captainforkbeerd.blogspot.com
Note: I tweak a lot
Personally, it works best for me to prep everything into the right measurements according to the recipe, so I start doing the mise en place: cutting and measuring everything.
The recipe isn't covering everything, so when I got to the garlic, I had to decide the way I treat it. Since it's my first go on this recipe I decide to chop it. Not too fine, not to coarse, so it does deliver the garlic kick, but it doesn't stomp you in the face. Normally I would have grated it, since I'm the opposite of vampires, I LOVE garlic but again: first go on this recipe and I can always add! For that last reason I always keep a little extra of every ingredient close to my cooking station.
Now do not worry, i'm not going to walk through step by step, since this blog is all about the result, but one thing I instantly changed is the use of instant coffee. Instead I used freshly grounded coffee and put that in a filter, folded the filter shut and dumped it in the pan. During the cooking process I stirred every now and then, tasting until it was of my likings and then took out the filter (containing the ground coffee, duh).
Not exactly happy with the thickness of the sauce I reduced it a little more and added some cornstarch and after plating up the rice (decided to serve it with buttery rice) the consistency of the sauce is to perfection.
First bite in, a piece of chicken that soaked up the flavors of the sauce: slightly sweet, gently spicy, bitter, coffee in a recognizable way but not overpowering, a gentle acidity of the wine beautifully balanced out by the sweetness of the suger that comes back in the aftertaste. Oh JOLLY this is fun! Cooking with coffee, not something I would think of straight away but will deffinately keep in mind for the future! Sure, desserts, but main dishes? Think of a nice chili with some elements of smoke and coffee picturizing those nights at the campfire with a sadle as a pillow and your boots drying on a stick after crossing a river hurding cows!
