|
|
|
10 Convenient Ways To Eliminate Food Poisoning With Your Microwave
Microwave ovens can play an important role at mealtime, but special care must be taken when cooking or reheating meat, poultry, fish, and eggs to make sure they are prepared safely. Microwave ovens can cook unevenly and leave "cold spots," where...
EASY DISHES FOR SINGLES TO MAKE ON THANKSGIVING
A number of my single friends always ask me what they can make
that is easy and delicious to take to a Thanksgiving dinner. So
here are the tips and recipes that work well, whether you're
single or not, when you are a guest in need of a dish....
Healthy Fondue – A Guide To Making Broth and Hot Oil Fondues
A pot of hot oil that you dip meat into sounds downright barbaric but it can also be heart healthy. Broth and hot oil fondues are much less decadent than their siblings, cheese and chocolate fondue but they’re just as tasty. If a little care is...
Let's Have a Barbeque Party
"A wonderful way to entertain family and friends in an outdoor setting is with a backyard barbeque party. With proper planning and the right environment people will be talking about your party all summer. Important factors to think about when...
The Greatness Of Gumbo
Perhaps nothing is better known as a staple of Cajun cuisine than gumbo, a spicy, hearty stew or soup whose name literally means "okra". Called one of the greatest contributions of Louisiana Cajun kitchens to American cuisine, it came to that state...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans: Nuggets of Sweetness
Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans are great fun, as mid-day
pick-me-ups or as a garnish on top of ice cream or some other
dessert item. You can buy a pack at your local supermarket, and
you'll get slightly oblong-shaped, smooth, dark, rich and glossy
nuggets that both look and taste absolutely fabulous. However,
if you're a coffee buff like me, or just like cooking in
general, try out this recipe. Your homemade stuff perhaps won't
look as good as the supermarket variety, and won't be glossy,
single nuggets in a shiny pack, but they'll sure taste as good.
And on top of that you'll get the satisfaction of having made
them yourself!
Get yourself some top-quality, preferably organic, coffee beans.
Since these will be eaten whole in the form of chocolate covered
espresso beans, it's preferable to use Arabica rather than
Robusta. Arabica is less bitter, and contains considerably less
caffeine. For hard-core coffee addicts, however, Arabica may not
contain enough 'kick'. If the beans aren't already roasted, put
them in the microwave and keep them there for about 15 minutes,
at 400° Fahrenheit.
You can use commercially available thick double chocolate, or
you can make your own. You'll need to roast cocoa berries, peel
and mash them in a mortar till it's become a smooth paste. The
rest depends on what kind of chocolate you want for covering
your espresso beans. Some people prefer milk chocolate; in which
case, you need to add milk to the dark
and oily cocoa paste and
also add sugar to taste. Boil the liquid till most of the
moisture has evaporated, leaving the smooth, light brown texture
of milk chocolate. Adding other flavours is not recommended if
you're going to use it for chocolate covered espresso beans,
because it might jeopardise the pure coffee-and-cocoa flavour of
the final product.
Put the coffee beans on a baking sheet covered with wax paper,
and pour molten chocolate over it. Ensure that the beans are
laid out in a single layer, and not too far apart from each
other. They should be fully covered all around with the
chocolate. After the beans have cooled down somewhat, put the
whole sheet in a freezer.
If you need glossier, individual beans, you need to use candy
molds. Put individual beans in the moulds, and then pour the
chocolate. The beans will be easier to pop out of their moulds
if you mix a little peanut butter with the chocolate. This
process is lengthier, but yields better-looking nuggets that are
of more commercial value - that is, if you're thinking of
selling chocolate covered espresso beans.
About the author:
© Copyright Randy Wilson, All Rights Reserved.
Randy has more articles on coffee and coffee beans such as Cof
fee Enema and Coffee Makers.
|
|
|
|
|
|