Chopped Challenge #5, Part 1: Coffee-Crusted Pork Loin

This time around, my ingredients for the Chopped challenge were pork, bourbon, Texas toast, and coffee. Something about those ingredients just clicked for me, and it took me all of 5 seconds to decide what I'd be making. I was actually really excited about this challenge, too, for whatever reason, so I definitely was looking forward to making it. I have to say, I was not disappointed. So far we've been pretty lucky and haven't made anything really terrible, or even halfway terrible for that matter. I know we're only 5 challenges in, but that's still pretty good.

For this challenge, I decided to make a coffee-crusted pork loin, maple bourbon barbecue sauce, and a savory, white cheddar bread pudding. (I'll discuss the barbecue sauce and bread pudding in separate posts and just stick to the pork loin in this one.) I've never actually made or even had coffee-crusted anything before. I know that it's a thing that a lot of restaurants do it, so I figured it can't be bad, right? I'm glad I gave it a try because it's really easy to do and tastes great. I liked the pork with the crust by itself, but Justin thought it was much better when paired with the barbecue sauce because the coffee crust is a little bitter and the sauce was nice and sweet. I agree that they complimented each other nicely, but I was just fine eating the pork alone as well. It made for a nice change to plain ol' roasted pork.

Tiramisu

We were having one of Justin's coworkers over for dinner, for which I made my mom's spaghetti and meatballs. I wanted to make something Italian for dessert to go with it, and what's a better choice than tiramisu? It's really great for a dinner party or other special occasion because it seems fancy but is actually really easy to make at home, aside from the part where I had to drive all over town looking for ladyfingers. Additionally, for the best flavor you should make it the day before, also freeing up time to spend cooking the rest of your meal the day of.

Iced Coffee

When I was a kid, no one understood how I could eat coffee-flavored ice cream. Everyone thought that cold plus coffee equaled a bad idea. I don't know why. I loved coffee ice cream. I still do. It's because while, yes, actual cold coffee is disgusting, the intentional mixture of coffee flavor and cold refreshment is delicious. That's where iced coffee comes in.

Having worked at a coffee shop, I can be a little bit of a coffee snob from time to time--I apologize--and iced coffee is one of the areas where my snobbery takes over. Many otherwise respectable establishments and generally good people make hot coffee (either double-strength or not, depending on where you get it) and pour it over ice. This, however, results in bitter, acidic, cold coffee. The proper way to make iced coffee is to cold-brew it. It results in a much smoother, richer, tastier final product. Trust me on this. Or don't. Go try it yourself. Make a pot of hot coffee and pour it over ice. I'll wait here. Now try this recipe. Believe me. You'll like this one better.

Fake Frappe

One of the things I miss most about working at a coffee shop is the ability to make myself drinks whenever I want. Because it can get pretty warm hanging around coffee makers, espresso machines, roasters, and ovens--I made pastries, too--all day, my favorite drinks were always frappes. After the shop closed, I had to look elsewhere to get my frosty caffeine fix. (On occasion I even make a trip to the-coffee-shop-that-must-not-be-named when I'm really desperate. I hate the way their coffee tastes, but the frappuccinos aren't bad.)

Making fraps at home is a little tricky. As far as flavor goes, it's not too difficult. The problem comes from trying to achieve the desired consistency. Our fraps at the coffee shop started out with a powdered base that gave the frap the desired flavor but also a creamy, thick texture. We blended it with chilled espresso, 2% milk, and ice. One way to come closer to achieving this texture at home is to use ice cream, heavy cream, half-and-half, or whole milk in it. I, however, don't usually have any of those things on hand, and other than the ice cream, I don't really want to drink any of them either. I'm a skim milk kind of girl, and therein lies my problem: how do I get that creamy, dreamy consistency without changing to a different kind of dairy?