Recipe Finder Logo

How do you like your coffee? I normally take it with a little sugar – either brewed using the drip machine or the espresso machine. While I would never complain about this kind of brew even if I had to drink it every single day of my life, there is something to be said about playing around with coffee and trying out various ways of preparing it.

If you are adventurous, and you have a creative mind, good for you! But even then, wouldn’t you like to have something handy to refer to for recipes and coffee ideas? That’s what I am going to share with you – a cool find that just might give you a stronger buzz than your regular cup of coffee!

Recipe Finder it is called, and it is a new recipe search engine. Recipe web sites are a penny a pound these days, don’t you think? They can be found everywhere, and if you want to look for a recipe, you have to check out all those recipe sites to make sure you’ve covered your bases. That is where Recipe Finder comes into the picture. It puts together the recipes of hundreds of the most trusted recipe web sites you can find today, and presents them in a format that is easy to search, easy to read, and easy to follow.

One look at the Recipe Finder home page, and you get the feeling that it’s all meant to make the life of the user easier.

Recipe Finder Home Page

Just like with most any search engine, that un-missable search bar can easily become your lifeline. But it gets better with Recipe Finder’s Advanced Search options, which allow you to narrow down your search results. Let’s do a quick test.

Recipe Finder Advanced Search - Coffee

Advanced Search Results - Coffee

Now we all know that coffee is the best drink in the world, but how much do you know about using coffee in your cooking? As in for appetizers, main dishes, and dessert? Believe you me, Recipe Finder is full of interesting ideas for using coffee in the kitchen. Here’s a little teaser.

Coffee-Crusted Beef Tenderloin

Whether it’s coffee you are needing or something else, I am pretty sure that you will find Recipe Finder a handy companion in the kitchen. With around 1.7 million recipes in the collection, I don’t think you’ll ever run out of ideas in your lifetime.

The guys at The Blog Herald also featured Recipe Finder on their launch day, complete with screen shots and other tips and tricks. I suggest giving it a look-see for more info. Either that or jump right in and discover something new you can make for dinner!

• International Lantern Parade, November 5 at 6:30 pm. Alii Drive, Kailua Pier to Hale Halawai
• Holualoa Village Coffee & Art Stroll, November 6, 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Have a taste of more than three dozen estate label Kona coffees!
• KTA Super Stores Kona Coffee Recipe Contest/Big Island Showcase, November 7, 12:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa Convention Center. This cooking contest should be fun to watch AND you get to sample the concoctions! Of course, 100% pure Kona coffee will be used in the recipes. How cool is that?
• Gevalia Kona Coffee Cupping Competition – Preliminary Round, November 10, 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Keauhou Beach Resort. This competition will determine the best Kona coffee there is. You wouldn’t want to miss that!

For more information on the events and schedules, visit the official web site of the 2010 Kona Coffee Cultural Festival.

So anyhow, when I got home, I decided to pass by the grocery store to get some stuff for dinner. I knew I had a steak or two in the fridge, but I wanted to spice it up. Guess what I found? Some Jack Daniels hickory BBQ sauce! Needless to say, I am STUFFED.

That hasn’t stopped me from browsing through some recipes that I somehow stumble upon online. (Seriously, they just seem to pop out. It’s not like I purposely seek them out!)

Here’s one that I think you will love – Texas hickory smoked brisket with coffee barbecue sauce. Now doesn’t that sound heavenly? I found the recipe at CTNow, and the image and words combined just made my mouth water despite the really good meal I just had. Here’s the recipe for the sauce, which I think will be an excellent partner for any other roast meat:

Southwestern barbecue sauce and assembly:
1 large onion, thinly sliced, top to bottom
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 jalapeños, seeded and diced
2 poblano or pasilla chiles, seeded and diced
1/2 cup strong brewed coffee
1 beer, preferably ale
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 cups ketchup
1/4 cup maple syrup, preferably Grade B
1/4 cup molasses
1 tablespoon cumin
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon New Mexico chile powder
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
Prepared smoked brisket

1. In a heavy-bottom 4-quart pot, combine the onion, garlic, jalapeños and chiles with the coffee and beer. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes.

2. Stir in the tomato paste, ketchup, maple syrup, molasses, cumin, salt, chile powder and red wine vinegar and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and blend the sauce using an immersion blender or in stages in a stand blender, until fairly smooth. Set aside.

3. Remove the brisket from the foil and slice across the grain into thin strips, reserving any pooled juices and leftover bits. Stir these drippings into the barbecue sauce. Serve the brisket warm with the barbecue sauce on the side.

…and that’s what this FREE Coffee Recipe E-book will allow you to do! I stumbled upon the freebie at Coffee Fair:

Our site sponsor is Boca Java… gourmet coffee delivered right to your front door. Feel free to check out their large coffee selection at: www.bocajava.com.

For your safety our e-book has been virus scanned and checked and is completely safe and clean. There are also no irritating ads in it and there’s nothing in there you to buy either. Just good ol’ delicious coffee recipes!

I have already clicked and downloaded. What are you waiting for???

Ingredients:
¼ pound unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup fat-free sour cream
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon finely chopped lemon zest
½ cup best quality cherry preserves

Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 8-inch square cake pans.
2. In a large mixer bowl, beat butter with sugar until well combined. Add eggs one at a time and beat well. Add sour cream and mix thoroughly.
3. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture.
4. Blend in the vanilla and lemon zest thoroughly. Then stir in the cherry preserves, so the batter is streaky, not pink. Spread batter in pans and bake 20-30 minutes (15-20 minutes for muffins), or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Makes 2 cakes or 18-24 muffins

It’s a bit too late for me to put this idea to work for tonight, but maybe we can do this tomorrow or later in the week – a coffee-themed meal. We’re a family of coffee drinkers so I already know that this idea will be a hit, and as I sit here sipping my nth cup of brewed coffee, I am trying to think of how to incorporate coffee into a whole meal.

Is there any sound basis for this idea, though? I mean, I might be biased towards the use of coffee for entrees, main courses, and desserts simply because I can’t get enough of it. I did look it up, though, and many chefs are already using coffee as marinades or rubs for meat. One reason for this is that the enzymes found in coffee grounds work as a meat tenderizer. Of course, the coffee flavor is a BIG plus. As for desserts, it is easy to think of coffee-flavored goodies: brownies, cakes, jellies, and the like.

In the next few posts, I will try to share recipes – I shall start my search now.

I looked around the Internet and found some of the most interesting coffee-alcohol mixes that promise to spice up your Thanksgiving celebrations. Here are my top picks (courtesy of The Examiner).

I don’t know if it’s still considered All Canadian, but I might try Jack Daniels or Jim Beam instead. What do you think?

Here’s another one, and it looks a little classier:

I think the beans got me. Would you try these drinks this Thanksgiving?

Instead of serving good old brewed coffee or plain old espresso, why not spice up your Halloween party? For sure, you have seen all those Torani bottles of syrup that many coffee shops use to flavor their coffees. You can actually get one in pumpkin spice flavor! Try your local grocery store or supermarket OR you can do your shopping online (although it is quite impossible to have it delivered on time). I searched for pumpkin spice syrup online and found some options here.

Anyhow, what’s the trick to making pumpkin spiced espresso? There really is none. All that you have to do is make espresso the way you normally do with your machine. I suggest two shots for a bolder flavor. Pump one or two shots of the syrup (depending on how strong you want the flavor to be) into the coffee, stir, and then add your steamed milk. Optionally, you can add whipped cream (you might want to pass up on that if you’re on a diet) and some cinnamon or more pumpkin spice powder.

Anyway, I found an interesting recipe for Cappuccino Cake. You don’t even have to make the cake yourself – just get a ready made sponge cake, and you can make wonders! Here is the recipe, courtesy of Coffee Recipes.

1 premade sponge cake.
1 cup of boiling coffee.
1 cup of condensed milk.
2 teaspoons of gelatin.
Cream, for topping.
Powdered chocolate, for topping.
Instructions for Cappuccino Cake:
Line a suitably sized starsol cake tin with foil and place the premade sponge cake inside.

Dissolve the gelatin in the boiling coffee.

Mix the coffee into the condensed milk.

Pour the mixture over the sponge cake, distributing so that mixture is evenly absorbed.

Place in your refrigerator for 3-4 hours or until set.

Top with cream and powdered chocolate.

Serve.

What do you think? It looks easy enough – no need to cook even!

Viennese coffee is known for being very rich, mixed with cream and chocolate. Maybe something like an extreme café mocha? Here is the recipe that I want to try out:

Ingredients:
1 cup whipping cream, divided
1 teaspoon powdered sugar
1 bar (3 ounces) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
3 cups strong freshly brewed hot coffee
¼ cup crème de cacao or Irish cream (optional)

Preparation:
1. Chill bowl, beaters and cream before whipping. Place 2/3 cup cream and sugar into chilled bowl. Beat with electric mixer at high speed until soft peaks form.
2. Cover and refrigerate up to 8 hours. If mixture has separated slightly after refrigeration, whisk lightly with wire whisk before using.
3. To make chocolate shavings for garnish, place waxed paper under chocolate. Holding chocolate in one hand, make short, quick strokes across chocolate with vegetable peeler; set aside. Break remaining chocolate into pieces.
4. Place remaining 1/3 cup cream in heavy small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Add chocolate pieces; cover and remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes or until chocolate is melted; stir until smooth.
5. Add hot coffee to chocolate mixture. Heat over low heat just until bubbles form around edge of pan and coffee is heated through, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in crème de cacao, if desired.
6. Pour into 4 warmed mugs. Top with whipped cream. Garnish with chocolate shavings.

Another recipe that I saw included an egg, but I don’t think I like the idea. Anyhow, why don’t you try it out for yourself?