Learning to Love Black Coffee Again

I'm drinking a cup of coffee right now, and it's really, really, really good.

It's black; I've added neither milk nor sugar. It barely tastes like coffee -- it's closer to a very intense black Darjeeling tea. This is coffee a coffee-hater might enjoy.

Ephemeral! and cool reflection.

This cup of coffee has nothing of the oily, dirt-like bitterness of a Starbucks coffee. (I say this as a person who will quite contentedly drink Starbucks coffee, though I tend to drown it in milk). Instead, this cup tastes light and floral, almost effervescent. There's even some citrus and lemongrass -- I'm not full of it; there really is so much more complexity here than I generally taste in any coffee except very good espresso. So much so, in fact, that I refrained from my normal splash of 2% milk. I like this cup of coffee.

How did this coffee come to be in my cup? Why is this morning unlike most mornings?

Well, for starters, I cleaned my coffee maker -- for the first time in the six months I've had it. Like, really cleaned it, by running a vinegar-water mixture through twice then rinsing. I have no idea whether or not cleaning the maker has a net positive impact, but it really can't hurt.

Oh, also, I stopped at Peregrine Espresso on 14th St. on the way home last night and purchased some SUPERB Ethiopian coffee. I asked the fellow working the counter for something light and interesting, and this is what he gave me. I should have photographed the beans, I suppose. Oops.

Now, I regularly buy decent coffee, but I'm often a little lazy and careless -- I'll keep extra beans in the freezer (a no-no), grind more than I'm using in a given pot (nope), and kinda eyeball measurements (like most of my cooking). But armed with very good, fresh beans and a clean coffee maker, I ground fresh this morning and carefully aimed for one level-ish tablespoon for every 5.5 ounce "cup" delineated on my machine. What a difference these tweaks made.

That's right, I've got a Magic Bullet As Seen On TV.

The questions remain: Will I change my ways? Will I clean the pot, grind fresh, and always buy in small quantities? Will I make that extra effort in the morning to elevate my coffee from pleasurable to phenomenal?

Stand by for a hostile takeover of Hungry Sam by Religion-Major Sam (Who is Also Hungry).

I think I will. My morning already possesses its ritual elements. I make the coffee, the omelet, and I prepare lunch, then I sit and watch TV or read or write. I relax into my day, rather than rush to meet it. Ritual imbues routine with a sense of intentionality and of transcendent reality; it can make my coffee into a hierophany (in Eliade's The Sacred and the Profane: the breakthrough of the sacred into the World) -- though that might be the caffeine speaking. Adding the morning coffee grind to my coffee-making procedure has already, in just one instance, improved not only the cup in my hands, but also grown my morning ritual in a new direction. And the best rituals seem to arrive from creative experimentation and combination -- just look at Christmas or Passover.

Anyways, it was a REALLY good cup of coffee. Washingtonians, definitely check out Peregrine. Those among you who brew in the morning, give a fresh grind of a new coffee a chance, and try it black. You may find, as I did, that a morning habit can become a morning treat.

There Are Omelets I Remember

I don't have any excuses for this.

Well, three of them, at least. Also, how the heck do you spell "omelet"/"omelette"/"omelete"??? I'm going with "omelet," since I'm an American, dammit.

I've already discussed my recent predilection for omelet breakfasts. It's mostly a protein thing (25+ grams before 9 AM!), and I make 'em healthy by using mostly egg whites, Canadian bacon (very lean breakfast meat), and using onions, peppers, garlic, and dill.

The other day, though, I changed my omeletting process a little to great reviews from my taste buds. I started mixing a little cottage cheese into the eggs before starting to cook, which has made the dish fluffier and lighter, and cooked everything in less time by swirling uncooked egg under the cooked edges more aggressively. Really, very fluffy, almost delicate omelets going on all up in this business.

So, just to leap back into the blogging swing, here are some photos of the best omelets I've ever made!

IT'S ALL YELLOW.

And -- the best one EVER (this morning):

"The peppers are INSIDE the omelet..."

Food Photo Round-Up

I'm starting to move to using a real camera (as opposed to the camera on my phone) for the blog -- hopefully you've noticed. Still, when I'm excited about something I'm eating in a given moment, I'll often snap a picture with my Droid.

The problem is, these photos tend to remain on my phone, since many don't warrant a whole blog post. But they still represent fascinating meals and delicious dishes, so here is the first semi-annual Hungry Sam Photo Round-Up!

1) Sample plate of mom's Christmas cookies!  

My favorites are the decorated cutouts and the lumpy chocolate ones (called Chinese new year cookies).

FESTIVE

 2) Homemade eggs benedict, grapefruit, and mango! 

My hollandaise was a little too lemony, but still pretty tasty.

POACHED

 3) My colleague Peggy's homemade whoopie pies!

REGIONAL

 4) Tandoori chicken from Naan and Beyond (D.C.)! 

Pretty good, and not at all dry, as tandoori chicken can sometimes be.

RED

 5) Butternut squash soup from Le Pain Quotidien (D.C.)!

SOUP?

 6) TONS of sushi at California Rollin' in Rochester, NY

The ones with sauce are BBT rolls -- regular tuna rolls, tempura fried, with Dinosaur BBQ sauce on top. AMAZING.

ETHNIC! AND ANTHONY!

I hope you enjoyed the photos! Next time, maybe some pictures of food from my trip to Savannah this coming weekend. I will leave you with the traditional blessing of my people: May you eat brunch.

DISCOVERY: Chipotle Breakfast!

'Borrowed' from the web.

I eat breakfast every morning. Every single morning. I don't think I've missed a single breakfast in three years, with the possible exception of a few weekend days -- on which I sub-in brunch.

I'm hardcore about breakfast because a) it's healthy and I keep myself full through most of the morning and b) I get to cook something every day before doing anything else. The key to making breakfast happen every day is habit, which means I tend to go on "kicks" -- long stretches in which I make variations on a particular breakfast recipe.

I've been on an eggs kick, adding onion, peppers, Canadian bacon, capers, and sun-dried tomatoes in some combination and often spicing with dried dill weed and garlic. I generally do an omelet, with the occasional scramble or frittata, and I frequently use one egg and two eggs-worth of store bought egg whites (fewer calories, more protein).

Well, last night I was watching a "Dexter" rerun, and among the fantastically sinister "getting-ready-for-the-day" opening credits scenes is one in which bright red hot sauce is violently splashed across an egg. Color me inspired.

This morning, I did the same thing with my morning omelet. I picked up a bottle of Chipotle Tabasco hot sauce (which I'd purchased without a clear sense of what I'd use it on) and drizzled my eggs with the sweet, smokey, burning flavor of chipotle peppers. Turns out, I'm hooked.

Simple onion, garlic, dill, and Parmesan omelet DRENCHED in chipotle hot sauce.

To make my morning omelet, you'll need (at a minimum):

• 1 egg
• 1/2 c. egg whites
• 3 T. diced onion (about 1/2 of a small one)
• 1 t. minced garlic
• 2 slices (or one serving) of Canadian-style bacon (the leanest of breakfast meats; unavailable in Canada) cut into cm squares
• 1/2 t. dried dill weed
• Little bit of butter, salt and pepper

TO make, smear a little butter (enough to coat) on the interior of a nonstick skillet. Set over medium/medium-low heat. Once hot, throw in onion and garlic and cook til fragrant, about 2 minutes. Beat the egg and egg whites together until slightly foamy; add dill and season with salt and pepper. Add meat to the pan (and any extras, such as sun-dried tomatoes, capers, other veggies) and cook until you're happy, then add egg mixture.

For an omelet, don't disturb the pan until the edges set -- then you can swirl the uncooked egg around onto the pan. For scrambled eggs, start scraping and pushing using a (non-metal!) spatula pretty much right away. For a frittata, cook in an oven-safe skillet over medium-low, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and don't disturb eggs until nearly fully set. Finish a frittata in the oven until it starts to brown nicely.

In all cases, add Parmesan cheese before eggs are done (or for a frittata before they go in the oven) but after they're mostly set to avoid a mess.

I think I'll be on a hot sauce kick for a while.

Mini-post: Homemade Crepes

Why do crepes feel like such a treat? Why do so many people whip up epic quantities of pancakes on Sunday morning but haven't thought of making crepes? As Jen and I discovered this weekend, it's as easy as making pancakes, healthier, and the opportunities for creative genius in fillings are endless. And it's fun in pretty much the same way making your own pizza is fun.

Ham, apple, swiss cheese, and honey crepe.

Inspired by my favorite cooking magazine, Everyday Food, we whipped up a half-batch of crepe batter -- enough for four crepes. The key here was pureeing the batter to ensure even blending of the ingredients, and I added a little cinnamon because I like cinnamon. Nutmeg would be interesting too. You should also allow the batter to sit once blended, apparently in order to let bubbles dissipate.

We did a sweet (Nutella and banana; boring but delicious) and a savory/sweet (ham, apple, swiss, and honey). The genesis of the latter came in me wandering Whole Foods, in my own mischievous and hungry little world, as Jen trailed behind making sure I was actually picking the right things off the shelf. She's used to this sort of thing. It's probably a lot like babysitting.

I have to say, making the crepes, stuffing them, and baking them was A LOT of fun. I fully intend to host a build-your-own-crepe brunch at my house (takers?) and do a far more in-depth post about crepe-ing at that time, but for now, awesome and easy dinner. 

Holidays in Maine Means Lobster and Tree-Shaped Cake

Without addressing the theological and cultural implications of a Jewish person doing Christmas -- I do Christmas.

Rather, my family does (and always has); my mother is Christian and doing Christmas (having a tree, exchanging presents, eating special dishes) is one of the many ways we have integrated the traditions and memories with which my mom grew up into our family's life. Plus, Chanukah is kind of a stupid holiday.

BUT that's not the point of this post. The point of this post is that Jen and I hit up my home in Maine for Christmas. A total of five cancelled flights led to two extra days in Maine for me and four for Jen -- and a number of extra meals with the family.

Highlights!

My mom made her EPIC lobster stew on Christmas Eve. This is truly epic -- NUMEROUS lobsters, picked and cooked in a rich but loose tinned milk-based stew. My mom's famous for this stuff -- just don't ask her about the time TWO consecutive batches were ruined due to the tendency of regular milk to curdle when interacting with the residue from the rubber bands around lobster claws. Don't ask my dad, either; he was the one who picked all those damn lobsters. Now, however, my parents have perfected the process; the result is a tangy, savory stew bursting with claw and tail meat.

SO MUCH LOBSTER MEAT!

My mom also whipped up a pretty super roasted beet, walnut, and goat cheese salad with the meal, one totally worth mentioning:

That morning, we feasted on an incredible french toast souffle, one which had sat and soaked in its batter in the fridge overnight. It souffled so much that we couldn't get it out of the oven without the peaks scraping the heating elements on the oven's roof -- and though this photo came after the souffle began to fall, I think it captures how buttery and airy the dish finished. It looks a little weird, but at the end of the day, this is the fluffiest, well-spiced, mouth-wateringest french toast EVAH.

Finally, the last few years I've been the one to make our family's traditional Christmas tree coffee cake. You roll out your refrigerated-rised pastry dough into a 10" by 16" rectangle and cover it in a mixture of pecans, dates, sugar, melted butter, and cinnamon. The dough is then rolled (hotdog direction) and cut into 16 even rolls. These are then arranged on a cookie sheet in the shape of an evergreen tree, painted with a little more butter, and are allowed to rise for a while before baking. We always frost with a little green vanilla frosting, like so:

This is a coffee cake in only the loosest of senses, for in truth, it's essentially an arrangement of sticky buns with a Christmas flair. So damn good.

In my house, Christmas isn't a religious event -- after all, my brothers and I are Jewish. But the Christmas foods are a touchstone, one that helps to make Christmas real and traditional and meaningful for my mother. Giving my mom the chance to be drawn back into wonderful memories from her childhood and to continue to make memories with her family (and this time around, with Jen too) is what it's all about.

Do any of you have interesting Christmas/holiday traditions and foods? Share in the comments section!

BREAKING NEWS: Breakfast Sandwich

Post-gym, pre-work, I habitually go to Caribou Coffee, where I buy a $4 version of the exact same banana and walnut oatmeal I make at home (except mine's better) and a coffee. Well, this morning, the line at Caribou was absurd (I HATE waiting in lines. Any other shape is fine; lines frustrate me.) -- so I crossed the street and hit up Potbelly, which was emptier than my tummy on Yom Kippur. I'd seen that they make breakfast sandwiches, but since I consider Potbelly a treat, I'd yet to try one.

MMMMMM. See? It's got some ham, and a little omelet, mushrooms, swiss, some lettuce, a tomato, and on that decent Potbelly bread (which doesn't, after all, have the same pungent aroma as the Subway bread). AND only $3. Downside? According to Potbelly.com, it pretty much negated my workout, calorically. Good thing I'm in it for the protein. =)

I'm gonna remember this.