Mon beau voyage à Ottawa, and 'Bona Fide' awesome Espresso

Le Cordon Bleu, Ottawa

(www.lcbottawa.com)

Moi, dans la belle ville d'Ottawa, avec le Rideau Canal en arrière-plan.

Crisp BBQ Duck Confit,
Creme Fraiche
Murray Street Restaurant, Ottawa


"Bona Fide" Espresso Beans.
"Terra Madre" and "Tre Sorelle"
Self described as "Artistry in Roasting", Anna Porretta focuses on freshness rather then shelf-life with coffee beans. Using fair trade Arabica Beans, she roasts her own and sells them in cool places such as Trinity Bellwoods Farmers Market (www.tbfm.ca).
I recently had the chance to meet her and she was wonderful enough to follow up our encounter with a wicked gift of these two super fresh bags of espresso.
I was sold on her product before I even tried it. I took the bags on the GO Bus that night and had the people sitting behind me complimenting my wonderful smell. ...something I am not use too after a long service on the fish line!
Anywho, I will never go back to anything less.
FYI, The taste is beyond comparison to bulk-ground espresso I use to procure at the grocery store.
Buy this product.


Mia madre mi ha mostrato come fare il caffè espresso.
Ti amo.


The money shot.


The desired effect.

I am pairing my trip to Ottawa with espresso and coffee because while I was there hanging out with a couple of very capable F.O.H. friends, I was introduced to the best cappuccino since Italy two years ago. (http://www.bridgehead.ca/)
So Ottawa was cool. I was really inspired by the huge bilingualism prevalent everywhere there. I intend to finish my half-sorta-speak-french-style and full-on become basic Quebecois. I will start by developing more pork-lard based recipes.

Places that I went too and thought worked really well in Ottawa are;
Luxe Bistro (http://www.luxebistro.com/)
Allium Restaurant (http://www.alliumrestaurant.com/)
Murray Street Restaurant (http://www.murraystreet.ca/)
Boulanger Francais (http://www.bennysbistro.ca/)

Since I married into an Italian family, I am now, (genetically), linked to Calabrese (Mother In-Law), and Abruzzo (Father In-Law). Hence, it has become 'la maggior parte importante' for me to learn the basics of a Caffè Espresso.

So.

Espresso

Generic Authentic Method.

Use an old fashion percolating espresso machine for the stove top.
Grind your own coffee beans, because you are authentic like that, and set the fillings (I like mine double and have a destine for consistent sleep) to however much you desire.
Once it's on the heat, take a ceramic bowl and add one or two teaspoons of granulated sugar per serving, pending on how you like your espresso.
When the very first hints of espresso come percolating out, spoon it into the sugar.
Using a rustic old spoon and old-world Italian-mother arm power (keeping it authentic), cream the sugar until it is pale and frothy.
By the time this is done, the espresso will finish percolating.
Slowly temp the caffè into the creamed sugar.
Serve and find something active to do for the next 6 hours.

-Jerek