Welcome to the neighborhood - why dont you come over for coffee? Sound familiar? You bet! Can you entertain around a terrific cup of coffee - yes, indeed!
Of course, your superb coffee must be accompanied by something that might include a wedge of your sinfully rich cheesecake, or a fresh, just from the oven cherry pie. Even doughnuts are a great come together with coffee.
If you really want to get elegant, try demitasse and Petits Four - sure fire elegance in a tiny way. You can serve your coffee any time of day. In the morning delight your uests with a French flair such as Cafe-au-lait. Just pass around some freshly baked sweet rolls, croissants, or hot brioche. But what about evening coffee? Cocoa Coffee Brazilian or smooth, flavorful Vanilla Cream are suitable to everyones taste buds. You can also try the more exotic flavors, such as Hawaiian or Spiced Rum.
In hot weather try serving iced coffee or a layered coffee Cooler. If you dont want to server flavored coffee, try regular coffee with flavored creamers in a variety of flavors for guests to pick and choose. A really elegant touch is serving flavored spoons. These special spoons are your ordinary spoons with flavored chocolates on the bowl part of the spoon. When your guests stir their coffee, they are adding a subtle touch of flavor, such as mint, or caramel. They are easy to make and are a wonderful surprise for your guests. Just melt your favorite chocolate, even white chocolate. Dip your spoons into the melted chocolate, cool on waxed paper, and server with your coffee. Now, that entertaining!
Here are a few recipes for adding a touch of different when you serve coffee.
Iced Coffee:
Make your usual coffee, but double strength. Pour 3/4 cup of hot, steaming coffee over your ice cubes. Add additional ice cubes if desired. Serve with confectioners sugar and whipped cream. Try adding a little maple syrup to your whipped topping. You can dust with cinnamon, if you like. Now this is almost as good as an ice cream sundae.
Coffee Cooler:
3/4 cup chocolate syrup, such as Hersheys
1 quart of plain vanilla ice cream, not ice milk
1-1/2 cups milk
1 tbs. of your favorite instant coffee
Chill your glasses in a freezer for about 15 mins. Spoon 3 tbs. chocolate syrup into each glass. Add some ice cream that is slightly softened. Quickly blend in the coffee crystals into warm milk. Do not boil the milk but it must be sufficiently warm to mix well with the instant coffee. Let this mixture cool. Pour your milk mixture over the ice cream and use shaved chocolate sprinkles to add extra flavor.
Serve with a straw and a dollop of whipped cream.
Demitasse:
Measure 3 tbs. instant coffee, or to taste, into your coffee server. Add 2 cups boiling hot water. Serve your coffee in tiny cups with cream and sugar on the side.
(Fruit flavor) Add 1 tsp. orange juice for each cup of coffee in your server. Or if you are not sure your guests prefer a fruit flavor, pass twists of orange rind.
Cafe-au-lait:
1 cup milk
1 cup light cream
3 tbs. instant coffee
2 cups boiling water
Warm the milk and cream over low heat until hot - but never to boiling. Beat with an electric mixer until foamy and pour immediately into a warmed pitcher. Dissolve the instant coffee in the boiling water. Pour into a separate pitcher.
When serving, fill cups from both pitchers at the same time. This joins the two together to blend to just the right consistency.
Serve and enjoy.
Cardamom Coffee:
Place two crushed cardamom seeds in the bottom of each coffee cup. Fill with hot coffee, a little on the strong side.
This gives your coffee a wonderfully warming spicy aroma.
When you invite guests over for coffee, they are expecting not only a great cup of coffee and a special something to go with it, but warm hospitality and friendly conversation. So get together with friends and family and invite them to come over for coffee and give them something they dont expect by using any of the special coffees above.
Drink up and enjoy!
Arleen M. Kaptur 2002
Arleen Kaptur has written numerous articles, e-books, and the novel
SEARCHING FOR AUSTIN JAMES
Websites:
http://www.rusticliving.info
http://www.arleenssite.com
http://www.Arleens-RusticLiving.com
http://www.webspawner.com/users/rusticliving/index.html
As sure as May comes after April Showers, barbecue grills across the world are heating up and sending out their aromatic smoke signals.
Grilling is a fun family activity except when something turns out to be a burnt offering to the gods of ancient times.
There are flavored wood chips and bottled seasonings to take you to far-away places and exotic destinations right there in your own backyard.
You can start with simple ideas like hot dogs, and hamburgers, take the next step to chicken, steaks and ribs. and when you get really good take on kabobs and a whole roasted pig.
Oh, the heavenly aroma and the endless possibilities. You can have your doggies plain, with cheese, wrapped, and even put on a raft and sent to sail onto your dinner table.
Never heard of dogs on a raft, well now -
Slit your favorite type of hot dog lengthwise, but not all the way through. Grill over hot coals. Taking pieces of foil large enough to hold a sandwich, arrange two pieces of bacon on the bottom of your foil. Turn the edges up to catch any drippings so your messages to neighbors far and near wait a while. Cook the bacon in the foil on the grill. In your slit
hot dog place a strip of pickle (not round), and cheese strips. Place your hot dog on another sheet of foil and grill until cheese melts. Place these dogs on a toasted coney bun but crosswise, not lengthwise. Place the two pieces of bacon across the top of your hot dogs and viola! you have your dogs setting sail on a raft into gourmet heaven.
Serve chilled cantaloupe wedges, fruit punch as a beverage, and your favorite brownies.
Now for the burger lovers - Using a 1/3 cup scoop, divide your ground beef into mounds.
Flatten each mound between pieces of waxed paper, creating a 4 patty. Place half of your patties aside. These are your toppers. Sprinkle the other burgers with salt and pepper, prepared mustard or ketchup, onion slices, and shredded cheese. Now take your toppers and place them over your burgers. Press together the edges all around to seal in all those
burger fixins inside. Grill over hot coals about 10-15 minutes, flipping very carefully.
When done to your liking, place on grilled buns and enjoy.
Maple flavored baked beans, potato salad, and hot fudge sundaes and you have a meal fit for a Backyard Grill Fest.
Id like to give you more recipes but my neighbors are sending conflicting smoke messages. Got to go - have fun and enjoy!
Arleen M. Kaptur 2002 April
Arleen has written numerous articles, e-books, and the novel SEARCHING FOR AUSTIN JAMES
Websites:
http://www.rusticliving.info
http://www.webspawner.com/users/rusticliving/index.html
http://topica.com/lists/simpleliving
The dictionary explanation of relish is to enjoy, take pleasure in, have gusto, and zest. We serve relishes just for that purpose - to give greater pleasure to our family/guests and to add zest and gusto to our entrees. Relishes should add to but never take over. They should enhance but never completely hide whatever we are serving.
So here is to RELISHES and all the work they do to help us serve very satisfying meals.
BEET RELISH
16-oz. can of whole red beets
1/4 cup water
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup prepared horseradish (to add that bite)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup vinegar (not cider)
Chop the red beets or place in food processor and pulse until finely chopped but not MUSHY
. Mix with all the other ingredients. Place in a pretty glass bowl to show off the ruby-rich color and store, covered, in the refrigerator.
Just before serving, taste and adjust with sugar or vinegar until it satisfies your taste.
Serve with roast beef, veal, chicken, sausages (such as Polish, dinner franks, or brats).
This relish adds taste appeal and color to your meal.
*****
HOME-STYLE CRANBERRY RELISH
12-oz. pkg. fresh cranberries
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 large tart apple, or two small apples
20-oz. can crushed pineapple
3-oz. pkg. raspberry flavored gelatin
1/2 cup boiling water
In bowl, dissolve gelatin powder in water. Process cranberries, and the unpeeled but cored apple in a food processor or food grater. Add the sugar and pineapple to the chopped fruit. Stir until well blended and place in bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
Serve with turkey or chicken.
*****
How about serving your relish on a tray?
A relish tray is always a delight at any buffet or meal. Try different items instead of the usual pickles, onions, and tomato slices.
Stuffed Cucumber Slices:
Hollow out a nice green cucumber, removing all seeds and pulp, leaving a nice hollow tube.
Stuff with your favorite salad, from crab, tuna, egg, or chicken salad. Wrap in plastic wrap, refrigerate for 24 hours.
Just before serving, unwrap and slice about 1 to 1-1/2 thickness. Added appeal: run the tines of a fork on the outer skin before you stuff it. When you slice it, you will have a very pretty design.
Try using gherkins instead of dill or sandwich pickles.
Insert slices of thinly sliced mozzarella cheese between your tomato slices and drizzle Italian dressing over. Sprinkle with a little parsley.
*****
If this isnt fancy enough for your dinner party, try a Relish Tree.
Using a 24-inch styrofoam cone, cover the sides with fresh greenery, such as parsley. The greenery can be held to the cone with fine wire
Using toothpicks, attach cherry tomatoes, marinated artichoke hearts, raw cauliflower, radish roses, and raw zucchini and cucumber slices (preferably seedless).
Use your imagination and attach vegetables that your family would enjoy. You can
do a fruit tree as well with pineapple, mandarin oranges, strawberries, etc.
However drain any fruit thoroughly so it doesnt run down your tree.
A relish tree on a buffet table is definitely very special indeed!
*****
So relish your relishes, whether they come in a bowl, on a plate, or on a tree. Use relishes to decorate, delight, enhance, and add color and taste appeal.
Arleen M. Kaptur
Arleen has written numerous articles and e-books as well as the novel SEARCHING FOR AUSTIN JAMES
Websites:
http://www.rusticliving.info
http://www.webspawner.com/users/rusticliving/index.html and
http://topica.com/lists/simpleliving
Achieving success in specialty coffee Achieving Success in Specialty Coffee is the definitive coffee business operations manual. Each of the book's 23 chapters is written by an expert in specialty coffee, an industry that elicits from its producers, promoters, and purveyors emotions as strong as the brew itself. In this invaluable book, the most knowledgeable individuals in specialty coffee share their enthusiasm and expertise with the established or new-to-the-market retailer who is serious about operating his or her specialty coffee business at an elevated level and achieving maximum profitability. Marketing, customer service, staff training, equipment function/maintenance, and product information are just some of the areas discussed in-depth to help retailers devise their own personal strategies for success.
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