TGIF Soft-Boiled Eggs

In honour of Friday, I decided to make my morning eggs a little bit different. I'm going to review the instructions, cause we can all use a reminder once in a while, right? Here's the no-fail family recipe - add two eggs to boiling water, let them cook for 4 minutes and 15 seconds. My girlfriend told me about"coddled-eggs," where eggs are gently cooked inside a porcelain cup & lid in boiling water. You can add cheese directly to the coddler, which to me sounds like an excellent way to eat an egg.

These are my lovely egg cups - I made them with a night and day theme. Notice the bird on the left one, and the water on the bottom of the right one.

For Hard-Boiled Eggs: Place 2 eggs in a pot of cold water. Let the water come to boil, and when it begins to rapidly boil - count 5 minutes for a yellow-centred hard-boiled egg.

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Latte Macchiato - An Espresso Hug

This drink is one of the most impressive coffee drinks around - it's a freakin party trick in a glass. The coffee remains suspended between a layer of milk and a layer of milk foam. See the photo evidence above.

First froth warmed milk, producing milk foam. Then, make a double espresso shot (or a lungo). Now here's the secret - Pour the espresso over the milk by letting it run off an upside down spoon (convex side up). This nifty trick is also used in the Irish Coffee recipe. Alternatively, run the espresso machine directly into the glass. Either way, the espresso will go past the milk foam and rest on top of the milk.

Credit goes to my talented girlfriend for introducing me to this one!

Irish Cream

Just when you thought that coffee couldn't get more therapeutic, this creamy liqueur is really really fine. Irish Cream is a friend to any cup of coffee, but it also rolls alone as a digestif. Drink it on its own (chilled), over ice, over crushed ice, or in your morning coffee (for those who need a little buzz to start their day). Note how sexy it looks in the above picture. (Please take a moment.)

I've long wondered how Irish Cream was made - and the only way to truly know something is by doing it yourself. I discovered that it is simply Irish whiskey and cream, with other flavours (almond, vanilla, coffee, chocolate). It took me about 1 morning class period to make, including multiple trips to the supermarket for things I forgot to buy the first time. Careful making it in the morning, however, because you'll probably want to try it and Happy Hour will still be hours away.

Note that Irish Coffee is not the same thing as Irish cream. Irish Coffee (also a fine drink, yet essentially a spiked cup of coffee) is made by mixing sugar and 3 Tbsp. Irish Whiskey with black coffee. Heavy whipping cream is then added by pouring it over the convex side of a spoon, causing it to sit nicely on top of the coffee. (The upturned spoon effect is also used in the Latte Macchiato, however there the espresso is poured over the frothed milk, and not vice versa. More on that later.)

I used Scots Earl whiskey in this Irish Cream, which I admit is Scottish and not Irish, but to me it tasted fine. I'm clearly not a whiskey connoisseur. It's not worth using expensive whiskey for the recipe, because cheap whiskey does a fine job.

Here's the recipe:

- 1 Cup Whiskey

- 1 Cup Heavy Cream

- 2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

- 3/4 - 1 tsp Almond Extract

- 14 Oz. Sweetened Condensed Milk (1 14 oz. Can, or 2 150 gr. Tubes depending on where you live)

- 4 eggs

- 2 Tbsp. Chocolate Syrup

Blend it all together until smooth. Don't expect a creamy texture until it refrigerates for a bit, which is a mistake I made - I added another cup of cream which skewed all the proportions. This apparently lasts a month in the fridge, but my batch is almost completely finished - and I made it yesterday. I know this makes me sound like a drunk, but we had a dinner party last night, so the Irish Cream didn't stand a chance..

Ben and Jerry's Vanilla Ice Cream

I don't have an ice cream maker, so this was made by hand - the way my ancestors might have made it. Here's the thing about homemade ice cream. You can make it without a machine, but it simply doesn't work as well. It tastes just as good - but a significant portion of the fun of eating ice cream (at least 25%) is in its creamy texture, which just happens to be the missing element when making it by hand. This recipe is outstanding - it tastes exactly like B&J's Vanilla (which is, I yield, still no Haagen Dazs). In fact, it is the official Ben and Jerry's Vanilla recipe, from their ice cream cookbook. Seriously, I took it right out of the book.

I mixed it with a fork every hour or so until it froze in order to get a smooth texture, but maybe if you mixed it with a blender it would be smoother? Try it, and let me know!!

- 2 eggs

- 3/4 C sugar

- 2 C heavy cream

- 1 C milk

- 2 Tsp. vanilla extract

Beat 2 eggs until they are light and fluffy (2 minutes). Whisk in sugar, then whisk in vanilla, cream, and milk.

New Moka Pot Alert

In my hands right now is one beautiful red Moka Pot made by Aeternum, one of espresso-giant Bialetti's daughter companies. The pot was one of the best presents I've ever received, and I am incredibly excited to make my first batch of coffee with it! Here it is, displayed with pride:

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="229" caption="Red Aeternum Moka Pot"][/caption]

Bialetti Brikka - Foam or Function

Until now, I've been using my Italian roommate's rusty aluminum moka pot. Today, the pot met its maker. While I was brewing my double shot on the stove, the moka pot handle caught fire and melted off. I run to fill a cup of water, and splashed the fire out. That was the end of roommate's moka pot.

So the search begins for my own moka pot (and a replacement for my roommate's). I could buy a good old Bialetti Moka Express (the standard model), but I recently came upon something even more intersting - Bialetti's Brikka model. It adds an extra metal piece which forces more pressure to build up before the water can rise into the final chamber (please correct me if I'm wrong!). This is supposed to produce more 'crema,' that lighter-coloured foam which generally adorns only a freshly ground espresso cup. It's quite a bit more expensive than the Moka Express, and I wonder if the extra piece provides cosmetic value only (extra foam), or if it also produces a tastier cup.

 

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="Bialetti Brikka"][/caption]

Milk Foam *Sans Espresso Machine*

Rumor Alert: Apparently excellent milk foam can be had by merely shaking a glass jar of milk.

Exact instructions are as follows: Add 1/2 C cold milk to a glass jar, shake until volume doubles (approx. 30 seconds). Microwave for 30 seconds.

When I get a chance to test this, I'll post results. Could save me a lot of money on a real frother!