Remington iCoffee: A Smooth Brew

By: Lynn Stevens 

One of my most vivid memories as a child was my mother entering my room in the morning to wake me up. She would open the curtains and sing in an irritatingly perky voice, “You are my Sunshine”. It drove me crazy. I blame this ritual for my lack of desire to speak to anyone in the morning now before I’ve had a cup of coffee and, not surprisingly, for my particular interest in making sure it tastes just right.

Recently, I had the chance to review the Remington iCoffee maker. Upon first brew, I was greeted with a Mozart tone when brewing started and again when it ended. I hesitated momentarily and had to suppress my early childhood memory moving toward consciousness in my brain. After a week with Mozart, however, I must say that I grew fond of the quick tune accompanying my morning coffee ritual. You do have the option of turning this off, however, for sanity’s sake.

If you look forward to your daily drip at Starbucks to satisfy your desire for a strong coffee with a bit of an edge, this may not be the coffeemaker for you. For those who like a smooth, creamy texture to your brew, this maker delivers. The iCoffee touts a unique steam brewing method and double-permanent filter combination. No need for disposable paper filters. This notable filtration system claims “to eliminate any bitter and acidic aftertaste, at the expense of leaving behind a finely extracted coffee essence (sediment)” in your cup. The optional second filter does help reduce this sediment, although I found the taste without it was relatively the same. “Good to the last drop” may not apply here, as I didn’t enjoy the sediment in the last swig of coffee, However, the rest of the cup was delightfully smooth.

The iCoffee uses far less beans than a normal maker to deliver a superb pot of coffee. I played around with the ratios and found that a little over a half-tablespoon of beans per cup of water produced a strong, yet pleasant cup of coffee (I usually use a tablespoon of beans per cup). Any less than that seemed to produce a watered-down taste; more seemed to produce a harsh bitterness. While the company does advise to use a medium to coarse ground coffee, I discovered a course grind ensured the best results with the double filter system. I tried the maker with two sets of beans: A robust Starbucks Sumatra and a dark roast Trader Joe’s Café Pajaro Blend. The Starbucks coffee beans best suited my love for a rich, dark brew that stimulated my senses with an intense and deep aroma.

Overall, I would recommend this coffee pot to anyone who is interested in trading in the edge and bold in the morning cup for a more delicate flavor and texture. The iCoffee definitely delivers on its promise of a different, delicate, and delectable brew. Now, if only we could get the iCoffee to play, “You are my Sunshine,” even my mother would love it!


In order for me to support my knowledge-sharing/writing/blogging activities, I occasionally may receive monetary compensation and or product in exchange for my recommendation, and/or testimonial. However, I only recommend products or services I have personally used myself and trust.

Pasta with Mushroom Ragu

By: The Food Hunter

This is a rich and hearty dish that derives its great flavor from the porcini mushroom. Native to the Alpine region of Italy and France porcinis have a very distinct aroma and taste. They are readily available dried and are easily re-hydrated by soaking them in water. Though the soaking liquid is often discarded; I will often save it flavor my stocks.

Porcinis make this pasta dish rich & tasty; so much so you will easily forget it's a meatless meal. Aside from soaking the mushrooms, the pasta comes together rather quickly yet appears like you spent hours in the kitchen cooking.



Pasta with Mushroom Ragu
(printable recipe)
(adapted from Mario Batali)
Serves 4

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium Spanish onion, finely chopped
1/4 pound porcinin mushroom, re-hydrated & chopped
1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, chopped
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 cup basic tomato sauce, recipe follows
1/2 tablespoon butter
Salt and pepper
Parmigiano-Reggiano, for grating

Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons salt.

In a 12 to 14-inch saute pan, heat the olive oil over high heat until smoking. Add the onions and cook over high heat for 5 minutes, until onions are light golden brown. Add the mushroom pieces and continue cooking until they have given up most of their water, about 9 to10 more minutes. Add the wine and the tomato sauce, butter and salt and pepper to taste and reduce heat to medium. Cook for 5 more minutes, until mixture is of a ragu consistency.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in the boiling water according to package directions. Drain the pasta, reserving the cooking water, and add the pasta to the ragu. Toss over high heat one minute to coat the pasta. Divide the pasta evenly among four warmed pasta bowls, grate Parmigiano over and serve immediately.

BASIC TOMATO SAUCE
Yield: 4 cups
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 Spanish onion, chopped in 1/4-inch dice
4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves, or 1 tablespoon dried
1/2 medium carrot, finely shredded
2 (28-ounce) cans peeled whole tomatoes, crushed by hand and juices reserved
Salt, to taste
In a 3-quart saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft and light golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the thyme and carrot and cook 5 minutes more, until the carrot is quite soft. Add the tomatoes and juice and bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes until as thick as hot cereal. Season with salt and serve. This sauce holds 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer.

Throwback Thursday: Once You Have A Cuban Sandwich You Will Crave Them Forever

"Throwback Thursday: Taking you back through the past 6 years by highlighting some of my favorite blog posts"

I had my first Cuban sandwich several years ago at Porto's Bakery in Glendale California. Since then I've been trying to recreate this sandwich at home. There are so many recipes out there and they all seem to do it just a little different. I got the following recipe from ICuban and added a few personal touches to make what I think is a really good Cuban sandwich.

Cuban Sandwich
(printable recipe)
French bread
1 pound sweet ham sliced (I use Boar's Head)
1 pound roasted Cuban pork sliced (see recipe below)
1/2 pound Swiss cheese, sliced
Sliced dill pickles
Mayonnaise (NEVER)
To make four generous sandwiches: Make each sandwich with the ingredients in this order: pickles, roasted pork, ham, and cheese. Be generous!

Place the sandwich on a lightly greased sandwich press. (You really want to smash the sandwich, compressing the bread to about 1/3 its original size!) Grill the sandwiches for two to three minutes on each side, until the cheese is melted and the bread is golden. Slice the sandwich in half diagonally and serve.

Roast Pork for Cuban Sandwiches
1 lb. boneless center pork loin roast
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp. salt
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 cup sour orange juice (If you can't get sour oranges in your area, try 2 parts orange to one part lemon and 1 part lime)
1/2 cup olive oil

Preparation
Mash the garlic and salt together with a mortar and pestle. Add dried oregano and the sour orange to the mash and mix thoroughly. Heat oil in small sauce pan, add the mash to the oil and whisk.

Pierce pork roast as many times as you can with a sharp knife or fork. Pour garlic mixture (save a little for roasting) over pork, cover and let sit in refrigerator for two to three hours. Using a suitable roasting pan or rack, sprinkle remaining marinade over pork and cook uncovered at 325°F. Roast until completely cooked (160°F), about 20 minutes per pound. Baste occasionally. Bring pan juices to a boil and simmer until the juice is reduced by half. Sprinkle juice onto the pork when you put it in the sandwich.

Livin Lean with Trader Joe’s; A Cookbook Review & Give Away

By: Lynn Stevens 

Do you shop at “TJs”? For those of you that aren’t used to tossing those two letters off your tongue without too much consideration, TJ’s stands for Trader Joe’s, a small neighborhood grocery store chain, offering convenient, unique, and great tasting foods at reasonable prices, including a large selection of healthier foods. Jamie Davidson’s recent cookbook, Livin Lean with Trader Joe’s, introduces some new recipes featuring foods found at TJs along with some helpful, practical tips for someone who is motivated to shed a few pounds.

The cookbook reads more than just a collection of recipes, however. Davidson takes some time to educate the reader on up-to-date weight loss guidelines and even throws in some gluten-free and vegan recipes, as well as two weeks of restricted calorie menu plans with analysis and accompanying shopping lists. Overall, I found the recipes to be quick and simple, even for a novice in the kitchen. Each recipe features a breakdown of nutritional information and offers suggestions for sides and substitutes. This is an easy way to get started on the path to healthy eating and since you won’t be spending time planning meals for yourself, you can devote more time to other areas of your weight loss efforts.

Usually, you wouldn’t find high calorie pizza on a weight loss menu. However, Davidson’s recipe for “Naan Pizzas with Pesto” trims down the calories without sacrificing taste (even my kids loved it). No need to cook tonight, because you really are just required to assemble items on the naan bread and then give it a quick bake in the oven. I found this recipe to be perfect for a busy weekday night, when you are craving a little comfort food to get you to the weekend.



Naan Pizza with Pesto
(printable recipe)
Serves 4
½ cup slivered red onion
2 Tbsp. TJ’s Fat Free Balsamic Vinaigrette
4 TJ’s Whole Wheat Naan Breads (3 ounces each)
4 Tbsp. fresh TJ’s Pesto
1 link TJ’s Spicy Italian Chicken Sausage, sliced thinly
¼ cup diced roasted red peppers
8 pitted kalamata olives
2 Tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
¼ cup grated Romano cheese or Parmesan cheese
2 cups lightly packed TJ’s Baby Spinach or Wild Arugula, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 400°F
2. Combine onion and vinaigrette, set aside.
3. Place naan on baking sheet and bake about 5 minutes
4. Spread each naan with 1 Tbsp. pesto then arrange sausage, peppers, olives, basil, and a layer of cheese evenly on the naan. Bake until cheese softens – about 5 minutes.
5. Add spinach to onion and vinaigrette mixture.
6. Toss to coat and arrange over pizzas.

Serve warm.

Per serving: 382 calories, 13 g fat, 22 mg cholesterol, 480 mg sodium, 46 g carbohydrate, 9 g fiber, 18 g. protein

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In order for me to support my knowledge-sharing/writing/blogging activities, I occasionally may receive monetary compensation and or product in exchange for my recommendation, and/or testimonial. However, I only recommend products or services I have personally used myself and trust.  

Celebrate the Flavors of Mardi Gras at Home with the King Cake

By: The Food Hunter

Mardi Gras is the celebration of the end of carnival season. This festive event, which occurs immediately before the Catholic season of lent, has been a state holiday in Louisiana since the 19th century. Filled with food, parties and parades it’s a popular time of year for locals and visitors alike.

Even if you’ve never been to Louisiana you can easily introduce the spirit of Mardi Gras into your home with the King Cake. Traditionally the King Cake was a ring of twisted cinnamon dough topped with icing which is colored purple, green and gold representing justice, faith and power. Today the cakes are baked in various shapes and often include a wide assortment of fillings. It's customary to bake a small trinket, usually a plastic baby, into every cake. The person that receives the slice containing the trinket must buy the next King Cake and throw the next party.

Having made some pretty cool friends on a recent visit to Baton Rouge I was able to get a cream cheese filled recipe for King Cake from the Louisiana Culinary Institute. I added some cinnamon to make it my own and the result was fabulous. Although the recipe may seem daunting this was a very easy dough to work with and it all came together without any issues.

Mardi Gras King Cake
(printable recipe)
Cake
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup warm milk
1/2 cup butter, softened
5 egg yolks
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt

Filling:
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1(8 ounce) package cream cheese
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Icing:
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons milk

1 small plastic baby
1 tablespoon each of purple, free, and gold colored sugar

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and pinch of the sugar in warm milk. let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

Stir the egg yolks into the milk mixture. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the flour, salt and remaining sugar. With a dough hook mix the milk/egg mixture 1 cup at a time into the flour, then slowly add the butter into the dough in tablespoon size chunks. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, egg, lemon zest, cinnamon and 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar. Mix well. in another small bowl, combine the remaining 2 cups confectioners' sugar, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons milk. Mix well and set aside.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Roll the dough out into a 6x30 inch rectangle. Spread the cream cheese filling across the center of the dough. Bring the two long edges together and seal completely. Using your hands shape the dough into a long cylinder and place on a greased baking sheet, seam-side down. Shape the dough into a ring. Cover the ring with a towel and place in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Bake in preheated 350F oven until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Allow the bread to cool. Press the baby into the ring from the bottom so that it is completely hidden by the dough. Drizzle cooled cake with lemon/sugar glaze and decorate with sugar sprinkles.