I believe it's been 2011 for three months now and I have not added one post since bringing in the new year. Despite my crazy semester, I am determined not to let this outlet of creativity escape, so let's cheer to la vida loca and St. Patty with a suiting recipe that my family has grown quite fond of in the past few years: Irish coffees!
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| The handsome couple before revisiting Buena Vista in San Fran. My mom admitted that she didn't like whiskey until drinking these Irish Coffees in Minneapolis. |
The story begins in San Francisco, California about four years back. My family was taking a trip to celebrate Mike's graduation from high school and it just so happened to overlap with my parents 25th wedding anniversary! They took a honeymoon in San Francisco and remember visiting the Buena Vista cafe overlooking Fisherman's Warf. We went there on their anniversary eve to get an Irish coffee, a drink they are quite famous for, however, my parents had to take their coffees out into the cold wind in two parts: a disposable cup with the coffee + a small plastic bottle of whisky (since Mike and I were still too young to share in the drinking atmosphere)!
A few years later on a mild June evening Mike and I decided to surprise them with a "proper"cup before going out for dinner. I bought my first bottle of Jameson. Mike did some dark coffee roasting. Sitting around a table on a slanted porch in Mike's rented house in Minneapolis, Minnesota we brought out the "surprise" and well... three hours and a few cups later we were stumbling into a cab to grab some grub to soak up the bottle of whisky in our stomachs! Now, it is a funny family drink. We made some last Christmas morning with hand-whipped Amaretto cream (Mike's creation). I introduced them to Joe on our second annual snow day (thank you Chancellor Biddy). And now, you can make them too!
Irish Coffees (Nuss Family Style)
Brew a strong pot of a dark roasted coffee
While brewing, boil hot water and pour into glasses/mugs to heat
Whip the whipped cream with sugar (and a splash of Amaretto) until it peaks
When the coffee is done, pour the hot water out of the serving glasses/mugs
Pour a shot or two of whiskey into the glasses
Scoop equal parts sugar and stir
Pour coffee until 3/4 full and stir until sugar is dissolved
Top *carefully* with the whipped cream as to not mix with the coffee
Enjoy one a cold night, or as we do, anytime you want to get giggly!
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| The "key" to a perfect Irish Coffee. As some call it, "dumb blond in a black dress." The beauty about not mixing the cream and coffee is that they combine perfectly when sipping. The slower you drink, the more the layers mingle. |
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