I am sure by now some of you are tired of eating turkey. Also some of you may be wondering what would be comforting to eat while we endure our first snowstorm of the year. I stumbled across this recipe that I thought you might enjoy. Thanks to Sandra Lee for this recipe courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens. It’s a Cappuccino Pot Roast, different but oh so tasty. I do not eat beef, so I substituted seitan and the results were delicious.

Prep: 30 min. Cook: 9hrs. Stand: 10min.

3-lb beef chuck roast
1 lb. small carrots, cut in 2-inch pieces
8oz boiling onions, peeled and halved, or 1 large onion cut in thin wedges
4 cloves of garlic, halved
2 jalapeno peppers**, seeded and sliced
1 cup of STRONG brewed coffee
1.5 oz. envelope of beef stew seasoning mix
2 Tbs. of balsamic vinegar
2 cubes chipotle bouillon cubes, crumbled; or 2 beef bouillon cubes, crumbled with 1/2 tsp. ground chipotle chile
1 bay leaf
8-oz. container of sour cream
1 recipe of Gremolata*

1. Trim the fat from the roast; sprinkle 1/2 tsp. of salt and 1/4 tsp. of pepper on the meat. Set aside.
2. In a 6-quart slow cooker combine carrots, onions, garlic and jalapeno peppers. Place roast on top of vegetables.
3. In a medium bowl combine coffee, seasoning mix, balsamic vinegar, bouillon and bay leaf. Pour over roast in cooker.
4. Cover and cook on low heat setting for 9 to 10 hours.
5. Transfer roast to a cutting board; cover and let rest 10 and let rest 10 min. With a slotted spoon, transfer vegetables to serving dishes (remove and discard bay leaf); cut up meat and add to bowls. Using a wire mesh strainer, strain sauce, reserving 2 cups. Place sour cream in a medium bowl, whisk in the 2 cups of sauce. Spoon some of the sauce on beef; pass remaining. Sprinkle with Gremolata.

MAKES 8 SERVINGS

* Gremolata
In a small bowl combine 1 tablespoon of finely shredded lemon peel, 1/4 cup snipped flat-leaf parsley, and 1 clove of finely chopped garlic.

**Because hot chile peppers can burn skin and eyes, wear plastic or rubber gloves when handling them. If using bare hands, wash well with soap and water immediately after.

Turkish bridegrooms were once required to make a promise during their wedding ceremonies to always provide their new wives with coffee. If they failed to do so, it was grounds for divorce. I like to think of this as the good old days.

Dorothy Jones of Boston was the first American coffee trader. It was in 1670 that she was given a license to sell coffee. Boy, we’ve come a long ways since then.

At one time in England, certain merchandisers were upset when coffee was introduced. Those selling wine felt threatened when coffee became more popular. They even started a campaign to get Charles II to issue an order to surpress coffeehouses. Public outcry forced the order to be retracted. That was on January 8, 1675.

The word “coffee” was once used as a term for wine, but was later used to describe a black drink made from the berries of a tree. This black drink replaced wine in many religious ceremonies because it kept the Mohameddans alert during their nightly prayers. They honored it with the name they originally gave to wine.

If you love the taste of coffee then this blog is sure to get you salivating. There are lots of different recipes out there for coffee flavored pastries, but I have found this to be one of the best. It captures the taste of the coffee and adds a little savory sweetness to balance it out. Enjoy!

Prep time:15 min
Bake time:25 min

2 TSP instant coffee
2 TB coffee flavored liquer
1 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 TSP baking soda
1/4 TSP salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 300. In a small bowl, dissolve instant coffee into
the coffee liquer and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white
sugar. Gradually add the eggs and coffee mixture.

3. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Stir into the
creamed mixture. Finally stir in the chocolate chips.

4. Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto the cookie sheets. Cookies should be at least 2 inches apart. Bake for 23 to 25 minutes.
Immediatly transfer cookies to a cooling rack after baking.

Courtesy of allreceipes.com

-Many people think that espresso is the strongest form of coffee, however that is only true in terms of flavor. From a caffeine perspective espresso has about 1/3 less caffeine than brewed coffee. Always remember, the lighter the roast, the greater the caffeine.

-The Cappuccino is named after the Capuchin monks. This is because the color of their robes is close to that of the tasty espresso drink.

-The latte is an American phenomena. If you ask for a latte in Italy, you will ge a glass of mile. Most likely a warm glass of mile. If you want an “American” latte, you need to ask for a caffe latte.

-The French invented Cafe Society. The Italians “own” the rights to Espresso Society. There are over 200,000 espresso bars in Italy today.

-Last but not least, Johann Sebastian Bach wrote a cantata about coffee between 1732 and 1734. The cantata was more of a satirical comedy and tells an amusing story of coffee addiction considered a social problem in the 18th century.

When you think about it, coffee is something very simple that has become very complicated. It is true that coffee has as many flavour profiles and nuances as wine. But most of us don’t experience coffee that way. The point of this blog is not just to get you more familiar with the coffee Kafevino sells; there will be some of that. But I will also share a few coffee stories, facts and some suggestions about what you can do with coffee besides drink it. I just want you to be comfortable with coffee. The slogan here is “Pour and Explore”. We are going to do that with coffee. As I wrote earlier, coffee can be as complex as wine. This is where we will learn about it together.