November 26th
2009
OK, cooking might not be the perfect term for today’s recipe. There’s no stove involved, no oven, no tears from slicing onions; prep time will be less than 5 minutes. On the other hand, the results will last much longer (not too much longer though, if you love bringing friends little food presents, like I do).
Not only has my friend Claudio released his first book this fall, Stevan Paul, author of the blogs Dem Herrn Paulsen sein Kiosk (sadly now closed) and Nutriculinary has compiled the most charming anecdotes of his culinary life in restaurant kitchens and elsewhere (each garnished with the one or other recipe) and turned this into the a neat little book titled Monsieur, der Hummer and ich. Knowing Stevan, his precise power of observation and his amazing ability to captivate people with stories, both told and written, his book brings all that to the reader and more. What I like best? The chuckle effect, triggered by his wittily expressions and tone, when turning page after page…
The first recipe that caught my immediate attention was Stevan’s coffee liqueur for sundayafternoondrinkers ([very] literally translated…). If you invest 5 minutes in its preparation and are patient enough to then let it sit at least for one week on your kitchen shelf, you will be rewarded with the most fragrant golden digestive you can imagine.
Stevan suggests to spice up your coffee or black tea with it (spot-on for the upcoming winter season), preferably warmed up a little beforehand, simply to intensify its aroma. I think it tastes fantastic on its own, too.
Below you’ll find Stevan’s original recipe and the small changes I’ve made in brackets – this is my new always-at-the-ready emergency gift for every occasion:
Add the rock sugar, the spices, the coffee beans as well as the grappa to a clean bottle, which is closable [I skipped the allspice, because I had run out].
Let the liqueur infuse at room temperature for at least a week [I let mine infuse for almost two weeks]. As soon as the rock sugar has dissolved and the spices/coffee beans have sunk to the bottom, the liqueur is done [I poured it through a fine-mesh sieve, discarded the spices and distributed it over a couple of small bottles I bought here]. Keeps well for several weeks.
Coffee Liqueur
Recipe source: Monsieur, der Hummer und ich von Stevan Paul, p.70
Prep time: 5 minutes, infusing: ~1 week
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Ingredients (yields ~ 0,5 liter):
150 g brown rock sugar
1 cinnamon stick
2 star anise
5 cloves
5 allspice berries
25 coffee beans
500 ml grappa
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by NutriCulinary, Nicky. Nicky said: Make yourself some coffee liqueur - [new blog post] featuring Stevan Paul's ( @NutriCulinary ) exquisite recipe. http://bit.ly/917lV1 [...]
oooh, das klingt lecker! und entstresst mich etwas beim gedanken an das thema "weihnachtsgeschenke" :-)
und danke für den ladentip, jetzt weiß ich, wo ich unbedingt hinmuß, wenn ich mal wieder in münchen bin...
und das etikett finde ich auch sehr schön!
this sounds perfect for homemade christmas gifts!
Aaah, this looks great! Just in time for Sinterklaas. I'm going to try it out immediately!
This looks wonderful! And easy to make. Great hostess gift too.
I am running right out to buy the goods to make this. What a lovely recipe. I think infused libations are such a smart idea, especially on a Sunday afternoon!
Oh, ja den Laden kenne ich. Der ist wirklich sehr cool!
Oh this makes for such an elegant present! Just gorgeous.
What a great idea for Christmas presents. And what beautiful little tags. I will have to give it a go. Thank you!
Where did you find those beautiful containers? And the recipe sounds spot-on delicious for Those Sunday Afternoons (like today...).
I'll be tryng this before christmas, for sure!
Wonderful site you got!
Great work!
e.
Oh how beautiful! I've been trying to figure out what on earth to get friends for Christmas...I think you have solved my problem entirely.
This sounds delicious and I will definitely be making this for the St. Nikolaus/Christmas season. One question though, would it be alright to infuse the grappa in it's original bottle by adding the spices to that bottle rather than a new one?
Nicky: Hi Nine, Good idea! I don't see a reason why this shouldn't work just fine. Will try it with my next batch :)
this is a lovely idea for a present, i love coffee liqueur and i have made it in the past but i never put spices neither coffee beans, i am definitely going to follow your recipe, thanks, cheers from london
I want to try it!
Question: Do you think it would suite the recipe to sub the allspice for cardamom?
Another question: I'm still looking for brown rock sugar, in case I can't put my hands on some do you think turbinado sugar would work? Thanks!
Nicky: Hi Dania, I think both subs should work just fine! Let me know, how your liqueur turned out :)
Wonderful gift idea! Homemade is just much nicer to give. Your little bottles are beautiful. I seek such a long time.
THIS is a fantastic idea. I made a cherry infused bourbon a few weeks ago.
Hello again,
I just finished my first batch this weekend, and it turned out great! I used cardamum instead of the allspice (3 crushed pods), so that is a good option.
I let it infuse for week, but I think a week and a half might work best. Great recipe Nicky!
What a well timed post for me, I've had a bottle of grappa sitting around forever, and right after reading this I came across the brown rock sugar in the grocery store, it was truly meant to be. Mine is infusing as we speak, and I can't wait to sample it!
This is so simple and festive for the holidays! Won't break the bank for sure :)
so spicy and graet idea. i'll try it. thanks
I just made a batch with dark brown sugar and used the bottle the grappa came in. Eagerly waiting for this week or two to be up!
Wonderful gift idea. Or just to enjoy all the good stuff yourself ;) But christmas is a time to share things, isn't it?
That is quite possibly the most adorable thing I have ever seen! Such a wonderful idea!
Great idea, I will try with Pitu instead of grappa. No Grappa in Brazil! ;-)
This would make the cutest hostess gift.
If I don't have grappa, is there any other type of alcohol that could be used?
You can use other liquor/schnaps (at least 40% alcohol and neutral in taste) as well :)
Nice recipe. Perfect for coming February 14. Will make it soon.
I made a batch for my family and friends on Christmas and they liked it though the tast was too spicey after 1.5 weeks. I tried it after one week and it was phantastic back then. Well, another try now with the spices only for 7 days.
What I was wondering: Is it a good idea to try this with vodka?
Nicky: Like I wrote above, you can use other liquor/schnaps (at least 40% alcohol and neutral in taste) as well. I don't see a reason, why vodka shouldn't work. Let me know, how it works out, if you try it!
Yeah. I´ll do that. I need lots of presents for next weekend and that would be a nice idea and it is easy to make.
[...] had some ideas of what to make, but felt somewhat stumped. I had recently run into a post on how to make one’s own liqueurs, and had thought that this would be a cool option for Secret Santa. (That’s right, husband, I [...]
I tried it with vodka and it tastes good too.
sounds really tasty and simple!