Turkish Coffee Pots De Creme Food

POTS DE CREME

Steps:

• Place the chocolate in a blender. Whisk the milk, 1 cup cream, egg yolks, granulated sugar and salt in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the spatula and almost boiling, 5 to 6 minutes.
• Immediately pour the milk mixture over the chocolate in the blender. Cover and hold the lid with a thick kitchen towel; blend until combined and smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the blender as needed. Divide the chocolate mixture among ramekins or small cups and refrigerate until set, about 2 hours.
• Whip the remaining 1/2 cup cream and the confectioners' sugar with a mixer or in the blender until soft peaks form. Top the chilled pots de creme with whipped cream.

COFFEE POT DE CREME

Steps:

• In a heavy bottom saucepan, bring heavy cream, milk and half the sugar to scald.
• Meanwhile, add the other half of the sugar to the yolks and whisk together well. Take saucepan off of the heat and temper a small amount of the hot milk to the yolks, whisking constantly.
• Pour the tempered yolks into the hot milk. Add the dissolved espresso powder. Pour through a fine strainer.
• Pour into ramekins. Set ramekins onto a baking pan and fill pan with 1 inch of water.
• Set baking pan with ramekins in 300 degree F oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until
• edges of custard are set and middle is liquid.
• Let cool completely before refrigerating. Serve with chocolate wafers.

TURKISH COFFEE

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients in the cezve and mix with a spoon. Put the cezve over very low heat and do not stir. After about 3 minutes, a thick foam rises to the surface. Just as the coffee is about to bubble up and overflow, immediately remove the cezve from the heat. Gently divide the foam between 2 demitasse cups, then place the cezve back on the heat for a few seconds. Pour the coffee into the cups, carefully pouring it down the sides of the cups in order not to disturb the foam. The coffee grains will settle at the bottom of the cup.

COFFEE-CARDAMOM POTS DE CREME

Steps:

• Put the coffee beans and cardamom pods in the work bowl of a food processor and pulse on and off several times to roughly chop -- not grind -- them. Turn the chopped beans and pods into a medium saucepan and add 1/2 cup of the sugar. Put the pan over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the sugar starts to melt. Once the sugar has melted, continue to cook, still stirring without stop, until the sugar caramelizes -- you want the color of the caramel to be deep amber, almost mahogany. Now, standing away from the stove so you don't get splattered, slowly pour in 1 cup of the cream and the milk. Don't panic -- the caramel will immediately seize and harden, but it will all smooth out as the liquids warm and the sugar melts again. Bring the mixture to a boil and, when the sugar has melted and everything is smooth again, pull the pan from the heat. Cover the pan (we do this with plastic wrap at the cafe to get a good seal) and allow the mixture to infuse for 20 minutes.
• Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Working in a bowl that's large enough to hold all the ingredients, whisk the yolks and the remaining 1/4 cup sugar together until the mixture is pale and thick. Strain the coffee-cardamom liquid into a measuring cup (discard the beans and pods) and add enough heavy cream to bring the liquid up to 2 cups. Very gradually and very gently -- you don't want to create air bubbles -- whisk the liquid into the egg mixture; skim off the top foam, if there is any.
• Arrange six 4-ounce espresso or custard cups in a small roasting pan, leaving an even amount of space between them, and fill each cup nearly to the top with the custard mixture. Carefully slide the pan into the oven; then, using a pitcher, fill the roasting pan with enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the espresso cups. Cover the pan with plastic wrap (don't worry -- it can stand the heat) and poke two holes in two opposite corners. Bake the custards for about 40 minutes, or until the edges darken ever so slightly and the custards are set but still jiggle a little in the center when you shake them gently.
• Remove the pan from the oven and let the custards sit in the water bath for 10 minutes. Peel off the plastic wrap, lift the cups out of the water, and cool the custards in the refrigerator. (The pots de creme can be prepared a day ahead and stored in the refrigerator; when they are cool, cover them with plastic wrap.)
• To serve: The pots de creme are at their best at room temperature, so remove them from the refrigerator and keep them on the counter for about 20 minutes before serving.
• To drink: A deluxe cream sherry, perhaps a Pedro Ximenez

TURKISH COFFEE

Steps:

• Bring water and sugar to a boil in ibrik.
• If you do not have an ibrik, a small saucepan will work.
• Remove from heat, add coffee and cardamom.
• Return saucepan to heat and allow to come to a boil.
• Remove from heat when coffee foams.
• Again, return to heat, allowing to foam and remove from heat.
• Pour into cup, and allow to sit for a few minutes for the grounds to settle to the bottom of the cup.
• Cardamom pod may be served in cup for added flavor.
• TURKISH COFFEE TIPS:.
• ****** Many people have made note that the coffee did not foam the second boiling. Sorry about that. Maybe if, when you pour the coffee into the cup, you do it from up high. I think I read that somewhere.
• Turkish coffee must always be served with foam on top.
• If you can't find finely ground Arabic coffee, you can purchase a bag of coffee at any coffeehouse and ask them to grind it for Turkish coffee. You need to have a powder-like consistency.
• Do not stir after pouring into cups; the foam will collapse.
• Always use cold water.