Coffee + Cocoa + Chile Rub

July 3, 2013 By Kate Heyhoe

A pot of cowboy coffee and steaks on the campfire? Hmmmm…. maybe a backyard grill and icy margaritas instead. Whether you’re heading out West or out back, punch up your menu with this aromatic rub.

I love mixing this blend just to smell the seductive aromas of coffee, cocoa and chile – the three C’s. Plus, this rub radiates a warm kick from smoked paprika, mild and fruity ancho chile, allspice, and cinnamon. It’s richly seasoned, but not tongue-burning hot.

Tips:

Try the rub with the marinade below for the perfect combination of flavors.
This makes enough for 2-3 steaks, but you can double or triple the recipe.
I’ve included measurements by weight, so it’s easier to whip up a large batch.
Coffee, cocoa and chile are all rich in antioxidants.
Use an arabica coffee bean here; it’s less bitter than robusta.

Coffee + Cocoa + Chile Rub

By Kate Heyhoe

Makes 1/3 cup (2-1/4 ounces or 63 grams)

1 tablespoon finely ground coffee (3g)
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar (22g)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar (10g)
1 tablespoon ancho chile powder (8g)
1-1/2 teaspoons allspice (4g)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika (3g)
1 teaspoon cinnamon (3g)
1 teaspoon sea salt (6g)
2 teaspoons cocoa powder (4g)

Combine all ingredients. Rub about 1 tablespoon on each steak (both sides). Leave on as a dry rub or marinate before grilling.

Kate’s All-Purpose Steak Marinade

Pat on about 1 tablespoon spice rub on both sides of each steak. Marinate 2 sirloin or other steaks in 1 tablespoon each of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and soy sauce. Refrigerate 2 hours or overnight before grilling.

Other uses for the rub: Kick up chili con carne for a boost of flavor, not heat. Add 1-2 tablespoons rub to a pot of chili, slow-cooker pork, or taco meat. Sprinkle on halved winter squash before baking, or mix into mashed sweet potatoes.

No-Bake Chocolate Cheesecake Mini’s

June 28, 2013 By Kate Heyhoe

When it’s 100 degrees outside, I head indoors to make cheesecake – miniature no-bake cheesecakes, in muffin tins.

Just for fun, I make them in multiple sizes. Part of the joy is finishing the cheesecakes with different toppings: berries, whipped cream, sprinkles…you get the idea.

This recipe fills 12 standard muffin cups plus 12 mini-muffin cups (fitted with paper cupcake liners). Or, make several custard cups (again with liners). I suggest one standard muffin cup portion per person, but realistically, some people will clamor for seconds, so give them a mini or two.

Tips:

Serve well-chilled: the filling and crust are more fragile than a baked cheesecake, and are at their best when cold.
To tamp down the crumbs in the liners (very important), use the bottom of a plastic-wrapped spice jar, one that just fits the cavity. Jars with tapered bottoms (like McCormick) work great.
No maple syrup? Use agave nectar or other syrup (or skip the syrup)
Espresso powder boosts the chocolate flavor; if you prefer, omit it and the water, and increase the vanilla extract to 1 tablespoon.

No-Bake Chocolate Cheesecake Mini’s

By Kate Heyhoe

Serves 12

You’ll need an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer for this recipe, a saucepan, muffin tins and paper liners, and at least 4 hours for the cheesecakes to chill.

Crust:

1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Filling:

1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
2 teaspoons water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1-1/4 cups powdered sugar (5-1/2 ounces)
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped

Crust:

Stir the crumbs, butter and syrup together until evenly mixed. Place paper liners in muffin tins. For medium tins, spoon about 2 tablespoons crumbs into each cavity. For mini-muffin tins, use about 1 tablespoon crumbs. Tamp down the crumbs to form an even layer (see Tips).

Filling:

In a small bowl, combine the espresso powder with the water until dissolved. Add the vanilla extract.
In a mixing bowl with a electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and espresso mixture together until smooth (no lumps).
In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stir the cream and both chocolates together until the chocolate melts and forms a smooth, shiny sauce. Remove from heat and let cool to lukewarm.
Pour the chocolate sauce into the cream cheese mixture. Beat on low to medium speed until uniformly mixed.

Layer the filling over the crust in each muffin cavity, adding enough mixture to completely fill the liner. This will be messy. Use two utensils, such as a silicon spatula and a spoon.

Place a sheet of waxed paper or plastic wrap over the entire muffin tin, and run your hand over it to smooth the tops. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours and up to 3 days.
To serve, peel away the paper liners. Garnish with glee: powdered sugar, cocoa powder, chocolate shavings, sea salt, chopped nuts, whipped cream, or berries. The sky’s the limit. Serve well-chilled (see Tips).

Espresso-Flavored Char Shu with Java Marmalade

June 17, 2013 By Kate Heyhoe

Espresso is the secret ingredient in this pork recipe

You know those glazed pieces of pork hanging in Chinatown restaurant windows? This is my coffee-spiked version. It’s simple: You marinate the pork, broil it until almost done, baste with the reduced marinade, finish under the broiler, and slice when cool. Serve with hot mustard and the reduced “java marmalade.”

Espresso-Flavored Char Shu Pork with Java Marmalade

Traditional Chinese “barbecued” pork gets kicked up with coffee in the marinade.

By Kate Heyhoe

1 pork tenderloin (1 to 1-1/4 pounds)
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon triple sec, or dry sherry (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 finely chopped scallions (green and white parts)
1-inch piece fresh ginger, minced
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
Hot Mustard, for serving (below; optional)

1. Cut the tenderloin into 2 equal-sized, short, plump pieces. Dissolve the espresso powder in the soy sauce (it’s okay if a few granules remain). In a shallow baking dish or a resealable plastic bag, combine the soy sauce mixture, molasses, hoisin, triple sec or sherry (if using), garlic, scallion, ginger, and sesame oil. Add the pork and coat completely. Marinate, refrigerated, for 2 hours to overnight, turning the pork occasionally in the marinade.

2. Preheat the broiler. Line a baking sheet with nonstick foil, or spritz regular foil with nonstick spray. Place the pork on the foil-lined baking sheet. Pour the marinade into a saucepan, bring it to a boil over medium-high heat, and boil, stirring often, until it reduces to a thick, syrupy glaze, about 5 minutes. When it cools slightly, the sauce will resemble marmalade, dense and sweet with bits of scallion, garlic, and ginger.

3. Broil the pork 5 to 7 minutes, until the top takes on color and starts to look cooked. Turn the pieces over and broil another 5 minutes. Spoon some of the thickened sauce over the pork, coating the top and all sides. Broil for another 3 to 6 minutes, until the glaze caramelizes and turns a deep mahogany color, and the pork is just cooked through. (Pork is done when the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F. At this temperature, the interior will still be pale pink but safe to eat.)

4. Let the pork rest 10 minutes (or up to 1 hour at room temperature) before slicing. Slice the pork at an angle and overlap the slices on a plate. Accompany with dishes of the reduced “marmalade” and hot mustard, if using. (Sliced char shu is meant to be enjoyed at room temperature, and can be made a day or two before slicing and serving.)

Serves 4 as appetizers, or 2 as a meal.

Hot Mustard: Mix together 2 teaspoons each dry mustard (or Chinese powdered mustard) and water until smooth. Let the mixture rest 10 to 30 minutes before serving.

Iced Coffee Syrup, for Sparkling Coffee Spritzer

June 14, 2013 By Kate Heyhoe

Coffee Spritzers, here we come!

Think coffee with cool, bubbly carbonation. These babies go down way too easy… Sweet, concentrated coffee syrup pops with iced sparkling water. Velvety vanilla undertones smooth out the drink. Are you thirsty yet?

Then let’s make coffee syrup. With the syrup and cans of carbonated water on hand, you can mix sparkling iced coffee spritzers in a snap. Tweak the flavors: add some ground cardamom, cinnamon, or cocoa powder before boiling. Serve with a twist of lemon or orange rind for an elegant mocktail, or add alcohol of choice for an iced coffee cocktail. And, if you’re not already drooling…

Iced Coffee Float: vanilla ice cream + whipped cream put this drink over the top, in all the right ways.

Tips:

Turbinado sugar adds hints of molasses and honey, similar to a mild brown sugar. But you can substitute with white sugar.
I prefer fine white sugar; the crystals are smaller and dissolve more easily in beverages than regular sugar, but either is fine as long as the sugar completely dissolves.
Sea salt in a syrup? Yup. It makes the other flavors shine (it’s why sea salted-caramels taste outrageously good). Use just a pinch.
You’ll need a paper coffee filter and a strainer of some kind. A damp filter works best: just wet with water, squeeze out excess, and place in sieve over a quart measuring cup or other large container.

Katie Caffeine’s Iced Coffee Syrup

By Kate Heyhoe

1/2 cup turbinado sugar (4 oz/112 gr)
1 cup granulated white sugar (7 oz/198 gr)
1/2 cup ground coffee (1.3 oz/38 gr)
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Combine both sugars, the coffee, vanilla, and salt with 1-1/2 cups water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat and boil gently for 1 minute (WARNING: Don’t stop watching the mixture: it can boil over in a flash). Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Strain through a dampened coffee filter set in a sieve; this may take as long as 30 minutes. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. Makes about 1-3/4 cups syrup.

Sparkling Iced Coffee Spritzer:

Combine 1 part syrup to 3 parts carbonated water, or to taste. Serve over ice. Slurp it down and make another.

Swirled Matcha-Chocolate Brownies

May 27, 2013 By Kate Heyhoe

An Easy Upgrade: Swirled Matcha-Chocolate Brownies

By Kate Heyhoe

When my chocolate Jones needs a fast fix – and a bigger rush than a chocolate bar can provide – this treat rescues me. It’s the reason why boxed brownie mixes were invented – they deliver a flavor flood that’s quick and also creative, because tinkering with mixes is so easy. (The Cake Mix Doctor’s made a career out of it.)

Matcha tea, that vivid green tea powder with seductive flavor, meets cream cheese in this swirly chocolate brownie. Any chocolate brownie mix works, though super fudgy brownies tend to overpower the matcha. But go with your heart and what’s in your pantry. (And yes, of course you can always make the brownie batter from scratch, instead of a mix.)

The process is simple: Whip up the matcha-cream cheese mixture from scratch, then do the cheat: swirl it on top of the brownie batter, and bake. It takes less than an hour from mix to mouth.

Swirl the matcha batter into the brownie batter

Instructions

Follow the package directions for the brownie mix, including the oven temperature and pan preparation (such as greasing the pan bottom or whatever it says), and baking time. After you’ve poured the batter into the pan, swirl the Matcha-Cream Cheese batter into the top, and bake.

Matcha-Cream Cheese Batter

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 large egg
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon matcha green tea powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Dump all ingredients into a mixing bowl. With an electric mixture (stand or handheld), combine all ingredients. It’s okay if tiny bits of cream cheese remain unblended; I like seeing little white spots poke through the swirl after baking. Let cool. Cut, serve, and swoon.

Swirling tips: Drop clumps of matcha batter on top of brownie batter. Use a knife to draw through the matcha batter and create swirls. If you want green streaks inside the brownies, fold the matcha batter deeper into the brownie layer by rolling the knife down, through, and up.

Ginger Options: If you want to gild the lily, stir 2 tablespoons crystallized ginger into the matcha batter before spreading. You can also mix a teaspoon or so ground ginger into the brownie batter, for twice the ginger flavor.