Cooking With Gourmet Coffee

Coffee and spices give a Mid-Eastern aromatic flair to delicious pan sauce served over lamb shoulder chops. Fast and easy to make. This is great served over cooked rice.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

* 6 lamb shoulder chops
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1 teaspoon (about) olive oil
* 4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
* 1/3 cup strong coffee
* 1/3 cup honey
* 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
* 1/4 teaspoon mace
* 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
* 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon curry powder
* 3/4 teaspoon lemon juice

Preparation:

Season lamb chops with salt and pepper. Heat a heavy, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Sear lamb on both sides, turning only once. (Do this in two batches if need be, adding a little more olive oil if necessary.) Remove to a platter.

Reduce heat to medium-low. To the same skillet, add butter, stirring until melted. Whisk in coffee, honey, Worcestershire sauce, mace, cardamom, cinnamon, curry powder, and lemon juice, scraping up any browned bits into the sauce. Bring to a boil and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, until thickened.

Return lamb shoulder chops to the skillet along with any accumulated juices. Turn to coat with sauce and simmer for 2 minutes to reheat before serving.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• 3 large egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, plus 1 teaspoon, divided
• 1 1/4 cups sweet dessert wine, divided (recommended: Vin Santo)
• 2 large egg whites
• 1/4 cup cooled brewed espresso, or other strong coffee blend
• 1 cup ricotta
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 4 to 5 ounces ladyfingers
• Cocoa powder, garnish
• Chocolate-dipped coffee beans, garnish, recipe follows

Directions

Place the chocolate in the top of a double boiler or in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water, and stir until melted. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.

In the top of a double boiler or in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water, beat the egg yolks and 3 tablespoons of sugar until pale yellow and frothy. Add 1/2 cup of the wine and whip until thick, being careful not to let the mixture boil. Remove from the heat and fold in the chocolate. Cool to room temperature.

In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, and fold into the cooled custard mixture.

In a bowl, combine the coffee and ricotta and set aside.

In a separate bowl, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Add the remaining teaspoon of sugar and whip until stiff peaks form.

Dip the ladyfingers into the remaining 3/4 cup of dessert wine and arrange them in the bottom of a square 9-inch baking dish. Cover with half of the ricotta, half of the custard, and half of the whipped cream. Repeat with the remaining ingredients, ending with whipped cream on top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set, at least 3 hours.

To serve, sift the cocoa powder evenly over the top and decorate with the chocolate coffee beans. Cut into equal pieces and serve.

Chocolate-Dipped Coffee Beans:

• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate
• 1 cup dark roasted coffee beans

In the top of a double-boiler set over simmering water, melt the chocolate, stirring until smooth.

Remove from the heat and let cool and thicken slightly.

In batches, drop the beans into the melted chocolate, coating completely on all sides. Remove and place on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Let dry completely.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Yield: 1 cup

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2002

• 5 tablespoons Paniolo Rounemup seasoning (or use 2 tablespoons paprika, 2 tablespoons ground cumin, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper)
• 2 1/2 tablespoons Kona coffee, finely ground
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 8 baby back ribs
• 30 ounces water
• 10 ounces Worcestershire sauce
• Kona Coffee BBQ grilling and dipping sauce
• Keawe wood

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Grind the Paniolo spice together with the coffee and salt (or the coffee with paprika, cumin, salt and pepper). Rub spice mixture over all the ribs. Place ribs in a heavy roasting pan and cook uncovered for 12 minutes, drain off excess fat.

Lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees F.

Mix together water and Worcestershire sauce and pour around ribs. Cover pan tightly with foil and bake until tender, about 1 hour 45 minutes. Ribs may be prepared to this point a few days in advance.

To prepare barbecue, light the Keawe wood and allow it to burn until coals are medium hot and spread out. Cook ribs 3 minutes on each side and dip or brush ribs in the sauce and cook slowly for another 5 to 6 minutes. Be careful not to burn the ribs.

Warm a little Kona Coffee BBQ sauce to serve on the side. Serve with grilled corn and campfire potato salad or your favorite sides.

Kona coffee bbq sauce

• 2 T roasted garlic
• 1 yellow onion diced and caramelized
• 1 c brown sugar packed
• 2 c strong Kona coffee
• 1 c cider vinegar
• 2 c ketchup
• 1 c worchestire sauce
• 1 T celery salt
• 2T chipotle chile powder
• 2 T dijon mustard
• 1/2 c honey

• 1 cup cool strong coffee
• 6 ounces molasses, by weight
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 6 to 8 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 (6 to 8-ounce) bone-in, 1-inch thick pork chops

Place all of the ingredients into a 1-gallon zip top bag, seal, and shake to combine. Place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

Preheat grill to medium-high.

Remove the pork chops from the marinade. Transfer the marinade to a small saucepan and place over high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-high, and boil gently, stirring often, until reduced to about 1/2 cup liquid, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the thyme stems after the glaze has reduced. Meanwhile, grill pork chops 3 to 4 minutes per side or until they reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees F. Allow the pork chops to rest 4 to 5 minutes before serving with the glaze.