coffee – The Book Cook

When it comes to culinary adventures, taste is the most obvious of the five senses involved. Smell is close behind, and sight is also thrown into the mix. But there are sounds that are always coming out of my kitchen that make cooking about more than what meets the eye, nostril, or tastebud. Just as the young boy who narrates The Polar Express is so affected by the ring of a small bell, I am instantly brought back to a comforting and magical place with certain sounds – the sizzling of a breadcrumbed chicken cutlet, the rhythmic slicing of risotto-bound onions, and (perhaps most importantly) the whiz of the coffee grinder first thing in the morning.

My father is a self-proclaimed coffee snob, and I am following directly in his footsteps. There is truly a difference in tasting the flavor of freshly ground beans in each sip of my morning jolt that has made me very attached to all things espresso. And so, I couldn’t resist injecting a bit of that richness into this festive holiday recipe. Merry Christmas!

Gooey Mocha Brownies:

¼ cup cocoa powder

¼ cup espresso powder

1 tsp cinnamon

½ cup strong filter coffee, near boiling

2 oz. dark chocolate chips (and 6 oz. dark chocolate chips later on)

2 eggs, room temperature

2 additional egg yolks, room temperature

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups sugar

1 ¾ cups flour

1 tsp salt

Powdered sugar, for dusting

Instruction:

Whisk cocoa powder, espresso powder, and cinnamon in coffee until smooth. Whisk in first 2 oz. of chocolate chips until melted.
Whisk butter and oil into mixture. Then, add eggs, additional yolks, sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth.
Sift in flour and salt and fold until completely combined. Finally, fold in the remaining 6 oz. chocolate chips.
Transfer to 9×13 baking pan lined with parchment paper and sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for about half an hour, until toothpick comes out clean.
After brownies have cooled slightly, carefully transfer to wire rack. To serve, stack different sized squares at 45 degree angles and dust with powdered sugar.

Enjoy gooey mocha brownies with Chris Van Allsburg’s The Polar Express, and check in at http://warandpeach.com for future recipes and book reviews!

When I was a child, my family owned the VHS of The Sound of Music. It’s such a long film that it was separated onto two tapes, the first of which conveniently ending with Maria and Captain Von Trapp’s wedding. My parents never put the second tape on, so until embarrassingly recently I had no idea the second half was filled with close escapes from the Nazis.

I don’t like sad endings or moments of distress in stories. Though E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web is filled with pleasant farm animals and adorable friendships, there looms the theme of death and loss. But I understand the importance that there can be beauty in seemingly heavy things. The passing of Fern’s dear spider friend also reminded the young girl of the wisdom and joy Charlotte brought to her life. It is the same semi-sweet darkness that adds such richness to this summer drink (this time, in chocolate form).

There are some realities of being an adult that are necessary to accept. One is that sometimes we lose dear friends in the stories we read. Another is that we sometimes need to run through the Alps with our seven children while also singing in perfect harmony. And finally, one of the more pleasant realities to accept as an adult is that Bailey’s can really transform a coffee smoothie from good to great.

Smoothie:

1 cup strong coffee, ideally cooled to room temperature

1/2 cup Bailey’s (or other irish cream)

3 scoops mint chocolate chip ice cream

2 tbsp chocolate syrup

1 cup ice

Instruction:

1. Just blend it all together!

Enjoy a Bailey’s mint mocha smoothie with E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web, and check in at http://warandpeach.com for future recipes and book reviews!

The Book Cook

Tag: coffee

The Polar Espresso

Char-Latte’s Web