Toose Hoose Italian style

Starter
Garlic Bread

Main
Chicken Breast wrapped in Prosciutto and pan fried (Chicken Saltimbocca)
Mushroom Risotto with Truffle Oil
Steamed Broccolini

Dessert
Tiramisu

Scott and I were wondering what other desserts or recipies use coffee or more specifically espresso in their ingredients. I thought of some chocolate cake recipies and even a chocolate mousse that have coffee in them. I used 2 double shot long blacks in the Tiramisu – Yum!

Babycino

I made my first babycino this morning for Adrian’s son Nicholas when they came over for brekky and to borrow some movies for Rowena who’s hurt her neck – get better soon Row! I wasn’t really sure how to make one so had to ask Adrian. I over frothed some milk and scooped the thicker foam with a bit of milk into a small espresso cup and sprinkled some chocolate powder over the top. After first shaking his head at the proffered cup and spoon which I placed in front of the little guy we soon heard the clinking of metal on ceramic – I must have got it right

Any tips for my future Babycino attempts? Do you put some coffee in or is that a no no? How much chocolate? What should the foam to milk ratio be? What size cup do you use? Maybe I should do a Barista course

Baby Back…

(… Ribs)

I got my baby back yesterday – yesss! I had my first day back at Uni so while I was over that way I called the ‘doctor’ on the off chance it was ready. It’s now pumping out the good stuff. Although the beans I bought just before it went away might be getting a little old they are better than plunger to my palate – I’ll work through them quickly

I’m Back

I’ve just come back from the future to save you…

…save you from the frustration of checking to see if I’ve posted lately! (I missed the new Terminator series last night – any good?!?!)

Such a slacker – I think I was feeling the “Facebook killed the blogger star” vibe either that or I’m lazy. Busy last couple of months. I was reading over my last few posts so here’s an update:

The iPhone is still awesome (and still not mine)

Kevin Rudd is not only our PM but did a bloody awesome job today. It was quite emotional watching the apologies made by both leaders. Brendan could have just said “I agree” but he had to waffle on and repeat everything with a few different stories thrown in to make it look like he hadn’t copied

I’ve got Uni orientation tomorrow for my post grad course starting in a few days. I managed to score two scholarships recently which will cover all my fees for the year – nice!

‘North Rocks @ Night’ is going full steam ahead with a planned launch on the 23rd March. It’s going to be a busy few weeks. Kate and I will be leading a Bible study group which should be challenging and fun.

Other than that I’ve been playing with my espresso machine and Kate’s settling into teaching Kindy. All is well for the start (close) of 2008. Hope you like the new ‘08 look for THO – feedback appreciated. Thanks for all you die hards who kept asking for another post.

Cheers

Fresh vs Frozen

The source of many cold disagreements and heated discussions – whether or not to freeze your coffee beans. This article brings some interesting contributions to the to and fro. If you can’t be bothered reading the whole thing the conclusions were:

Two months is safe: Freshly roasted coffee that is immediately frozen after roasting in a near airtight container in a very cold freezer, can be kept undisturbed in the freezer for at least 2 months and be expected to produce espressos that are not obviously inferior to those made from fresh coffee that has never been frozen.

Freezing does not accelerate staling after defrosting: At least over a period of time extending to about 8 days after roasting, using the roasting and freezing procedure used here, there was no evidence that previously frozen coffee deteriorates more quickly after defrosting than does coffee that has never been frozen.