Historical Food Fortnightly Challenge #7 - Pretty As A Picture

Challenge #7 - Pretty As A Picture (March 25 - April 7)  If you're a fan of cooking competition shows (like I am!), you know how the saying goes:  we eat first with our eyes.  Make a dish that looks just as spectacular as it tastes.  Extra points for historically accurate plating - and don't forget to post pictures!

The hosts of our Historical Food Fortnightly are so correct - it's always incredibly interesting to watch cooking competition shows and see how food is prepared and plated. You can imagine the smells and sounds as everything sizzles and bakes. Thinking about how preparation can be enjoyable I chose a recipe from the 100-year-old book I'm using for the Challenges this year:  Twenty Lessons in Domestic Science by Marian Cole Fisher.

 

The recipe is Café Noir or After Dinner Coffee.

The ingredients are a cup of black coffee, sugar cubes, and Cognac.

In my state of North Carolina all alcohol sales are regulated and only sold in separate stores.  I truly had no idea there were so many different brands and grades of Cognac so a little research was in order.  I chose D'Usse VSOP Cognac.  Cognac is a variety of brandy which begins its life as a white wine.  The grade VSOP means "very superior old pale" and designates a blend in which the youngest brandy is stored for at least four years in a cask.  So why did I choose this particular Cognac?  I really love the bottle!  Since this Challenge is all about feasting for the eyes, I'll begin with a wonderful bottle to set before my dinner guest.

 

 

Now it is time for the presentation of the recipe.  I turn down the lights slightly to set an atmosphere and begin.



Hot coffee ready for the ritual.

A sugar cube soaked briefly in Cognac.

 And the beautiful burning of the sugar and cognac:



The crystallized sugar. 

Blend the sugar into the hot coffee.

Smells heavenly!

Tastes heavenly!!

Another video of my Café Noir presentation:

 

Hoping all your coffee moments are this fun!

Jeanette