Vanilla Latte with Vanilla Syrup and Vanilla Infused Raw Sugar

After a two month hiatus from my world travels, I was inspired to pick up my pans and camera this afternoon. Earlier today I found myself was standing in line at a coffee shop that shall not be named but that rhymes with Far Shucks. I was ready to suck it up and order at Tall Vanilla Latte to sate by caffeine and vanilla craving, when I got to thinking about how badly I was being ripped off. Now I don't mind paying a little extra for really good stuff I can't make myself, but coffee? vanilla syrup? steamed milk? Hello? I rather put my hard earned money in my gas tank - I know for sure I can't make petrol.

In my kitchen, one latte costs about .25 cents. At trendy, overpriced baristas, a Tall Vanilla Latte costs close to $3.00 bucks. Needless to say I left, and here I am - showing you the way to a super delicious, steaming cup of rich, dark coffee, swirled with a pillowy mound of frothy hot foam and sweetened with homemade vanilla syrup. And as if this weren't sexy enough, it's topped off with a sprinkling of vanilla-infused raw sugar.You don't need any fancy equipment or supplies, so have fun and experiment with different simple syrups and garnishes, using this recipe as your template!

Other than milk, all you need is right here: rich, oily coffee beans, vanilla syrup and raw sugar

 I like to use a mug that takes two hands to hold - but you can use whatever makes you happy

Vanilla Latte
1/2 cup super strong rich coffee or espresso
1 cup skim or 1% steamed milk
2-3 teaspoons vanilla syrup (see below)
1 tsp. vanilla infused raw sugar for garnish (see below)

Vanilla Syrup (Recipe can be doubled)
1 cup water
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Combine water and sugar in a heavy sauce pan bring to a boil for 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and add vanilla.
Let cool then store in a clean glass jar in the refrigerator.

Vanilla Infused Raw Sugar
2 cups raw sugar
1 vanilla bean

Pour sugar into a resealable jar, place vanilla bean in center of sugar and seal.
The longer the vanilla bean stays in the sugar, the more heavenly the scent and taste.
*I never take it out - just add more sugar as needed

Make the Latte
1. Brew your coffee as you normally do, but don't be afraid to add an extra scoop. If you grind your own beans, even better!
2. Pour syrup into bottom of good sized coffee mug.
3. In a glass measuring cup, pour in milk.
4.Using a frother (available at most stores like Target, BB&B), froth cold milk until good and foamy. If you don't have a frother, use your blender as though you were making a frappe.
5. Microwave milk for about 20 seconds (watch carefully so it doesn't overflow) until the you see the foam expanding (depending on your microwave this may take longer).
6. Add milk to syrup and cup.
7. Pouring down the inside of the cup so as not to disturb the milk, pour desired amount of coffee.
8. Top with a sprinkling of vanilla-infused raw sugar.




&#169 2010-2012, What's Cooking in Your World? Sarah Commerford/All Rights Reserved

Chefs on Beef

When it comes to beef, the kind of you choose is truly a matter of taste and personal preference. There are different cuts, different preparations and of course different breeds. Me? I care about humane treatment of animals and healthy eating, but first and foremost I want something that tastes really good. And so do chefs. One the last day of the Certified Angus Beef conference in West Virginia I got to hang out with chefs at the bucolic Ironside Ranch. It was a great opportunity to eat, talk and learn what cuts and types of beef they serve and sell.

I spoke with three outstanding and award-winning chefs--Govind Armstrong who has been involved in a variety of different restaurants including a chain of burger joints, Keoni Chang, a corporate chef with a supermarket from Hawaii, who has a CIA culinary degree and a restaurant background and Matt Hill, a steak house chef who has also worked in fine dining and also has a CIA culinary degree. I learned while they each have their personal preferences, ultimately they all believe in offering variety to their customers.

Govind Armstrong, Post & Beam (and 8 oz Burger Bar), Los Angeles CA

I was excited to meet chef Govind Armstrong, especially after enjoying a fantastic meal he served the night before. His beef preparations included a sous vide then seared dry aged filet of strip and crisp smoked beef bacon. Govind told me he has been using Certified Angus Beef for many years, he first learned about it when he worked with chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger. He was impressed with the quality and has used it ever since. He appreciates the consistency and though he uses different cuts at the different restaurants he is affiliated with, he's a fan of the culotte. The tenderness and consistency mean "it's one less thing I have to worry about." 

He enjoys good quality meat and told me he has spent time in Argentina where all beef is  strictly grass fed and finished. The beef is a different texture, but one he appreciates saying it's grassier but that it's not what he wants everyday. He uses the middle meats such as the strip loin and barrel cut (a marbled part of the rib eye). He's a fan of cooking beef sous vide and adds seasonings and clarified butter to add flavor and richness. He noted different in some places like Mississippi and Louisiana, everyone tends to want their beef well done and that affects his choice of beef as well. 

Keoni Chang, Foodland Supermarkets, Honolulu HI

Keoni, a chef with a fine dining background told me he was brought on board at Foodland to improve the quality of the perishable food in the supermarket from the bakery through to the deli. The store was offering mostly Select grade beef and he felt it was important to expand the options. He likes the Choice grade and tried another company's product before settling on Certified Angus Beef. His stores also carry local and grass fed beef. The population in Hawaii is used to often using thinner cuts for Asian preparations but he says they are starting to want more thick steaks they can grill too. 

Which is best? He says it comes down to a lifestyle choice for most people and he wants to satisfy as many customers as he can. He focuses on the sub primals such as the top sirloin, rib eye, strip loin and one of his favorite, the boneless short ribs off the chuck which he says has great marbling. When it comes to the Choice grade, he points out there is a lot of variation from beef that is just a cut above Select to beef that is almost Prime. With Certified Angus Beef, he says "we are getting close to the Prime experience."

Matt Hill, Charlie Palmer Steak, Washington DC

Matt told me he chooses Certified Angus Beef for the consistency it provides. He appreciates the higher level of marbling and tender product. In taste tests he preferred Certified Angus Beef dry aged strip loins to American wagyu beef, referencing the mouthfeel in particular. 

He also buys locally raised grass fed quarters and whole animals and enjoys breaking down the product in his restaurant. For grass fed he prepares carpaccio and charcuterie, while for Certified Angus Beef he is particularly fond of the culotte. He also admitted that farm to table is easier to do with pork than with beef. 

Note: Matt was one of StarChef's Rising Stars in 2010 and has just left Charlie Palmer Steak to work at a new concept. Stay tuned! 

Disclosure: I was a guest at the Certified Angus Beef conference and my travel expenses were covered, however I was not paid to write this or any other post.

Banana Nutella Walnut Bread

I suppose that if we were normal human beings we would be telling you that our favorite activities to do as a couple include long walks on the beach, or whittling pieces of driftwood into home decor pieces, or reading poetry to each other in front of the fireplace.  But no, our very favorite thing to do as a couple is annoy each other.  We are really good at it!  Professionals, really.  We can sit in the same room for hours and just make random noises and sounds and comments to each other that we know will irk the other one.  I have a truly amazing ability to sing incredibly off-key quite loudly.  And I use that ability.  Oh I use it.  I also have been blessed with the gift of pretending to sing opera.  I make use of that.  Naturally.  Seth can make this one sound and hold it for ridiculously long period of time and it never ceases to annoy me.  He is also incredibly skilled at asking annoying questions over and over and over again.  We aren't being mean to each other - we are just child-like (or childish, depending on your perspective).  So what could be better than to annoy him with than banana bread with Nutella swirled in it?  I totally foresee questions like - how in the world is banana bread an annoyance?  Well, Seth HATES bananas.  Passionately.  He can detect when a baked good has banana in it from like a mile away.  It is uncanny.  Now I just have to sit back and wait to see how he retaliates.

Ingredients 
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 bananas, mashed
1/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup whole  milk
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons flax seed
2/3 cup toasted walnuts
1/3 cup Nutella

Instructions
Heat oven to 350.  Grease a 9x5 loaf pan.  Whisk flours, baking powder,  baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.  In a large bowl, stir together brown sugar, bananas, canola oil, milk, eggs, vanilla extract, and almond extract.  Gently stir the the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, being careful not to over mix.  Stir in the flax seeds, and toasted walnuts.  Pour batter in loaf pan.  Swirl in the Nutella.  Bake for about 45-50 minutes, until the loaf has a golden-brown color and a cake tester comes out clean.