Coffee Bar!

I've seen a few cute coffee bar set ups on pinterest. We got a new coffee maker and some fiesta mugs for Christmas....one trip to Ikea later and we have our own little coffee bar! Or hot beverage corner since our snazzy coffee maker also has a separate hot water function for tea and cocoa. It keeps the water hot so you can refill at any time. I had six cups of tea this morning....and then spent all afternoon floating to the bathroom. I was a bit limited by our small apartment and low cabinets but I made it work.  When I have a house/more wall space the coffee mugs will hang higher so there is more room on the counter for cute containers of coffee, more tea, and cocoa toppings.

BEFORE! 

The counter in front of the wine rack was wasted space and pushed the coffee makers close to the sink which interfered with doing the dishes. Also: drab and dark.

 AFTER!

Better use of the corner space the coffee makers slide down (the keurig is on the other side of the big one) which frees up a lot of counter space near the sink for dishes and food prep.

Plus I get to show off my pretty mugs which is wonderful because I'm running out of cabinet space!

The rainbow.

Now I just have to figure out where to put the wine rack...

Coffee Heaven!

Oh my god Philly what did you do with my Fall?! One nice week of proper fall weather and now it's all high 70s hello humidity. Blerg. At least the gray skies is working in your favor but it's like a bright gray, I still wore my sunglasses. So on this not so fine, oddly hot and humid, cloudy afternoon I found myself falling asleep while lesson planning. Pinterest to the rescue!

I love yummy flavored coffee drinks from coffee shops. It's how I survived grad school/student teaching, never underestimate the power of a well placed white chocolate mocha during a 3 hour night class. I do not love how much sugar/calories each glorious cup contains and the price tag that is attached to it! Needless to say I rarely get yummy coffee treats anymore unless we're traveling. This recipe is going to change that! It was delicious, tasted like the real deal, and you can control the sugar/calorie amount! Plus I had all the ingredients so my immediate out of pocket cost was zero. Winner. Whipped cream is never optional and don't skip the salt! Just a pinch makes a nice flavor contrast.

Salted Caramel Mocha

(Pinterest find! From 52 Kitchen Adventures)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup coffee
1 1/2 – 2 tablespoons caramel sauce
1-2 tablespoons hot chocolate powder
Pinch of sea salt
1/2 cup milk
Whipped cream
Extra caramel sauce and sea salt to drizzle/sprinkle on top
Directions:
1. Prepare coffee. 

2. Place caramel sauce, cocoa powder and sea salt in a mug. 

3. Pour coffee into mug, stirring to combine everything. 

4. Heat milk in microwave or on the stove and add to mug, stirring everything to combine. 

5. Taste and add more caramel, cocoa and/or salt to taste. 

6. Top with whipped cream, caramel sauce and a tiny pinch of sea salt.

Coffee and Soup

Do you know what I love about the week after Easter? HAM BONE! Almost every year Mr. Lawyer steals the ham bone (Sorry Mrs. T!) and makes his delicious Split-Pea Soup. He has made it four times now: three with the ham bone and once with pork chop (which was subpar!). I haven't found a way to make the picture look pretty but let me tell you, it's delicious. The recipe is HERE.

And now for a recipe I'm not too sure about: Iced Coffee. It didn't blow me away but I was resistant to dumping in cups of sugar. I've made two cups so far, one was plain and the other I added 2 tablespoons of sugar. You couldn't taste the sugar....it makes me scared to think of how much sugar and stuff that the coffee shops add to it!! Cold brewing the coffee was fun, I used some Cinnabon flavored coffee that had been in the freezer a while and I like the flavor it added (duh, that's the point of flavored coffee). It was a nice after school pick me up but it stills needs some tweaking.

Iced Coffee

(From the Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients
1 pound Ground Coffee
8 quarts Cold Water
Half-and-half
Sweetened Condensed Milk or Sugar (2-3 Tablespoons Per Serving)
Note: Can Use Skim Milk, 2% Milk, Whole Milk, Sugar, Artificial Sweeteners, Syrups...adapt To Your Liking!
Directions:
1. In a large container, mix ground coffee with water. Cover and allow to sit at room temperature eight hours or overnight.
2. Line a fine mesh strainer with cheesecloth and set over a pitcher or other container. Pour coffee/water mixture through the strainer, allowing all liquid to run through. Discard grounds.
3. Place coffee liquid in the fridge and allow to cool. Use as needed.
4. To make iced coffee, pack a glass full of ice cubes. Fill glass 2/3 full with coffee liquid. Add healthy splash of half-and-half. Add 2-3 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk (can use plain sugar instead) and stir to combine. Taste and adjust half-and-half and/or sweetened condensed milk as needed.

Before the stir...

Pork Chop Dinner!

Also known as Jenni cooks a real meal with multiple sides and didn't completely destroy everything while multitasking! Tonight we had Molasses and Coffee Pork Chops with salt/pepper/garlic haricot verts (because Whole Foods can't call them green beans), and Potato Au Gratin balls. 

Two things greatly affected this recipe: my inability to properly use my grill pan and my intense fear of food poisoning via meat (never mind the fact that if I eat out I will order my steak/burger medium and love the pinkness but so help me god if there is any pink in meat I cook at home there will be a panic attack). So I burnt the pork chops a little bit on the pan, part my fault/part burning marinade that would have dripped down in a real grill. They would have been stellar on a real grill (some of the reviews broiled them but I was feeling adventurous hence the grill pan). The flavors were still good, an interesting mix of sweetness and then bitterness from the coffee. We decided that we would make this recipe again with Mr. Lawyer in charge of the actual cooking.

Molasses and Coffee Pork Chops

(Alton Brown, Food Network)

Ingredients:
1 cup strong brewed coffee, cooled
1/2 cup molasses
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
6 to 8 sprigs fresh thyme (I used a couple pinches of dried thyme)
4 6-to-8-ounce bone-in pork chops (1 inch thick)
Directions:
1. Combine the coffee, molasses, vinegar, mustard, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, the ginger, thyme and pork chops in a 1-gallon zip-top bag; seal and shake to combine.Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.
2. Preheat a grill to medium-high. Remove the pork from the bag. Pour the marinade into a saucepan; boil gently over medium-high heat, stirring, until reduced to 1/2 cup, 12 to 15 minutes.**
3. Grill the pork chops for 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until they reach an internal temperature of 145. Let rest for 5 minutes; serve with the glaze.

**Say what?! I was always told not to reuse marinade even if you boiled it but if Alton Brown does it...I still reserved some non-meaty marinade to reduce down into a glaze.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I seem to have an obsession with alcoholic cupcakes. These Irish Coffee Cupcakes are more mellow than the Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes in both alcohol content and sweetness but still pretty amazing (although not as much fun?!?....). Both cupcakes are best the day they were made and okay the next day as the alcohol begins to evaporate from cake and frosting so it loses a lot of the flavor. I can't pick a favorite between the two recipes because they are both amazing! But this is obviously the sophisticated adult cupcake while the Irish Car Bomb Cupcake is the drunken college kid cupcake.

Irish Coffee Cupcakes

(Martha Stewart Magazine)

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup boiling water
2 tablespoons instant-espresso powder
1/4 cup whole milk
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs
Frosting Ingredients:
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon whiskey
Instant-espresso powder, for dusting
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 

2. Pour hot water over espresso powder; let cool. Combine espresso with milk. 

3. Beat butter and granulated and brown sugars with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with espresso-milk mixture.
4. Fill about 15 cupcake cups and bake 20 to 22 minutes. Let cool.
5. Make the frosting: Whisk together cream and confectioners' sugar until medium peaks form. Add whiskey; whisk until slightly stiff peaks form.
6. Top each cupcake with 2 tablespoons frosting; dust with espresso powder.

mmmm...Happy St. Paddy's Day!