Flambee Coffee

Not too long ago I learned about a cool new drink in drink making - flambee coffee. Flambee coffee is a hot coffee beverage with alcohol. It takes some practice and skill to make and isn't commonly made at home - more likely it will be seen in fine dining restaurants, made table-side, and with a higher cost. Flambee coffee is much more than just coffee with a splash of liquor. Here is how I was taught to make flambee coffee:

First begin by rimming the glass and making 'caramel tears'. Coat the rim of a heat-proof glass with lemon or lime juice and roll in sugar, knocking off the excess. Hold over an open flame (such as a butane burner) and allow the sugar to melt, forming tears down the outside of the glass.

Next, prepare the alcohol. This is usually a mixture of an ounce each of a few different liqueurs, such as rum, Baileys, Kaluha, whisky, or whatever you like. Ignite the alcohol, switching it between glasses to show off the flame. Add some cinnamon, if desired, for flavor and to make the flame bigger.

Pour this into your glass and top with hot prepared coffee. Top with a splash more of alcohol. Top with whipped cream, heating the spoon so the cream slides right off. Top with chocolate flakes or whatever garnish you wish and serve with a cloth napkin as the glass will be hot!

Frothy Malt Grasshopper

Here is the dessert display from yesterday's Irish meal, from left to right: pistachio-crusted mint chocolate cream pie, emerald truffles, mint nanaimo bars, and Irish soda bread. To round out the meal, I made my take on a grasshopper drink. Typically a grasshopper is a sweet, green mint flavored drink using crème de menthe and crème de cacao liquers. This is my version, which is definitely not as sweet and incorporates some different flavors. I had neither required liquer on hand and was not about to venture out in the midst of a storm, so I just made do with what I had on hand.

Frothy Malt Grasshopper
1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon pure mint (or peppermint) extract
1 shot strong espresso
1 shot single malt scotch 
1/2 cup almond milk

Stir together the cocoa and ginger in a mug, then whisk in the espresso and scotch until smooth. Froth the almond milk until doubled in volume. Stir in half of the milk, then spoon the rest on top. Serve immediately.

Some notes and hints: I like the flavor of almond milk in this drink, as I think it is lighter and blends better with the strong flavors already present in the drink. Milk of any kind must be cold in order to be frothed, so I recommend serving this as a cold drink and using cold espresso. This also gives a stronger flavor of the scotch without having to use a lot. However, the drink may be heated after preparation but may lose some of its volume. You can add a touch of sweetener if you wish, I think a liquid sweetener will blend better but you may wish to avoid strong flavors like maple or honey. 

Stracciatella Sundae

Right now, the most difficult part of blogging for me is not lack of material or inspiration, but deciding where to begin. I probably have at least one hundred potential posts from my trip - but which one do I start with? Should I start with what is freshest in my memory, what was the very best (how do I choose?), start with the prettiest pictures, or do some kind of order such as alphabetical? Chronological order likely makes the most sense. Therefore, today I am starting near the beginning. Not the very beginning, but early on anyways. That isn't to say I will go in order from now on though, I prefer random orders with some of my own posts thrown in between. 

This is a stacciatella ice cream sundae I got on a hot day at an ice café. The story behind it is a little funny. Of course when traveling to different places, depending on where you are going, often you are surrounded by an unfamiliar language. I had a little experience with the language, but not a lot. Luckily though, being the foodie that I am, a big part of my vocabulary consisted of food-related words, so navigating menus was not too difficult. Also helpful were my traveling companions, who were fluent in the language and happy to decipher anything I couldn't on my own. 

Stracciatella is an Italian word used on menus in many different languages, so I did know that word (I wasn't in Italy). Referring to ice cream, stracciatella means vanilla ice cream with chocolate streaks in it. So my sundae consisted of scoops of this vanilla, chocolate flake ice cream with some chocolate sauce, extra chocolate flakes, and chocolate filigree decorations on top. What I did not know when I ordered, was that the sundae also contained chocoalte liquer, poured in along with the sauce. The waitress came out to check if this was okay, or if  I was of age, but of course I didn't understand a word she was saying so my accompaniments answered for me. That was the first time I (inadvertently) ordered myself a drink at a restaurant. I must say the addition of a little bit of chocolate liquer really did add to the flavor of the chocolate sauce and paired nicely with the ice cream without being too bitter or overpowering. This was definitely one of the best ice creams I had during my trip, and really got my trip off to a great start.