My favorite winter breakfast, cafe au lait and croissants

I’ve got creative ideas for cooking with coffee during winter:

1.  Café au Lait

My absolute favorite coffee ritual during winter is the French café au lait. I’ve got fond memories of working as a late night/early morning baker, enjoying my breakfast after pulling the last of the pastries from the oven. During that moment of peaceful quiet, just before sunrise and before the bakery opened to customers, I would dip a freshly baked croissant from the oven and dip it into a steaming bowl of café au lait. As I understand it, the French traditionally pour strong brewed coffee into a small bowl and top it off with an equal measure of hot milk (no foam). It’s a satisfying breakfast that warms me to the core on frigid winter mornings.

2.  Candied Espresso Walnuts

It was love at first site. Something different. Something special. This recipe for Candied Espresso Walnuts over at Bon Appétit took me by surprise. Walnut pieces are coated in a mixture of sugar, ground espresso, espresso powder, cinnamon, and salt, then baked for just 5 minutes. You could get creative and add chocolate or do a savory version with spicy, smokey chile. Party food, most definitely.

3.  Brewed Coffee as a Braising Liquid in Stews

According to Mark Bittman, many countries, like Alsace, have traditionally used leftover coffee as a braising liquid. For this short rib recipe, he pairs coffee with red wine and chiles for a braised dish that is exotic but still relatable. Check out his video recipe at the New York Times website. Amanda Hesser includes the recipe in The Essential New York Times Cookbook, where she suggests serving these “earthy, spicy short ribs” over creamy polenta.

4.  Vegetables Oven Roasted in Coffee Beans

The January issue of Food & Wine magazine featured a recipe for Coffee-Baked Squash with Créme Fraîche that I couldn’t resist. Simply nestle winter squash into a pan filled with coffee beans and roast in the oven until tender, about an hour. I used sweet potatoes (recipe here on the blog tomorrow), but Chef Daniel Patterson suggests carrots as another vegetable that would do well with this technique. The result is tender root veg infused with earthy coffee flavor, and it’s delicious.

5.  Marmalade with Coffee and Cardamom

It’s citrus season, and the bright, floral notes of oranges is complimented beautifully by coffee. In the Blue Chair Jam Cookbook, Rachel Saunders writes describes her Seville Orange Marmalade with Coffee and Cardamom in these words: “If you are a die-hard marmalade lover whose vision of marmalade resembles an ultr-thick-cut treacly preserve redolent of wintry spice, this is the marmalade for you.” Coffee beans and cracked cardamom pods are placed in mesh tea infusers and simmered in the marmalade as it cooks, imparting depth and bitterness.

6.  Bread

Coffee lends a rich, dark color and slightly bitter, nutty flavor to bread. During the Artisan Bread Class at Cook Street (Denver) I baked bread with brewed coffee for the first time, and the aroma was intoxicating. I’m a big fan of rye loaves, the darkest of which are called black breads. Either brewed coffee or instant coffee powder may be incorporated into the dough along with cocoa powder, which adds depth and more bitterness. Bernard Clayton’s New Complete Book of Breads is an encyclopedic collection of recipes, including one for Russian Black Bread the author describes as “chewy and dark.” Pumpernickel flour, caraway and fennel seeds, instant coffee, onion powder, dark molasses, and unsweetened chocolate come together for an old world loaf that’s perfect for a hearty winter sandwich. For another Black Bread recipe, head over to Martha Stewart.

7.  Coffee and Chocolate Desserts

Frequently, I turn to cookbooks written by the legendary Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers of London River Cafe for inspiration. The recipes are simple, using only a handful of ingredients and focusing on celebrating flavor. Their book, Italian Two Easy, contains a whole section of chocolate and coffee recipes. Each recipe so wonderfully straightforward, I want to make them all. Coffee, Walnut, Hazelnut Cake is a dark, robustly flavored dessert made with ground nuts and instant coffee powder. Their Rum, Coffee Truffle Cake is a decadent flour-less cake made with bitter chocolate, heavy cream, instant coffee, cocoa powder, and a good bit of rum. Finally, their recipe for Chocolate Coffee Sorbet is a cool and refreshing treat at the end of a heavy winter meal. Simmer simple syrup, strong brewed coffee, and cocoa powder for a few minutes, then freeze in a shallow container, stirring occasionally until slushy and scoop-able.

8.  Coffee Rub with Spices for Meat & Poultry

In New American Table, Chef Marcus Samuelsson shares a recipe for  Coffee-Cured Duck Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette, a stimulating combination of unique flavors. Coffee beans, gram masala, and brown sugar come together in a spice rub for seared duck breast served over firsée, watercress, and green apple salad. The bright and spicy vinaigrette is flavored with sherry vinegar, cranberry juice, chile, and mustard seeds while walnuts and dried sour cranberries serve as a garnish. Serve the dish as Marcus does, when entertaining friends, as the coffee beans fill the house with a welcoming aroma.

9.  Vegetarian Black Bean Chili with Espresso

I can’t wait to try this recipe for Espresso Black Bean Chili from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, by Mark Bittman. Coffee plays beautifully with pungent garlic, bright and acidic tomato, smokey chili, fragrant cinnamon, and earthy black beans. Freshly brewed coffee is the liquid in which the beans are simmered. Bittman suggests serving the chili with rice, tortilla chips, sour cream and cilantro.

10.  Espresso Banana Muffins

Sometimes I get tired of the same old banana bread recipe, and then I turn to Heidi Swanson’s Espresso Banana Muffins (From Super Natural Cooking) for something just different enough to be special. Mashed bananas make for a nice moist, nourishing muffin, while espresso powder is aromatic and stimulating. To take the decadence one step further, Heidi suggests incorporating chocolate chunks.

What is your favorite way to cook with coffee? Let me know in the comments section. Click Here.