The Artful Gourmet

Warm up a wintry night with one of these steaming cups of espresso and white chocolate milk. The recipe suggests adding a nip of brandy to make it even more bone-warming..I think a bit of whipped cream with some white chocolate shavings would make it even more DELECTABLE.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups ground espresso beans
6 cups boiling water
5 cups milk
15 oz. white chocolate, chopped
Unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting

Preparation

Set a drip-coffee cone with a filter over a heatproof glass measuring cup or pitcher and add the ground espresso. Slowly pour in the boiling water until you have 5 cups of coffee.

In a medium saucepan, scald the milk. Whisk until frothy. Whisk in the white chocolate. Pour the coffee into warm mugs. Pour the milk over the coffee. Dust each serving with cocoa powder and serve.

Makes 10 servings.

Recipe from Bon Appetit, Jan 2011, originated from L’Etoile, 1 S. Pinckney St., Madison, WI

Here is another version of the recipe above but it uses instant coffee and has some vanilla and almond extract to give it a nutty, sweet flavor.

Ingredients

2  cups milk
1  cup half-and-half
2/3  cup white chocolate morsels
2  tablespoons instant coffee granules
1  teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4  teaspoon almond extract
Whipped cream (optional)
Garnish: cinnamon sticks

Preparation

Stir first 4 ingredients together in a small saucepan over low heat until white chocolate morsels are melted. Stir in vanilla and almond extracts; pour evenly into 4 mugs. Top with whipped cream, if desired. Garnish, if desired, and serve immediately.

Recipe source: Southern Living, MyRecipes.com

Original Recipe from Karyn Dardar, Montegut, Louisiana, Southern Living, OCTOBER 2004

Check out more of my recipes, reviews and stories on my food blog: http:artfulgourmet.wordpress.com

As the New Year begins, so do New Years resolutions. Some of them we keep, some of them we don’t, but one of them we universally all decide is to eat healthier and shed a few pounds from all the holiday gatherings and fat-laden food. So, back to reality it is. Starting tomorrow. Holiday over. Back to work. Back to the gym. A pledge to living healthier, eating healthier and cooking healthier. A fresh start for the New Year. For my last hoorah, I decided to make one last supper before the regimen begins: Gutsch’s Linguine and Clams. Bacon. Butter. Pasta. Clams. OMG - so not a diet friendly dish. But you know what? You might as well enjoy your Last Supper and go all out, so that I did. And I enjoyed every last bite of it.

Gutsch’s Linguine and Clams

4-5 slices of bacon, cut ¼” strips

1/8 c. sliced green onions

1 clove garlic, minced

3 tbsp. butter

1 6.5 oz can chopped clams (or baby whole clams)

¼ c. sliced black olives

1/8 c. snipped parsley

1/16 tsp. black pepper

6 oz. Linguine

Cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp and drain, reserving 1/8 c. drippings in the skillet. Set bacon aside. Cook onion and garlic in drippings until tender, not brown. Stir in butter** until melted. Drain clams, reserving liquid. Add clams, bacon, olives, parsley and black pepper and stir together. Add half of the reserved clam liquid**, heat through and keep hot over low heat. Meanwhile, cook linguine and drain. Place in a warm serving bowl. Top the pasta with hot clam mixture and additional parsley for garnish. Serve with a salad, crisp white wine and some crusty Italian bread. Delicioso!

**You can also substitute olive oil for the butter if desired for a healthier option and toss in some white wine in place of some of the clam juice and simmer down for an extra layer of flavor.

Makes 2-4 servings.