Category — Drinks

This Mexican-inspired cocktail will be perfect for the crazy hot summer months. The drink starts with silver tequila. Cactus pear juice gives the vibrant color and a bright acidity. Cinnamon simple syrup and a splash of lime juice add more layers of flavor. Finally, the glass is rimmed with some vanilla salt. Salúd.

These stunning photographs were taken by Mike Boehmer.

Mike is a Chicago-based photographer and a regular contributor to The Windy Pixel. Please visit www.mikeboehmer.com for more fantastic photography!

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Limoncello is a a traditional Italian “digestivo,” or after dinner cordial, that is believed to help in digesting the meal. Whether it has medical merits or not, limoncello is certainly a refreshing end to a rich and filling meal. It’s made by infusing alcohol (usually grain alcohol) with lemon zest for a month or longer. Fresh lemon juice and simple syrup are added to the infused alcohol to make a delightfully sweet and full bodied liqueur.

Limoncello is very easy to make if you can be properly patient. Here’s the process.

Limoncello:

Your coffee service this evening may look terribly conventional. Indeed it is a cup of coffee with whipped cream and an Italian cookie. But in what forms are all these elements?

The coffee is actually an espresso créme brulée. Espresso combined with a velvety baked custard create a delightful hot and cold, creamy and crunchy version of the classic latté. The “foam” or “whipped cream” on top is a lightly sweetened mascarpone mousse with a touch of shaved dark chocolate.

The cookie is a cookie…but it’s also not a cookie: it’s lady finger ice cream. The ice cream is made and flavored with the classic Italian pastry. After freezing the lady finger ice cream, I used a homemade mold to reform it into the shape of the cookie to which it owes its flavor and inspiration. I made the molds using Silicone Plastique from Make Your Own Molds, a great online source for culinary mold-making.

Silicone molds of lady finger cookies freeze the ice cream into perfect cookie shapes

Beneath the ice cream cookie is a sprinkling of chocolate lady finger crumbs. These crumbs bear a striking resemblance to coffee grounds (a very happy coincidence considering I did not plan this at all), bringing the flavor and concept of this dish full circle.

Do all these flavor elements sound familiar? Yes, ladies and gentlemen, your cup of coffee is tiramisu.

How do you make this classic yet modern dessert? Well, I’m happy to share my secrets! Simply sign up for the Garrett’s Table E-mail newsletter by clicking the link below and entering your e-mail address. I’ll include the recipe, including instructions on how to make your own ice cream molds, in my next mailing (March 1, 2010). All emails are confidential and you can un-subscribe at any time.

These stunning photographs were taken by Mike Boehmer.

Mike is a Chicago-based photographer and a regular contributor to The Windy Pixel. Please visit www.mikeboehmer.com for more fantastic photography!

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The coffee bean is the seed of the coffee tree, which are a group of trees belonging to the genus Coffea.  The most commonly grown and cultivated is Coffea arabica, from which we get our beloved Arabica coffee.  The fruits of the coffee tree are commonly called coffee “cherries” or “berries” and within each fruit is two coffee beans, with the flat sides in contact with each other.  The endosperm of each seed contains 0.8-2.5 percent caffeine…and this is a very good thing indeed.

Cultivation of the coffee tree began in Ethiopa in approximately 850 AD. The word “coffee” comes from the Ethiopian region of Kaffa. When the coffee beans are harvested they are initially a dull green color.  To develop the flavor, and maximize caffeine extractions, the beans must be roasted, and this can be done to a variety of levels:

Coffee berries (left) contains the green coffee beans (right) which are then roasted to develop flavor and extract caffeine

A light roast is often called a New England Roast and these beans have a very light brown hue with no visible oily residue.  Moving up the chain is the American Roast, Espresso, and then the double roast French Roast.  At the French roast stage, the beans begin to smoke slightly and some of the sugars turn to carbon.  The result in an intensely (but delightfully) bitter coffee with slight smokiness.

The French mastered the roast for a cup of brewed coffee but the ultimate coffee award must go to Italians for sheer ingenuity.  Yes, of course, I’m speaking of espresso.  No other drink is so ubiquitous in this modern world of double foam mocha caffe latte whip caramel-chinos than espresso.  This intense drink is fantastic on it’s own and can create a myriad of other classic drinks including the latte (espresso and steamed milk), the cappuccino (espresso and foamed milk), and the cafe Americano (espresso and hot water).  To make espresso, the beans are roasted dark then ground fine. The grounds are then pressed into a puck in a special espresso maker.   Hot water is then pressed through the espresso puck, creating an intensely rich coffee drink with a thin layer of foam called the crema.

Not only is espresso great for creating coffee drinks, but it’s a major inspiration for a classic Italian dessert: Tiramisu.  Please stay tuned to Garrett’s Table this week for a unique take on one of the world’s favorite desserts!

As a side note, coffee is indeed a cash crop and has resulted in the exploitation of workers in numerous countries, especially Central and South America.  Coffee that is labeled as “fair trade” means that the operation of the coffee plantation is sustainable and humane both for workers and the environment.  Fair trade coffee is more expensive, but the small increase in price assures the support of the movement and a trend toward revolutionizing the coffee industry.

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Egg nog is a classic and delicious cold-weather drink. Unfortunately in today’s consumer society it has been relegated to the flabby, un-compelling, pre-packaged versions available next to the half and half and only during the holiday season. The original classic is incredibly simple to make and tastes infinitely better than any store-bought nog. Usually spiced heavily with nutmeg and cinnamon and combined with cognac, bourbon, or rum, egg nog is certainly a heavy drink. However, it’s delightful weight matches perfectly with the cold winter.

I knew I wanted to make some eggnog and share it with my internet audience, but every audience needs a show. I needed to finesse the presentation to make egg nog even more exciting. In the glass is a bit of cognac that is deeply infused with nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla. The egg is nested on some toasted pine branches, which provide a delightful and apropriate egg nog-drinking aroma. “But what’s with the egg?” you ask. Well it’s filled with egg nog of course! What better way to surprise your guests than to crack what appears to be an egg into their fine cognac, only to reveal your sleight of hand when luscious egg nog spills from the cracked shell!

Want to know how to create this stunning presentation? This recipe is exclusively for Garrett’s Table newsletter subscribers. Signing up couldn’t be easier though! Simply click the link below and enter your email address to sign up for the free monthly newsletter. I will include the recipe and procedure for this egg nog in the next email newsletter (February 1, 2010). All email addresses are confidential and you can unsubscribe at any time.

These stunning photographs were taken by Mike Boehmer.

Mike is a Chicago-based photographer and a regular contributor to The Windy Pixel. Please visit www.mikeboehmer.com for more fantastic photography!

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