Congratulations to Christina, winner of the Passion for Coffee giveaway! Christina, please email me at traveleatlove @ gmail dot com with your contact information.
Do you love coffee? I certainly do. My favorite way to enjoy coffee is an espresso or two after an indulgent dinner, on a night where there is no work the next day. Coffee tends to make me VERY jittery, to the point where I get dizzy sometimes, but I still love it. I have learned that coffee in moderation, with food, works out well. I am glad I made it work!
Coffee is great in desserts and various drinks, as many of us know, but it can also be great in savory dishes. At City Landing, we had an incredible coffee-rubbed meat that was tender and full of flavor. When I was asked to participate in a blogger book tour for Passion for Coffee by Patricia McCausland-Gallo, I was definitely curious to check out the book and most interested in where coffee fits in with savory dishes.
Passion for Coffee is like a warm, comforting cup of coffee itself. It’s fun reading, with background information on the coffee bush, but more importantly on the coffee people, where the passion comes from.
“The coffee plant is the main character of the stories that follow—true stories in which people, enamored of the land and this crop, work tirelessly to produce the shiny, redberries that the plant yields only a few times a year. These are tales of the incredible path that many people choose to take in their lives, but that few others really understand.”
The book also has some tips on getting started and the kitchen essentials needed for using the book. I always find that helpful; I can be guilty of not being completely prepared for cooking, so it’s always a good reminder!
Following the introduction, the book has recipes of just about every type, from drinks, to baked goods, savory main dishes, and greens. I love how versatile coffee is shown to be in this book. There are some incredibly decadent recipes such as Pizza Sticks with Coffee Drizzles that include a coffee cream sauce and a whole section on spiked coffee drinks. . . I can definitely get behind that!
I opted to make a Coffee Curried Chicken for the blog tour, and my photos of the curry were absolutely dreadful, so the above image of the coffee is all I have. Curry isn’t always the prettiest thing to photograph, it turns out!
The curry starts with chicken breasts marinated in a coffee-yogurt base with honey, garlic, cornstarch, and curry. There’s no juicier way to prepare chicken than by marinating in yogurt I have found, and this flavor-infused yogurt really made for some tender and lovely meat. The coffee flavor went really perfectly with the spices of the Madras curry I used, and it added a round, earthiness to the sauce.
The dish is topped with raisins that have been plumped up in a bit of Cognac, along with toasted almonds, and coconut, lots of sweetness, toastiness, and crunch!
We decided to serve it with some sautéed vegetables and some quinoa to round out the meal and stretch it out for lunch the next day. This curry is even better reheated! The recipe is below, and if you are a fan of coffee and curry, I definitely recommend making it!
Now for the giveaway; to enter, visit the preview of the book, check out the Table of Contents, and leave a comment here letting me know what recipe you would like to make most. I will choose a winner on Friday, June 20. Good luck!
Coffee Curried Chicken Recipe, from Passion for Coffee
2 servings
1 teaspoon freeze-dried or granulated instant coffee
2 teaspoons water
2/3 cup plain yogurt
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 chicken breast halves, with bones and skin (about 1 1/2 pounds total)
2 tablespoons raisins
2 tablespoons cognac
3 tablespoons slivered almonds, toasted*
2 tablespoons coconut, toasted*
1. In a medium bowl, dissolve the coffee in the water. Add the yogurt,
honey, garlic, cornstarch, curry, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
2. P lace the chicken in a shallow dish, add the sauce, cover, and allow
to marinate in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours, or overnight.
3. When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 400ºF. Remove the chicken
from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature, about 10 minutes.
4. P lace the chicken in a baking pan, and add the sauce. Bake for 40
to 45 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted into the chicken reads
160ºF. Remove chicken from the pan and set aside, covered.
5. Heat the raisins and cognac in a small saucepan over medium heat
until the raisins plump up, about 2 minutes, and then flambé.* Remove
from heat and set aside, covered.
6. Add the raisins and almonds to the sauce in the baking pan, mix, and
spoon over the breasts to serve. Sprinkle with the toasted coconut.
Variation: This recipe can also be prepared with half-and-half, but I use yogurt because
it is lighter, easier to digest, has a consistency that is easier to work with, and carries the
flavors through the sauce better.
