Holiday Grind

heat until the water begins to boil. Turn the heat down to medium and allow the water to simmer.

Step 2—Select a heatproof mixing bowl from your cupboard that is large enough to sit on top of the saucepan. (You are creating a double boiler.) Make sure the simmering water beneath the bowl is not touching the bowl’s bottom. Pour fresh, cold milk into the bowl and allow it to warm over the boiling water for one minute, no longer! How much milk? About 2/3 cup per serving.

Step 3—With an oven mitt on one hand to hold the hot bowl and a handheld electric mixer in the other, tip the bowl enough to tilt all of the milk into one deep, concentrated pool and then whip it. (Whip it good! Use the fastest speed available on your mixer and simply hold the mixing beaters in the center of the milk pool—do not move the mixer around.) In a matter of seconds, you’ll see the warmed white fluid froth up. Whip the milk 20-90 seconds, depending on how much foam you’d like to create, and you’re done! Do not over whip the milk. You won’t be able to foam up every molecule of milk with this method, and if you whip it too much, you’ll just begin breaking down the foam you’ve created.

Troubleshooting: To make this rustic frothing method foolproof, keep these four suggestions in mind. (1) Never try to re-froth milk that’s been whipped and has fallen. It won’t work. You must always start with cold, fresh, undisturbed milk. Pour it straight from the fridge to your measuring cup to the bowl. That’s it. (2) Don’t try to start whipping at a low speed and increase it. Whip it like crazy from the start, using the highest speed possible on your blender—if there’s not enough immediate, vigorous whipping action, the milk won’t properly foam up. (3) If you want to infuse spices or flavorings into your latte or cappuccino, then stir them into your hot espresso shot. Do not add syrups, flavorings, or ground spices into the milk before trying to froth it. (4) Finally, do not allow the milk to warm much longer than a few minutes over the boiling water. Steaming milk properly brings out its sweetness. If the milk is overheated, however, your latte will have a terrible scorched taste instead of a sweet one. That’s why my rustic frothing method is done double boiler style instead of in a pan sitting directly on the stove burner. It’s the best way to control the heat and prevent your milk from scorching.

Making A Rustic Cappuccino

For one serving, start with 2/3 cup of cold, fresh milk. Follow my directions for frothing the milk. After 60-90 seconds of whipping, when much of the milk in the mixing bowl has grown into a thick cloud of rustic foam dense enough to scoop with a spoon, you’re ready to create your cappuccino.

Step 1—Pour 1-2 shots of hot espresso (1 shot = 2 tablespoons) into an 8-ounce mug. The number of shots depends on how strong a coffee flavor you’d like in your drink.

Step 2—Stir in 1-2 teaspoons sugar, if desired. Or, if you’d like a flavored cappuccino, this is the time to stir in syrups or other flavorings.

Step 3—Carefully tip the mixing bowl and allow a bit of the steamed milk fluid to pour into the espresso. (Use a spoon to hold back the gobs of foam as you pour.) Finally, spoon the remaining thick foam into your mug—or as much as you can fit!

MAKING A RUSTIC LATTE

A latte is similar to a cappuccino. The difference is in the amount of foam—a cappuccino has much more foamed milk than a latte. For one serving of a latte, start with 2/3 cup of cold, fresh milk, right from the fridge. Follow my directions for frothing the milk. Do not whip the milk more than 20- 30 seconds. At that point, about half of the milk in the bowl should still be fluid and half foamy. Now you’re ready to make your latte. Simply follow the directions for my Basic Caffe Latte recipe on page 311.

Note on type of milk: In Italy, the use of full-fat whole milk is the standard. If you order a cappuccino with skim milk, they’ll look at you like you’re crazy. Why? La dolce vita—“the sweet life”—is the philosophy. It means you should savor the joy of living. If you’re going to have a cappuccino, have it with the better-tasting milk and drink with joy. If you want to limit the fat and calories in your drink, however, by all means use 1% or skim milk for most of the recipes in this book.

Coffee Drink Recipes

Espresso Variations

In Italy, ending a meal with a freshly made demitasse of espresso is not only common, it’s also thought to aid digestion of the meal. Here are some ideas for serving espresso as an after-dinner experience in your home.

ESPRESSO ROMANO “SWEET”

“Sweet” is my own term for this way of serving espresso that I’ve seen in some Italian-American homes. Rub the edge of your cup with a lemon wedge, then dip the dampened edge in sugar and sip the espresso through the sweet, lemony rim.

ESPRESSO WITH CANDIED ORANGE PEEL

Simply serve the espresso with the candied citrus peel on the side of the demitasse saucer. See my recipe on page 364 for instructions on how to make your own candied orange, lemon, or grapefruit peels.

ESPRESSO AMERICANO

Pour 1 shot of hot espresso into an 8-ounce mug. Fill the rest of the mug with hot water.

ESPRESSO WITH SAMBUCA

Serve the demitasse of espresso with a shot of Sambuca on the side. Sambuca is an Italian liqueur with an anise flavor—and Italians believe that anise aids digestion after a meal. Traditionally it is served in a shot glass with roasted coffee beans floating on top. The beans can be ignored as ornamental, or you can chew them to increase the anise flavor of the liqueur. Three coffee beans is traditional good luck, standing for health, happiness, and prosperity. So when you serve your guests, count accordingly!

CAFFE CORRETTO (“CORRECTED COFFEE”)

Add ½ teaspoon of brandy or grappa (Italian brandy) to 1 shot of hot espresso.

ESPRESSO AMARETTO

Add 1 teaspoon of amaretto to 1 shot of hot espresso. Especially delicious served with Dante’s Christmas Fruitcake Cookies and Mike Quinn’s Cherry Cordial Fudge. (See recipes for these goodies and more in the following section.)

ESPRESSO ANISETTE

Add 1 teaspoon of anisette liquor to 1 shot of hot espresso. Serve with a lemon twist.

ESPRESSO KAHLUA

Add 1 teaspoon of Kahlua to 1 shot of hot espresso. Top with a bit of milk foam.

ESPRESSO WHISKEY

Add ½ teaspoon of Irish whiskey to 1 shot of hot espresso. Top with a bit of whipped cream.

ESPRESSO RUM

Add 1 teaspoon of dark rum to 1 shot of hot espresso. Top with whipped cream and a dash of ground cinnamon.

ESPRESSO COCONUT RUM

Add 1 teaspoon of Malibu rum to 1 shot of hot espresso. Malibu rum is made in Barbados with natural coconut extract. Top with a bit of whipped cream and a garnish of lightly toasted flaked coconut. A spirited accompaniment to Clare’s “Bar-ista” Special Macaroons. (See recipe on page 339.)

Coffee Syrups

Flavored syrups date back to antiquity, when honey was used as a preservative for fresh fruit juices so that flavored drinks could be enjoyed all year long. As time went on, syrups evolved into flavors such as mint, orange, lemon, and almond and became a popular way to mix a refreshing drink. These days in Europe, flavored syrups are added to sparkling water to make classic “Italian sodas,” while in North America, they are more commonly found as a way to flavor a coffeehouse latte or cappuccino.

The flavored latte revolution is actually a very recent one. As the story goes, a coffee industry veteran named “Brandy” Brandenburger noticed bottles of Torani brand syrup behind a counter in San Francisco’s Caffe Trieste. These bottles were being used to create Italian sodas, but Brandy decided to bring home a bottle and experiment