I realized that I didn’t address cold brew in my last post! Cold brew is my favorite form of cold coffee (specifically, the New Orleans Iced Coffee from Blue Bottle) and guess what? It’s SO easy to make at home. Cold brew is perfect for someone who wants to put forth minimal effort to have a lot of coffee on hand anytime they’re in the mood for a cup. (Honestly, only drip coffee is easier to make than cold brew, in my opinion.) You can make any amount of cold brew concentrate (I’ll give you some general ratios to follow) and keep the concentrate in the fridge for up to a week.
Coffee
Water
4 oz / 0.25 lbs
2 2/3 cups
8 oz / 0.5 lbs
5 1/3 cups
12 oz / 0.75 lbs
8 cups
16 oz / 1 lbs
10 2/3 cups
It’s easiest if the coffee is coarsely ground — like for a french press, but you can use finer grinds if that’s all you have. To create the coffee concentrate, soak the coffee and water together for 12-24 hours and then strain through a cheesecloth (you can also use a flour sack towel, coffee filter, or fine mesh strainer lined with paper towel — get creative!) You could also combine the coffee and water in a french press and plunge it after the 12-24 hours as well (so easy!)
The coffee concentrate should look a bit like motor oil once strained, and you can store it up to week in the fridge. For New Orleans style, serve it with milk of your choice and simple syrup (combine equal parts sugar and water and heat on the stove until fully melted/combined. Cool and store in the fridge.) I personally like about 2/3 coffee to 1/3 whole milk with just a little simple syrup. If you don’t like cream or sugar, make sure to cut it with some water as it’s pretty strong!
Throwback to our Amsterdam flat. I miss the city (but I don’t miss the mice).
How are you guys doing? Hanging in there? We’re doing our best over here — meal planning two weeks in advance, trying to get everybody on board with kids yoga, and FaceTiming friends and family like our lives depend on it.
Some of you might not know that my very first job was at Starbucks. I worked as a barista for 6 years — from age 16 all the way through college. (Fun fact: I hated coffee and didn’t even drink it until I started going to UCLA and discovered Coffeemate French Vanilla creamer — oh, college.) Because of all those years of slinging espresso, I’ve always played around in the kitchen to try and recreate my coffee drinks of choice at home, A. Because I’m frugal, and B. Because sometimes I just don’t want to wait/explain all the modifications I want.
Ok, buckle up for this one guys, cuz there’s a lot of info in this post. But we’re in quarantine so we’ve got all the time in the world to master a new skill right? Right!
To start with, let’s cover the basics. Obviously if you want to make an espresso drink, an espresso maker is preferred. Stovetop versions are the most economical, Nespresso machines are a nice mid-range option (we have an ancient one that works great!), or you can go nuts and be a real pro with something like this.
A standard espresso shot is around 1-1.5 ounces and here’s the size and shot breakdowns from Peets and Starbucks:
Peet’s Size
Total Ounces/Shots
Starbucks Size
Total Ounces/Shots
Small
12oz / 2 shots
Tall
12 oz / 1 shot
Medium
16 oz / 2 shots
Grande
16 oz / 2 shots
Large
20 oz / 3 shots
Venti
20 oz / 2 shots
Cold Venti
24 oz / 3 shots
Once you have the general size/shot breakdown, you can move onto the next most important part: milk and foam. If you’re just heating up milk, you don’t need any special equipment, but if you want to make a “real” latte, cappuccino, etc., you’ll need some sort of milk frother. Here’s a budget option, this is a good mid-range and easy-to-use option, and then of course there’s the big kahuna again: this guy. You could try using a hand blender, but it will likely be a bit clunky.
There are a few different types of milk foam, which, without getting too technical, have to do with how much air is introduced into the milk as it’s heated. Basically, if you’re using the budget or really expensive frother options linked above, you’ll be able to control the type of foam you make by where you position the frothing wand — closer to the surface of the milk means lighter, more airy foam, while just below the surface (a sort of slow introduction of air into the milk) means denser, more velvety foam. (I don’t want to get too into the weeds with this, so feel free to look up a youtube video on this — it’s easier if you can visualize it.) The mid-range option above makes foam for you with the touch of a button, so while you won’t be able to control the type of foam you get, the ease of use is pretty nice. Below is how to make the sort of “basic” espresso drinks offered at just about every coffeeshop:
Macchiato
espresso + 1 ounce steamed milk and/or foam
Gibralter / Cortado
espresso + 2 ounces milk and foam
Flat White
espresso + 2-4 ounces foamed milk*
Cappuccino
espresso topped with roughly half milk and half foam
Latte
espresso with milk, topped with a small bit of foam
*A flat white requires a bit more finesse, as it’s generally two ristretto (long pull) espresso shots and milk that has been steamed in a specific way to create a very velvety texture. Definitely doable to recreate this at home, but it might require googling some tutorials to get it just right.
Milk is generally steamed to somewhere between 145 – 165 degrees (Blue Bottle goes lower, around 145-150, Starbucks and Peet’s tend to go higher, around 160-165). I think 155-160 is perfect, but I honestly never use a thermometer and just eyeball it.
So, based on the above, if you generally order a grande latte at the coffee shop, you would put 2 shots of espresso into a 16 ounce glass, top with steamed milk and finish it with a bit of foam. Want to make a small cappuccino? If you like Peet’s version use 2 shots espresso, 1 shot if you like Starbucks version, and add it to a 12 ounce mug. Top it with half steamed milk and half foam and voila! Cappuccino!
If you’re looking to make a cafe au lait (called a “misto” at Starbucks), just combine 1:1 regular coffee with steamed milk and top with foam.
Want to make a flavored latte? Make a flavored simple syrup and add it to your drink of choice. Combine equal parts sugar and water into a saucepan and heat until the sugar dissolves, then add in your flavoring. Vanilla bean or paste works great for this, though vanilla or other extracts work as well.
The general ratio for syrups are below. Please note that “flavored syrups” are things like vanilla, hazelnut, cinnamon dolce, etc. “Mocha syrup” is not simple syrup based (it’s more along the lines of Hershey’s Syrup) and the ratios below are for both regular and white chocolate mochas.:
Size
Flavored Syrup Amount / Mocha Syrup Amount
12 oz (Small / Tall)
0.75 oz / 1.5 oz
16 oz (Medium / Grande)
1 oz / 2 oz
20 oz (Large / Venti)
1.25 oz / 2.5 oz
24 oz (Iced Venti)
1.5 oz / 3 oz
I like mine less sweet, so I generally go with 1/4 – 1/2 oz in a 16 oz for regular syrups and around 0.5 – 1oz of mocha syrup.
My usual go-to is some form of mocha. You can use Hersey’s syrup for this, but I think regular chocolate actually tastes better, so I use that. Right now I’m obsessed with the Dark Chocolate Orange Mocha from Peet’s, and so recreated it at home with this recipe:
Dark Chocolate Orange Mocha
2 pieces orange-flavored dark chocolate (I use 2 wedges of the Terry’s or Trader Joe’s dark chocolate orange)
small pinch of salt
2 tsp sugar
1 cup milk (I use whole)
3 Nespresso pods (I use 1 lungo + 2 regular pods) — ends up being roughly 6-8oz of coffee
Finely chop your chocolate, then add it to your milk, along with salt and sugar. Heat it together in a small pot while espresso shots pull. Once milk is warmed and chocolate is dissolved, add milk mixture to espresso and ta-da! Dark chocolate orange mocha. (You can use this same recipe to make a standard mocha, just replace the orange chocolate with regular chocolate of your choice — one with a mid-range cocoa content, around 40-60% cacao, works well.)
I realize that these recipes would have been much better suited closer to Cinqo de Mayo, but here we are. I have no issues indulging in margaritas and chips+salsa year-round, so I’m not about to hold onto these until next year so they can be posted at an “appropriate” time.
Appropriate schmrappropriate. Let’s all just live our lives, shall we? I did actually make this cocktail for the first time over Cinqo de Mayo weekend. There’s a Cali-Mex restaurant near us that has the best (let’s use that term loosely) Mexican food round these parts, but what I really come back for over and over again is this one cocktail — the Rosarito. It’s basically just a spicy margarita, so given that I figured it couldn’t be too hard to make, I decided to recreate it. If you like a margarita, this version with a little kick might be right up your alley:
The Rosarito makes one large or two small cocktails
1 hot pepper, sliced into coins
1/2 oz agave syrup
1/2 oz orange liquer
3 oz tequila
2 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice
ice
salt for rim (optional)
Optional: sprinkle salt onto a plate, rub lime wedge across the rim of your glass, then dip into salt to create salted rim.
Place 2-3 pepper coins into cocktail shaker with agave syrup. Muddle together with a wooden spoon or muddler (the more you muddle, the spicier it gets).
Add orange liquer, tequila, lime juice and ice. Shake until very cold (at least 60 shakes). Strain into glass over ice. Garnish with lime wedge and/or additional pepper coins.
Notes: I have tried this with multiple types of hot peppers now. Jalapeños worked fine but were not my favorite, flavor-wise. My preferred peppers for this are Thai red chilis (also called Bird’s eye chilis). They have a solid kick to them, so keep that in mind while you’re muddling (it doesn’t take much to make this drink spicy!) I haven’t tried habanero chilis yet because I’m not a complete masochist.
In case you’re wondering why there’s a picture of a cheese board above this recipe, it’s because I realized I don’t have a picture of my finished salsa, aside from that picture above where it is very much not the star. Oh well, you guys know what salsa looks like, right?
Chipotle Roasted Salsa makes a large cereal-sized bowl
200g / 1/2(ish) lb tomatoes, quartered
Large handful mild peppers
2 small to medium white onions, peeled and quartered
4 cloves garlic, whole, peeled
1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo (2 makes it spicy!)
cilantro
fresh lime juice
Preheat oven to 425°f / 220°c
Toss tomatoes, mild peppers, onions, and garlic in olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread onto a sheet pan and roast for 20-25 minutes, until just a little charred.
Add roasted veggies and their juice to a food processor fitted with a steel blade, along with chipotle peppers, and blend together. Add cilantro and pulse to combine.
Add lime juice and additional salt and pepper to taste.
Notes: I usually use 5-6 Roma or vine tomatoes, but any ripe tomatoes will work here. I use Padrón peppers for the mild pepper because that’s what is available here. Anaheim chiles, shishito peppers, or poblanos would all work. Bell peppers would do fine in a pinch, but don’t overdo it or your salsa will be overly sweet/mild. If you don’t have or can’t find chipotle peppers in adobo, add a few hot peppers to the mix before roasting (jalapenos, thai chilis, or habaneros if you dare) — remove ribs and seeds to lessen the heat.
I know I’ve posted on here before about making mochas on your stovetop, but since I feel like I’ve really perfected the recipe I thought I’d post about it again. Those of you who know me may know that I have a long history with coffee. I was hired at Starbucks at the age of 16 and ended up working there for 6 years — through college. It was a great job and my love of coffee was solidified during those years. I still frequent the ‘bucks, but more often I can be found making coffee at home and experimenting with recreating my favorite recipes from my barista days.
This recipe works just as well for homemade hot chocolate if you omit the coffee. I’ve never been much of a fan of those powdered packets that you add hot water to, so be warned — this recipe is not that. (And I can definitely recommend topping off your mug with a big dollop of whipped cream — it makes life worth living.)
This recipe is perfect for one person, but it’s just as easy to double, triple or quadruple it — whatever your fancy. I will admit that an instant espresso machine (like the Nespresso) makes things a bit easier here, but you can certainly make do with a stovetop espresso pot or any other type of coffee contraption that you have on hand. If you’re using a standard coffee pot or french press, just make sure to double the coffee strength to make a more concentrated, espresso-like batch of coffee. (I recommend using 4 tbsp coffee per 6 oz of water to do this.)
1.5 ounces (one shot) or more espresso or double-strength coffee
Place chocolate, sugar, salt, and milk in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk regularly until chocolate is dissolved and milk is heated through to desired temperature.
Take milk mixture off the heat and add vanilla extract.
Add desired amount of coffee/espresso and stir to combine in a large mug.
Notes:
I prefer to use semi-sweet chocolate in this, which has at least 35% cocoa content. The chocolate I get here in the Netherlands has a minimum of 45%, which seems to work perfectly. The higher the cocoa content, the more bitter/less sweet the mocha will be. I’ve used chocolate with up to 90% cocoa content in this recipe, and while I prefer the higher cocoa content for general chocolate snacking, I think the mid-range (35 – 60%) works best.
You can use any types of milk you prefer in this, but I generally use whole milk as I think it gives the best result.
Given that it’s the middle of the week, I thought a cocktail post might be in order. Sometimes a Wednesday night calls for this sort of thing, y’know?
This cocktail is a summery twist on the classic whiskey-ginger, and is perfect for mid-week drinking (given that it takes almost zero effort and brain cells in order to make.) The recipe is also highly adaptable, so feel free to sub in a different berry and/or herb if you feel like it.
I used Woodford Reserve, but feel free to use any whiskey or bourbon you like here.
Cherries or blueberries would be a nice alternative to the blackberries, if you’ve got them on hand. If your berries are more on the tart side, add a little sugar during the muddling step.
Feel free to try basil in place of the mint.
I used Cock & Bull ginger beer. If you find the cocktail too sweet (as different types of ginger beer will add different amounts of sweetness) add a squeeze of lime.
I mean, it’s pretty much rocket science, right? Maybe I’ll recreate this around the holidays with cooked cranberries and rosemary. I think that might be quite a treat!
