January 2009

quick recharge 48 hours in palm desert

LIVING IN THE WEST

The new comfort foods 22 delicious dishes ... and zero guilt

Toasted bread, bean, and vegetable soup (212 calories)

Color therapy

Paint a room, lift your mood

Get organized!

5 artful ways to store your stuff p. 46 JANUARY 2009

Sunset.com

Teahouses: The West’s healthiest bar scene

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Discover the magic ingredient that adds depth of flavor to all kinds of foods: coffee

we love

J e by amy machnak | food photographs by annabelle breakey still-life photographs by alex farnum | food styling by Randy Mon 64

Sunset February 2009 2009

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Find the coffee in this picture.

Hint: It’s not just in the cup

Coffee and brown sugar bacon Sunset February 2009

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Coffee-braised spoon lamb

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Sunset February 2009

Coffee and brown sugar bacon

SERVES 8 TIME 40 minutes Everyone loves waking up to the smell of coffee and the smell of bacon, and the flavors are pretty awesome together too.

Add some molasses-y brown sugar, and you’ll reach bacon nirvana.

1 lb. thick-cut bacon 1 tbsp. ground coffee 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 2 tbsp. freshly brewed coffee

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Line a rimmed baking pan with parchment or waxed paper and set a flat rack on top.

2. Lay bacon strips on rack, overlapping slightly if needed. Sprinkle top of strips evenly with ground coffee. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and brewed coffee, stirring just to blend to a paste. Brush top of strips with half of sugar mixture.

3. Bake 15 minutes. Turn bacon over and brush with remaining sugar glaze. Bake until crispy, 10 minutes more.

PER SERVING 144 cal., 49% (70 cal.) from fat; 4.9 g protein; 7.8 g fat (2.8 g sat.); 14 g carbo (0 g fiber); 259 mg sodium; 13 mg chol.

Coffee-braised spoon lamb

SERVES 8 TIME 61/4 hours Spoon lamb gets its name from the texture of the meat when it’s finished cooking: so tender, you can cut it with a spoon.

This long, slow cooking technique benefits leg of lamb, typically a tough cut, and the acidity of the coffee offsets the richness of the meat. The sauce made from the drippings begs for polenta or potatoes.

6 garlic cloves, divided 1 bone-in leg of lamb (about 7 lbs.), trimmed of outside fat Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 large onion, quartered 4 large carrots, cut into chunks

2 shallots, peeled 1 tomato, quartered 1/4 cup olive oil 1 cup dry red wine 3 cups freshly brewed strong coffee, divided 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Mince 2 garlic cloves and rub onto lamb, spreading evenly. Generously sprinkle lamb with salt and pepper. Put lamb on a V-shaped rack in a large roasting pan. Surround rack with onion, carrots, shallots, tomato, and remaining 4 garlic cloves. Drizzle olive oil over vegetables and lamb.

2. Roast 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350° and cook another 30 minutes.

3. Reduce heat to 250°. Transfer lamb to a plate and lift rack from pan. Set the roasting pan on a burner over high heat, add wine, and boil, using a wide metal spatula to stir and scrape caramelized vegetables from bottom of pan, until wine has reduced by half. Stir in 2 cups coffee. Remove from heat. Set lamb back in pan (without rack); spoon juices over it. Cover tightly with foil.

4. Return to oven and cook until lamb is tender and pulling away from the bone, about 5 hours, turning lamb once halfway through cooking.

5. Transfer lamb to a platter and cover with foil. Reheat remaining 1 cup coffee and pour with liquid and vegetables from pan into a blender, working in batches if needed. Pulse until smooth. Pour sauce through a strainer set over a bowl, using the back of a spoon or ladle to push it through if needed. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Pour half of sauce over lamb and serve the rest in a bowl. Sprinkle lamb with parsley.

PER SERVING 469 cal., 42% (198 cal.) from fat; 55 g protein; 22 g fat (6.2 g sat.); 10 g carbo (0 g fiber); 156 mg sodium; 170 mg chol.

Keoke coffee

SERVES 2 TIME 5 minutes This cozy coffee drink makes a nice substitute for dessert after a big meal.

4 tbsp. each brandy, Kahlúa, and crème de cacao 3 cups freshly brewed hot coffee 4 tbsp. whipped cream (optional)

Divide brandy, Kahlúa, and crème de cacao between two mugs. Add half of coffee to each. Top with whipped cream if you like.

PER SERVING 245 cal., 0% from fat; 0.4 g protein; 0 g fat; 19 g carbo (0 g fiber); 7.1 mg sodium; 0 mg chol.

Mocha almond fudge

MAKES 36 pieces (1 in. square) TIME 30 minutes, plus at least 2 hours to chill There are few treats in this world better than a smooth, chocolaty, decadent morsel of fudge, and this recipe is one of the best we’ve tried.

1 lb. bittersweet chocolate, chopped 3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 3 tbsp. instant espresso powder 21/2 cups sugar 1/4 cup corn syrup 1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk 2 cups chopped toasted almonds

1. Line a 9- by 13-in. pan with foil, letting foil hang over edges. Set aside. In a bowl, combine chocolate, butter, and espresso.

2. In an 8- to 10-qt. pan, combine sugar, corn syrup, and milk, then bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook, stirring often with a wooden spoon to prevent boiling over, until mixture reaches 235° on a candy thermometer, about 15 minutes.

3. Remove pan from heat and pour chocolate mixture into hot milk. Stir until smooth.

Add almonds, stir just until combined, then pour fudge into prepared pan, smoothing top with spoon. Chill at least 2 hours.

4. Invert fudge onto a cutting board and

How the West won coffee

1825 Coffee plants are brought to Oahu from Brazil. Today, Hawaii is the only U.S. state that grows it commercially, with Kona coffee being the best known. 1849 James A. Folger gets a carpentry job at age 15 at the Pioneer Steam Coffee and Spice Mills in San Francisco, helping build California’s first mill for ground roasted coffee. He carries its samples to the gold fields, eventually buys the company, and renames it J.A. Folger & Co.—which becomes a top national brand. 1966 Alfred Peet opens Peet’s Coffee in Berkeley, popularizing a dark-roast style. He later trains Starbucks’s founders and supplies the Seattle company with Peet’s fresh-roasted beans. Starbucks, of course, goes on to become America’s largest coffeehouse chain, with more than 11,000 stores at last count.

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Keoke coffee and mocha almond fudge

peel off foil. Cut fudge into 1-in. squares.

Make ahead: Up to 1 week, chilled airtight, or up to 2 months, frozen.

PER PIECE 214 cal., 55% (117 cal.) from fat; 3.1 g protein; 13 g fat (5.6 g sat.); 25 g carbo (1.1 g fiber); 15 mg sodium; 13 mg chol.

Coffee and almond milk granita

SERVES 8 TIME 30 minutes, plus about 14 hours to steep and freeze This is a frozen dessert version of an almond latte—creamy and nutty.

11/2 cups whole unblanched almonds 3 cups milk 2/3 cup sugar, divided 21/2 cups freshly brewed coffee

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spread almonds on a baking sheet and toast in oven until browned and fragrant, about 8 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat milk in a saucepan over high heat until hot. Stir in hot almonds and 1/3 cup sugar; let cool. Chill, covered, at least 8 hours or overnight.

3. Pour almond-infused milk through a strainer into a metal loaf pan; discard nuts.

4. In another metal loaf pan, stir coffee and remaining 1/3 cup sugar until sugar dissolves. Wrap both pans airtight; freeze.

After 2 hours, stir slushy liquid with a fork, scraping sides of pans to create larger granita flakes. Return pans to freezer until completely frozen, about 4 hours.

5. Chill 8 bowls. Remove pans from freezer 5 to 10 minutes before you want to serve granita. Using a fork, scrape tops of gran68

Sunset February 2009

Coffee and almond milk granita

ita to break into flakes. Spoon about 1/2 cup coffee granita into each chilled bowl and 1/2 cup almond milk granita alongside.

Make ahead: Up to 4 days.

PER SERVING 266 cal., 54% (144 cal.) from fat; 7.9 g protein; 16 g fat (3.2 g sat.); 26 g carbo (2.7 g fiber); 49 mg sodium; 13 mg chol.

Coffee mushroom cream sauce

SERVES 4 (makes 21/2 cups) TIME 25 minutes, plus 3 hours to steep Steep coffee beans in cream to make the base for an absolutely delicious sauce to go with roast chicken and egg noodles.

1 pt. whipping cream 1/2 cup coffee beans 3 tbsp. olive oil 3 shallots, sliced 1 lb. button or cremini mushrooms, quartered Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. In a medium saucepan, bring cream and coffee beans to a simmer over high heat.

Remove from heat and let sit 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

2. In a large frying pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add shallots and mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until browned and softened, about 10 minutes.

3. Pour reserved cream through a strainer into pan with mushrooms; discard coffee beans. Simmer until cream is reduced slightly, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

How to make a good cup of joe BUYING Coffee loses freshness shortly after roasting, so get your beans in small quantities from a store that regularly roasts its own or gets frequent deliveries (and can tell you exactly when the beans were roasted).

STORING Keep beans in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 weeks. You can store them longer in the refrigerator or freezer, but both methods dry out the coffee’s flavorful oils.

GRINDING Because grinding beans releases the oils that hold aroma and flavor, grind fresh daily. Never freeze coffee after it’s been ground; it’ll lose flavor fast.

Use the grind your coffee equipment is designed to handle.

Espresso machines require a fine grind; drip setups, medium; and French presses, coarse. Check the manufacturer’s guidelines for info.

BREWING Use the right amount of coffee. A good guideline to start with is 2 tbsp. freshly ground coffee to 6 oz. water. Water temperature is key too. For electric coffeemakers, start with cold water; for most other methods, bring water to a boil, then let it sit about 30 seconds (water that’s boiling hot extracts bitter flavors).

And brew fresh every time.

PER SERVING 538 cal., 92% (495 cal.) from fat; 5.2 g protein; 55 g fat (29 g sat.); 11 g carbo (1.5 g fiber); 55 mg sodium; 163 mg chol. N

our favorite western coffee companies: sunset.com/coffeeroasters To change background color (fill), with direct selection tool

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Coffee mushroom cream sauce

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