Coffee Marinated Hangar Steak for CBC's Weekend Morning Show

This morning, I had the pleasure of presenting Coffee Marinated Hangar Steak on CBC's Weekend Morning Show with guest host, Laurie Hoogstraten.  

Coffee Marinated Hangar Steak

2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 cups strong coffee, room temperature (I used Ethiopian Yergicheffe, from Green Bean Coffee, with notes of cocoa, available at St. Norbert's Farmer's Market)
2 tbs favourite spice blend (I used Ras el Hanout, but Mitmita, and others would work nicely)
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 tbs. olive oil
1 small shallot, chopped or grated
1 Hangar Steak  (Available at Wildfire Farms at St. Norbert's Farmer's Market)
Kosher or sea salt, to taste

Whisk shallot, garlic, coffee, mustard, brown sugar, oil in a medium bowl.  Pour mustard into a resealable bag and add the steak, seal the bag and coat.  Marinate at room temperature for an hour or refrigerate overnight.

Prepare the grill for medium-high heat.  Remove steak from bag, season and grill, turning every few minutes, 8-10 minutes per side for medium-rare.  Let rest 10 minutes before slicing.

Serve with wonderful breads that you can find at Old Church Bakery, found on Saturday at St. Norbert's Farmer's Market and in Steinbach.

Hot Cereal, Hot Coffee

Cold cereal was crispy, flakey, or puffy, and served with milk. It was this reason, the splash of milk, that I avoided cold cereal (and still do), aside from a handful of clusters popped into my mouth as a crunchy dry snack.

Hot cereal was Cream of Wheat, simmered on the stovetop, and served with a pat of country crock margarine and a shower of granulated white sugar. On weekends, when dad was home for breakfast, our hot cereal was topped with a generous, scalding hot, sugary sweet splash of black coffee. 


It was my dad�s idea� something my Oma used to make? The coffee had to be extra hot, and extra sweet. Amanda and I loved coffee when we were kids, and this was one of our favorite ways to have it. We�d gather around the kitchen counter, which was where we sat for casual meals, and wait with excitement while he placed the steaming carafe of coffee in between our bowls. We would all start with a small pour, which pooled around the edges of the Cream of Wheat. As we ate and the sweet dark coffee mixed in with the cereal, we�d add more and more, until in the end, we were lapping up spoonfuls of coffee flecked with grains of wheat. 

I hadn�t eaten or even thought about hot cereal in years, until the other day Amanda said she had some for breakfast. I instantly remembered the aroma of sweet black coffee, the giddy anticipation as we waited for the liquid to cool enough to take a bite, the way everything in the bowl turned a creamy light caramel color after it all started to mix together. And then, of course, I ran out and got a box of Cream of Wheat.

There�s no recipe. Just make Cream of Wheat according the instructions on the box. Make it a little thick. Brew your coffee a little stronger than normal, and pour, a little at a time, over the cream of wheat in your bowl. This time I added the coffee plain, along with a swirl of maple syrup. When I was a kid, the coffee would be pre-mixed with white sugar. 

Pumpkin Spice Almond Milk + Coffee

PUMPKIN SPICE ALL THE THINGS!  

Man, you all really like your pumpkin spice this year! I can't even tell you how many pumpkin spice Facebook posts and memes I've seen this fall (and fall only just started!). And Pinterest, jeez louise. Pumpkin spice for days. My favorite pumpkin spice incarnation has to be beer. I love a good pumpkin spice beer! This one is my favorite right now� it tastes like pumpkin pie!

I'll leave the beer making to the professionals, but one pumpkin spice treat I will make at home is the PSL. Pumpkin. Spice. Latte. Sort of. So� I mentioned this before, but I'm not a huge fan of sweet, milky coffee. I'm obsessed with (and maybe addicted to) the actual taste of strong, black coffee. But, like everyone else, when the leaves start turning orange, I start craving a little pumpkin spice in my coffee. I don't like the taste of soy milk, and I hate the taste of regular (cow) milk (yes, even in a latte, I can taste it), so I decided to make my own pumpkin spice almond milk to add to coffee! 

This mix is sweet but not overly so, and has just the right amount of pumpkin and spice. Make a jar-full, and take it to work to add to your coffee all week! It feels all cozy and indulgent, and makes me want to bundle up in a warm sweater! 

PS. This is hilarious. 

PPS. I read the back of a pumpkin pie spice jar, and it said it contained mace (spice). I remember there always being a jar of mace in my mom's spice rack, but I honestly couldn't remember anything about it. So I looked it up� did you know that mace is the dried lacy layer of the nutmeg seed? Weird! Feel free to throw some of that in your spice mix, if you have it! 

PPS. Since you'll have extra pumpkin puree after making this, go ahead and make some pumpkin pie granola too. 

Pumpkin Spice Almond Milk + Coffee 

Pumpkin pie spice is a breeze to make on your own. I use just cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg, but you can also add cloves and cardamom if you want. For the spiced milk, you can also try adding maple syrup instead of the brown sugar!

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ginger

pinch allspice

pinch nutmeg (fresh ground is best)

pinch salt

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (also try almond, to pump up the flavor of the almond milk!)

2 tablespoons pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling, be sure the only ingredient is pumpkin)

To serve: Coffee, fresh nutmeg, whipped cream (optional)

Combine almond milk through pumpkin puree in a small pot and whisk to combine. Heat over medium until it starts to bubble, then simmer stirring occasionally for another minute or two. Taste, and add more sugar/spices/pumpkin as desired. Use right away, or let mixture return to room temperature before refrigerating. Store in a jar in the fridge for up to a week, and give it a good shake or stir before using. 

To serve, I like to do a 60/40 coffee to almond milk ratio, but test it out and figure out what you like best. 

Creamy Coffee Popsicles

Lets talk about coffee for a minute. 

I have a bit of a coffee problem. As in, I drink a ton of it and can't start my day without it. I'm also kind of a coffee snob. I'm not a fan of a certain coffee chain that my city prides itself on�I like small local roasters and shops, a good bold flavor, and no add ons. No sugar-vanilla-double-triple-mocha--latte-whip for me, please. Give it to me black. Hot or iced. 

I'll occasionally add a small splash of (unflavored) cream or half n half if I'm feeling frisky, but never sugar. I just like the flavor of the coffee, alright!? I'll make an exception to my no-sugar-in-my-coffee rule when it comes to desserts like coffee ice cream. Or Vietnamese coffee, with swirls of sticky sweetened condensed milk. 

That's what I was going for with these pops originally, Vietnamese coffee popsicles. But, once the coffee and condensed milk are stirred together and frozen, you lose that swirly separation that makes Vietnamese coffee its own special beast. Instead, they took on a coffee ice cream vibe, and I can dig that. Super strong coffee ice cream on a stick? Ok, now that will appease both my dessert obsession and my coffee snobbery. 

Creamy Coffee Pops
From this pop recipe and this coffee recipe

Makes 8-10 depending on size of popsicle mold

I used David Lebovitz's recipe/proportions, but rather than brewing espresso, I made a batch of cold brew. Seriously, strong, dark cold brew is one of life's greatest inventions. And it's so, SO easy (Make it just to have in the fridge...your life will change). Just plan ahead. The cold brew needs to sit overnight, then pops will take 4-6 hours (or more) to freeze through. Also, these are super strong...and caffeinated. If you're planning on having these in evening, consider decaf coffee grounds. 

2/3 cup of ground coffee 
2 3/4 cups water
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk

Add ground coffee and water to a large container and stir until all the grounds are wet. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Strain through cheesecloth and a fine-mesh sieve.

To make pops, whisk together the strained coffee and condensed milk, and pour into popsicle molds. Freeze until solid.