Coffee Gifts - The Ultimate Guide to Giving Coffee Gifts

Coffee gifts are great to give to the person who has everything. More practically, they're excellent presents for people who you don't know very well, or even for generic gift exchange events.

These days, you can't walk into a coffee shop without seeing hundreds of coffee accessories. At some point in time, coffee shops started focusing on selling something other than a hot cup of espresso and moved into the world of merchandising.

Nobody does this better than Starbucks. While there is a Starbucks on every corner (more than 13,000 in the world), you're going to pay a bit more there than at your local mom and pop shop. Because Starbucks has such a clever marketing scheme, their prices are significantly higher than the market average.

As a result, if you're looking for an affordable coffee gift of mugs, espresso machines or coffee beans, you may want to steer clear of the green logo. While coffee houses are fantastic places to get specialty beans and teas, if you're going to buy somebody an actual coffee maker you may want to look elsewhere.

Department and specialty stores are best for larger item purchases, and you'll save a lot of money if you go to one of those. Coffee houses thrive on impulse buys for those looking for coffee gifts. It's best to be smart about the situation and split up your purchases.

For example, go buy the cappuccino maker at the department store, where you'll save up to 30 percent. Then, head over to your local coffee shop and purchase the coffee gifts that you're looking for. Fill up a basket with chocolate covered espresso beans and a bag of fresh coffee.

When in doubt, gift cards make excellent coffee gifts. They can be used at any time toward just about any purchase, and they're as easy to use as cash.

Fantastic Ideas for Brewing Coffee

Coffee used to be a pretty boring drink, the only variety used to be from a pretty boring percolator. I can still remember you getting so bored waiting for the water to boil.

Percolators did have one advantage, they are great fun to watch! However running water directly over the grounds more than once doesn't really create the best brew of coffee.

In the 70's the way we made coffee changed for the better. A new method, the drip method could be used. This was fast, and produced a better tasting cup of coffee. All you needed to do was place a cup full of coffee grounds into a filter paper, then when boiling water drips over the grounds you get fast coffee delivered in your glass jug.

After this you could then purchase pods of certain blends of coffee. There were numerous improvements in brewing techniques including the introduction of internal spouts that ensure the water is evenly distributed. You should brew coffee at around 200F for best results.

In the 1990's there was a new rage to take coffee by storm, espresso machines made their way over from Europe. Us Americans found a way to make this style of coffee for cheaper without affecting the flavor. This process involves pushing water through the ground roast coffee beans at high pressure. In a matter of minutes your coffee is ready to drink.

If you add frothy milk then you can create a latte or a cappuccino depending exactly how much milk you decide to add. This is a vast improvement on the ways we used to drink coffee! Making coffee is now like an experiment!

Another European innovation for brewing coffee was the coffee plunger. This is a glass container that has a plunger on it. The filter is attached to the plunger, so it is very easy to strain your coffee beans out of the delicious coffee.

All you need to do is add coffee grounds to the glass jug and then pour boiled water inside. Now leave the grounds to steep for the desired time, when you want to finish press the plunger down to remove the beans. This is great because you only need one piece of equipment, plus it's manual!

There are more extravagant methods of brewing coffee, I'll bet you've never heard of a vacuum brewer. This is a complicated looking machine that has two glass bowls (although these can also be metal) on top of each other. The heat applied causes the water to move from the lower bowl into the top one. This works similar to a percolator. When the heat is removed the water comes back through the beans.

Using vacuum brewing is great at a dinner party because you can be pretty sure none of your guests have seen anything like it before. Plus it can be done at the table.
None of the methods to brew coffee are actually new, most of them go back at least a couple of centuries. The oldest is thought to be the Ibrik from Turkey. This is where a brass container is used to heat up water which has a long handle and a groove in the tongue of the container. Very finely ground coffee is then added and then poured, there is no need to filter this. It is extremely strong!

All of these methods will produce a lovely cup of coffee, but you should try them all! They all produce slightly different flavors which can be a delight.

Steak And Cheese Make The Perfect Healthy Snack Unlike Fast Foods

From the many culinary inventions that have delighted America, the steak and cheese sandwiches specific to the Philadelphia region are definitely worth trying; these make the perfect healthy snack without the bad name associated with fast foods. As the name speaks for itself, the steak and cheese sandwich consists of thin slices of fried or grilled meat and melted cheese, seasoned with spices and served in a long roll. Also known as cheesesteak, this local dish is tributary to two Philadelphians who started selling their invention in the 1930s at their hot dog stand. The business got to work so well due to this sandwich that they even created the cheesesteak restaurant that is still functioning today.

There is a special way of cooking the meat for the steak and cheese sandwiches; the slices of meat are so thin sometimes that they almost become translucent, after cutting they are placed on a hot griddle directly or placed on top of slightly fried onions to prevent over-cooking. When they get a brown color the slices of meat are cut and added to the sandwich. For the steak and cheese sandwich to be complete, you need to add the cheese while still grilling so that it gets enough time to melt. The process doesn't take more than a minute, and during this period of time the meat gets almost entirely covered in cheese.

We could also mention other ways of preparing the steak and cheese sandwiches without cheese grilling. Thus you can simply add thin slices of cheese inside the roll, and put the hot meat inside. Add spices and hold tight together for a few minutes so that the cheese melts away. Only afterwards should you add some sauce, mustard or mayonnaise to the composition, otherwise, you force the meat to cool rapidly and the cheese remains unchanged. In some diners, the cheese in the sandwich is melted with the help of a special heater, so that the preparation is a lot faster.

Taste variations of the steak and cheese sandwiches come from the use of different types of cheese: the top favorite ones include American cheese, Provolone and Cheez Whiz. Cheddar, mozzarella and Swiss are also used but not on such a common basis as the former three. The easiest to make type of steak and cheese sandwiches are those prepared with American cheese; some people even consider them to be the tastiest and the original traditional ones. The preparation modes vary from one place to another, depending on individual choices, thus even fried onions or special mushroom dressings are used to topple the steak and cheese sandwiches.

Stylish meals in minutes

(Family Features) - With today's more sophisticated palates, and the desire to savor more healthy and well-balanced meals, standard take-out fare just won't cut it anymore for speedy weeknight meals. There's a world of difference between "just okay" and "outstanding!" at-home menus.
From the deli to the frozen food case to the produce aisle, we're on the hunt for products that help us get stylish, contemporary meals on the table fast. Help is here. The category of high-quality prepped offerings from the supermarket is growing. And they taste better than ever.
The washed, ready-to-eat packaged salad mixes were the first produce products to make "fresh, fast!" a possibility. And the latest of these salads is chef-inspired creations that compete with entrées for centerpiece status.
New salads taking center stage on the menu include a variety of tempting offerings: Fresh mixtures of greens, a variety of vegetables, savory goodies, dried fruits, nuts, croutons, aged cheeses and professional-quality dressings give this new class of premium, ready-to-toss salads pizzazz.
With nutrition professionals recommending that we get up to nine to fifteen servings of fruits and vegetables daily, it's a deliciously painless way to meet those dietary requirements by including fabulous salads in daily menus. Baby Spinach, tender Spring Mix, crisp Hearts of Romaine, and crunchy Broccoli florets are some of the nutrient-dense foundations of these premium salads.
The amazing variety of salads available — all nutrient-rich and delivered in the peak of freshness for great taste - make it possible to serve a week's worth of dinners that showcase a world of flavors.
Originating this exciting new generation of salads is Fresh Express with its Premium Recipe Complete Salad line debuting in the produce aisle of grocery stores nationwide this month. These complete fresh salad mixes — all the toppings and dressing are in the bag — reflect contemporary flavor trends and offer a culinary artist's palette of colors, flavors and textures.
With center-stage combinations like B.L.T. Caesar Salad, Bleu Cheese Vinaigrette, Caesar Supreme and a one-of-a-kind fresh Broccoli Salad, the Premium Recipe Complete Salads can add style and spark to any meal.
Savvy cooks can tap into their own repertoires of snazzy, quick and tasty entrées to pair with these dressy salads. Or, try some of these streamlined, stylish pairings - one for each day of the week.
For serving suggestions, recipes, promotions and the latest in fresh-cut salads, check out the Fresh Express web site at http://www.freshexpress.com/.
On-hand ingredients make a simple adornment, taking everyday chicken breasts to a new level.

Chicken With Parsley, Garlic and Romano

CrustMakes 4 servings
2 slices whole wheat bread, torn

1/4 cup parsley, trimmed and washed

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/4 cup grated Romano

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Heat oven to 425°F. In small bowl of food processor, process bread pieces, parsley and garlic, add Romano, salt, pepper and oil, pulse briefly; set aside. Coat chicken evenly with mustard, place in shallow roasting pan and pat crumb mixture on top. Bake until chicken is cooked through and crumbs nicely browned, about 20-25 minutes.

Lemon Juice Health Benefits

Lemonade is known to have been used as a refreshing drink since the time of the Moguls. Modem investigations have tended to support this use, the essential oil being very good for cooling the body. This use can be extended to the employment of lemon juice with water and sugar as the best drink to take when you have a fever
When the temperature of the body is high, whether from the effects of the sun or from the results of illness, it is necessary to take regular drinks in order to prevent dehydration. Sugar is not normally a desirable part of a healthy diet, nevertheless it has its part to play with lemon, and although there is no doubt that the addition of honey if available is very much to be preferred.
The high vitamin C content of the lemon has been used for hundreds of years to ward off scurvy among sailors and travelers. There is little sodium, so the fruit is good as a flavoring for those on a low salt diet.
Because in some countries the producers of lemons extend their keeping properties and improve appearance by coating them with the chemical diphenyl and waxing the fruits, it is a wise precaution to wash the lemon with a little unscented soap and then rinse thoroughly before converting the whole fruit to juice.
The pulp left from the juicing is excellent for the skin and can also soothe the bites and stings of insects. If you add equal parts of toilet water and of glycerin to the residue the mixture can be made to keep the hands smooth.
Doctors Morel and Rochaix demonstrated that the extract of lemon when vaporized will neutralize the bacteria of meningococcus, typhoid, pneumococcus and staphylococcus in from 15 to 180 minutes.
A gastronomically inclined Frenchman, Charles Richet, is said by Dr Valnet to have discovered that the lemon juice added to raw oysters before eating them destroys 92% of the bacteria present within 15 minutes. A good reason to wait before you eat!
This information is relevant to the idea that lemon juice is a most important therapy to be used in all cases of infection of the respiratory tract and as a general tonic.
Provided that the juice is diluted with water, there is no danger in taking any reasonable quantity of lemon juice. Be sure to choose firm, clear colored lemons that have not begun to wither. The first signs of ageing can be spotted where the stem was once attached to the fruit.

How to make Pizza - A step by Step Guide to show you how to make pizza

So you want to learn how to make pizza yourself? Making pizzas is quite easy when you know the steps involved. Follow this step by step guide to making your own pizzas at home, and delight everyone with the flavor of your hands.

Step 1. Preparing your tomato pizza sauce

Melt the butter with the olive oil and slowly but completely sauté the garlic and onion in a skillet. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, oregano, basil and puree. Bring to a boil, then simmer covered for two hours. Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes with a potato masher. Continue to mash, stir, and simmer partially covered until the sauce reaches the consistency of a rich soup.

Step 2 Making Pizza Dough

Making your own pizza dough by hand is both challenging and satisfying. Home made pizza dough, "from scratch," is without a doubt the single most defining factor that differentiates a great pizza from any other pizza that you will ever have. And, the personal gratification that comes of successfully making pizza at home for yourself, your loved-ones and your friends makes it all the more worthwhile.

Step 3 Panning the Prepared Pizza Dough

Panning the dough is the step where you use a rolling pin or machines to create the pizza base with your dough. There are machines that help you sheet and pan the pizza dough, or you can use the hand tossing method or the rolling pin if you want to do it yourself.
Depending on the style, size, composition and number of pizzas you choose to make, the methods of sizing, shaping, trimming, and ultimately, panning the pizza dough, will vary.

step 4 Topping the Pizza

First, spread the pizza sauce evenly over the surface of the dough. Spoon the sauce out to the edge of the dough sheet, leaving "un-sauced" about 3/4" to 1" of the dough crust. Next, layer the shredded cheese creating an evenly distributed bed of cheese on which to arrange your toppings. (You will use another cup of cheese for finishing off the top of the pizza.) From this point on, let your eyes, nose, creativity and taste buds take over to add other toppings to your pizza. Some toppings, (fresh vegetables, certain cheeses and fatty meats), are higher in moisture and fat content and you have to take this into account when you use them, to ensure your pizza doesn't turn out soggy.

Step 5 Baking the Pizza

The final step is to bake to pizza. When you oven is at the right temperature place a prepped pizza in the center of the middle rack to allow for maximum air circulation around the pan.
Make adjustments to your baking process one at a time until you've found the perfect balance of rack position, temperature and baking time to suit your oven. Signs to look for that the pizza is ready are:
# The cheese has melted on top and is beginning to brown, # The crust edge has browned, from a medium to a golden brown, and, # Carefully lift the edge of the pizza to inspect its bottom. The bottom dough should be evenly browned.

by Kalpagam Swaminathan