloves garlic (about 1 T.)

1 T. kosher salt

¾ c. fresh lemon juice

2 t. dried oregano

1 t. coarse black pepper

1 c. extra-virgin olive oil

For Sicilian chicken:

2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 2)

½ c. red wine vinaigrette

Oil for cooking surface

¼ c. olive oil

1 c. Favazza’s seasoned breadcrumbs (see below)

2 T. Sicilian sauce, per serving (see below)

Chopped parsley and lemon slices, for garnish

Prepare Sicilian sauce:

Peel garlic cloves. In a mini food processor, process garlic and salt until garlic is very fine. (Alternatively, use a sharp knife to mince garlic with salt on a cutting board.) Transfer garlic/salt to a glass bowl, stir in lemon juice, oregano and black pepper. Slowly whisk in oil until well-blended and just beginning to emulsify. Refrigerate until ready to use. Just before using, gently stir. Makes about 1¾ cups (use extra to toss with cooked vegetables).

To make breadcrumbs:

For breadcrumbs, season Italian breadcrumbs with flour, granulated garlic, dried pepper, salt and white pepper.

Make Sicilian chicken:

Cut each chicken breast in half lengthwise. Between 2 pieces of waxed paper, quickly tap (don’t pound) each chicken piece with a meat tenderizer until it’s about a ½” thick, thicker is fine too, just make sure each piece is about the same thickness.

In a sealable freezer bag or nonreactive container, toss chicken pieces with vinaigrette; let marinate in the fridge, preferably overnight, no less than a couple of hours.

Lightly oil a 10” sauté pan, and heat until very hot but not smoking. Remove chicken from and discard excess dressing; let chicken drain in a colander for a few minutes.

Set up an assembly line, one dish with oil, another with breadcrumbs. One at a time, lightly dip each chicken piece in olive oil, then dredge all sides with breadcrumbs, then drop onto hot surface (it should sizzle).

Let cook without moving until golden and crispy on bottom side, then flip and cook until chicken is fully cooked. (The cooking time will vary based on chicken’s thickness and the grill temperature. To test for doneness, cut into the center of one piece, the juices should run clear.)

To serve Favazza’s-style, transfer a chicken piece to a white oval plate and drizzle with 2 tablespoons Sicilian sauce. Sprinkle plate with parsley and top with a lemon slice, then serve hot.

Thai Noodles with Peanut Sauce

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I like to think of myself as having nerves of steel, but when you get down to it, I really don’t. And thus, I have not been ordering food for delivery, because as soon as I think I’m ready to do that, I hear of yet another restaurant being closed down because some of their employees have tested positive.

I have really been craving Thai food, so I just decided to make my own. Let me say that, whether you’re a seasoned veteran or not, when it comes to cooking there’s not much that gets any easier than this. So if, like me, you’re longing for peanut noodles from your local Thai place, give this a try. My guess is that you’re going to have all of the ingredients on hand. If you don’t have radishes, substitute julienne strips of carrot.

Thai Noodles with Peanut Sauce

8 oz. angel hair pasta

½ c. creamy peanut butter

¼ - 1/3 c. hot water

2 T. soy sauce

2 T. fresh lime juice

½ t. chili garlic paste*

1 tablespoon brown sugar

½ t. Melissa’s minced garlic

½ c. radishes, cut in julienne

½ c. sliced scallions, white and green parts

Cook pasta according to package directions.

While the noodles are cooking, put the peanut butter, water, soy sauce, lime juice, chili paste, brown sugar, and garlic in a food processor and process until smooth.

Drain pasta, and return to the pot. Add the sauce and toss until well coated. If you need to add more hot water to loosen the sauce so it distributes easily over the noodles, now is the time.

Turn the pasta into a shallow serving bowl and top with the radishes and scallions. Toss and serve warm.

*If you don’t have chili garlic paste, mash up some garlic and whatever chilies you have together to form a paste.

Glazed Cherry Loaf Cake

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I’m getting a little goofy, my friends; please, come join me. Seriously, this morning I found myself going through the stack of Christmas recipes that I somehow never got around to making. I don’t make a lot of cakes, loaf cakes in particular, but my granddaughter absolutely loves the color pink, and when I spotted this recipe online, somewhere, forgive me for not remembering, I thought that I really needed to make this for her. Then, Christmas came and went, and those cherries never moved from the spot on the shelf. Today I thought that it was time to pull out those two 10-ounce jars of maraschino cherries, and make that cake.

This is super easy to put together, requires no special equipment or mixer, and is good whether you add the glaze or not. I am a big fan of glaze, myself, so just had to add it, making it doubly pink, and doubly delicious. Glaze, or no glaze, I had this for breakfast. The gloves are off where food rules are concerned, so people, go crazy! Bake up that turkey that you have in the freezer, make yourself a birthday cake, grill some pork steaks or ribs, do whatever tickles your fancy. Why not?

Glazed Cherry Loaf Cake

¾ c. sugar

½ c. whole milk

½ c. oil

1 extra-large egg

1 t. vanilla extract

1 t. almond extract

2 c. flour

2 t. baking powder

¼ t. salt

2 10-oz. jars maraschino cherries,* drained, juice reserved

Glaze:

2 c. powdered sugar

2 T. melted unsalted butter

1/3 c. maraschino cherry juice, reserved from above

½ t. vanilla extract

½ t. almond extract

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, milk, oil, egg, and extracts. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring just until combined.

Coarsely chop the cherries in a food processor or with a knife. Gently fold the cherries into the batter.

Pour batter into a greased 9”x4” loaf pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, melted butter, cherry juice, and extracts in a small bowl. Mix until smooth.

Once the bread is cool, spread the glaze on top of the bread. Slice and serve.

*If this is for adults only, you may just want to swap the plain cherries for these whiskey maraschino cherries. Ho, boy!

Easy Gruyere and Brie Quiche

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Today I wanted quiche. I mean I really wanted quiche. Pickings are getting pretty slim around here, and despite the fact that I placed a delivery order for groceries, it isn’t scheduled to arrive for another week. Wow! So, I dug around, pulled out what I had on hand, namely eggs, Brie, Gruyere, some questionable milk, a bit of heavy cream, and a handful of eggs. The end result was nothing short of amazing. This was the absolute most delicious, creamy, wonderful quiche I have ever eaten. These two cheeses blended just beautifully. When combined, you get the nuttiness of the Gruyere, along with the creaminess of the Brie, resulting in a filling that is rich and custard-y. They aren’t kidding when they say, “necessity is the mother of invention.” I even made my own crust (something that I never do; store-bought crust is generally my wheelhouse). Look how flaky this crust is. Color me proud!

Easy Gruyere and Brie Quiche

1 piecrust, purchased or homemade
5 extra-large eggs
2/3 c. heavy cream
1 c. whole milk
4 oz. Gruyere cheese, grated
4 oz. brie cheese, cubed
Salt and pepper, to taste
Few gratings fresh nutmeg

Line a 9-inch pie pan with crust. Prick holes in the bottom with a fork, and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425° F. Remove crust from the freezer, line with foil, and fill with pie weights. Bake in the bottom third of your oven for 15 minutes. Remove foil and pie weights and bake for an additional five minutes.

Whisk together eggs, cream, and whole milk. Fold in cheeses, add salt and pepper. Pour mixture into pie crust, spreading cheeses to cover the bottom. Sprinkle top generously with freshly grated nutmeg. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until top is set and no longer jiggles when slightly shaken.

Remove from oven to wire rack and cool 15 minutes before.

Product Recommendation: Drillbrush Surfaces Set

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Confession: I hate to clean. Hate it. It just seems like such a waste of time because things are only going to get dirty again. So, I try to make this dirty job as pleasant as possible through the purchase of various cleaning products and equipment as agreeable as possible. And I think we all agree, that a good and thorough cleaning is important, now more than ever.

Recently I treated (if that’s the appropriate word) myself to this Drillbrush Bathroom Surfaces Set. Wowie! It is AMAZING! Just insert it into your drill as you would any drill bit, and go to town. There are three different sizes and shapes of brushes for cleaning around all of your bathroom surfaces. The bristles will not scratch and can be used on tubs, sinks, fiberglass shower enclosures, shower door tracks, and porcelain. Game changer!

I was stunned, truly, at how well it worked. The speed at which this setup takes you from dingy to dazzling is amazing as well.

If you’re becoming a bit paranoid these days, you just might want to pick up a set. Another bonus — the kids will ask to use them. Win-win! No fooling!

It Ain’t Gourmet Tamale Chili Casserole

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I remember when my boys were little and I had to get dinner on the table. It had to be something that I could get to them in the quickest amount of time possible, that my picky then husband would like, that the boys would like, and that was reasonably nutritious, and by reasonable, I mean by the widest definition of that word. I didn’t have time to browse cookbooks, or flip through magazines, or involve myself in tedious activities like pounding meat between two slices of waxed paper, or cutting vegetables into even julienne. I had to have a trough of something at the ready.

Remembering those days, and attempting to make up for today’s lack of culinary preparedness, I furiously ransacked my pantry, and found a can of tamales, and a can of chili, don’t ask me what they were doing there. I remember years ago, and I’m talking back in the 80s, when tamale casserole was all the rage, so I went back in time for a revisit. I assembled it from what I could remember, popped it into the oven, and when it was ready, I dug right in. I’ll tell you what, this is delicious! It was so satisfying and yummy, that I could hear myself making sounds one might hear from a pig looking for truffles. As I alluded to in the title, it isn’t fancy by any stretch of the imagination, but it is REALLY good.

It Ain’t Gourmet Tamale Chili Casserole

1 15-oz. can chili no beans
1 15-oz. can beef tamales
1 small Melissa’s shallot, chopped fine
1 2.25-oz. can chopped black olives
1 c. frozen corn, thawed
1 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Crushed corn chips

Preheat oven to 350° F. In an 11” x 7” baking dish, spread half of the chili evenly on the bottom. Remove paper from tamales and place them on top of the chili. Sprinkle with shallot, black olives, corn, and cheese. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until hot and bubbly. Serve immediately topped with crushed corn chips, guacamole, sour cream, additional cheese, or whatever you happen to like.