THE WINNER OF THE MUG SHOT CONTEST IS SHIRLEY TAY!!

HER HELLO KITTY MUG IS THE WINNER OF THE $20 VISA GIFT CARD!

Congratulations Shirley Tay from Miss Polly Motzko!!!

Looks like today your article made the front page of one of your favorite cooking sites too!

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IF YOU DIDN'T HEAR ABOUT IT SOON ENOUGH, THERE IS A CHANCE THIS MONTH TAKE A PICTURE OF YOUR FAVORITE COFFEE MUG OR TEA CUP AND TELL WHY IT IS YOUR FAVORITE.

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YOU COULD WIN A VISA GIFT CARD TOO AND TELL A FEW FUNNY STORIES, SHARE A FEW FUN PICS ALONG WITH THE DREGS OF COFFEE IN YOUR CUP OR TEA LEAVES IN YOUR TEA CUP.

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Excerpts from "Coffee Cafe" by Sherri Johns

This cup is the bottom half of a tea pot for one I got in Santa Monica at Sur La Table. I love it and didn't realize how perfect it was for a cup of cappuccino! I heated up the milk in the pot in the microwave and then mixed it with equal amounts of espresso make in my Bialetti Italian Percolator (Moka).

I love my Bialetti Moka Espresso I bought two days ago at Peet's Coffee & Tea after I finished my client's resume. I had been looking at it for a long time and I will say it was worth the almost $40 I spent. It could be said it is an "Italian Percolator" and it makes the most flavorful, full bodied, non-bitter cup of coffee in the world, in my opinion.

All you do is fill the coffee basket up with 4 tablespoons of good quality espresso. I used Espresso Forte by Peet's Coffee & Tea, which is about $7.50 per 1/2 pound, but it has an incredible, nutty aroma and extraordinary full bodied flavor.

I bought the largest pot Bialetti makes and you merely fill the water receptacle on the bottom with water to the line that is marked inside, fill with coffee in the removable insert, and then screw it back on the pot that is on top. You will want to hang around your kitchen while this brewing on your kitchen range. Just make sure you don't have your burner exceeding the width of the coffee pot.

In less than 5 minutes you will have the best cappuccino you ever tasted!

I make what is called a WET CAPPUCCINO and I mix equal parts of espresso with hot milk. This definition comes from the book "Coffee Cafe" by Sherri Jones. WET CAPPUCCINO-One espresso with more steamed milk than foam. This creates a milkier version and is less strong.

You can also create a CLASSIC CAPPUCCINO by mixing one espresso with equal amounts of steamed and foamed milk served in a 5-6 ounce cup.

A DOUBLE CAPPUCCINO is made from two espressos with steamed milk and foam. Not double in size but double in strength.

If you are at Barnes and Noble like I am all the time while doing work at the Starbucks next to it, you can probably find this small little book in their cook book section or sale books. You can usually look online for any book and if you buy it online and have one of their Preferred Members Cards, you can get free express shipping and the book will arrive at a drastically reduced price.

Coffee Cafe by Sherri Johns, Copyright 2005, New Holland Publishers (UK) Ltd.

2005 Barnes & Noble Publishing

ISBN: 1-3 978-0-7607-7603-2

Barnes & Noble, New York

4/23/2011 5:00 AM

Carrot Cinnamon Oat Raisin Bars

These are in the "A Little Something Sweet Section" on here but I felt they would be great with coffee, so here they are! I hope you enjoy them as much as my family and I did!

If you like this recipe, join http://www.CookingUpAStorminCA.ning.com

These have the aroma of Carrot Cake but only more cinnamon and yummy! They have the toasty oat flavor of a good oatmeal cookie and the fruitiness & chewiness of an oatmeal raisin-only BETTER!

Created on Easter Eve 2011 by Polly Motzko

Copyright April 2011

1 box of Betty Crocker Carrot Cake Mix

2/3 cups canola oil

2 medium size eggs-You can substitute egg substitute by adding ¼ cup of Egg Beaters for every egg called for in the recipe.

1 tablespoon of Ceylon Cinnamon or other good quality Cinnamon

5 small packages of instant oatmeal

1 cup of organic raisins

In an oven preheat to 400 degrees Farenheit or you can skip the preheat stage if you bake them in a convection oven as I did on 400 degrees for up to 20 minutes, checking after 10 minutes to see how they look.

In a medium to large size bowl dump the cake mix in and add the cinnamon and oatmeal and stir until the dry ingredients are all mixed. Then add the 2 eggs and 2/3 cup canola oil or another like olive oil or sunflower oil.

Add in the raisins and stir until completely mixed.

Grease the 9 inch springform pan of with non stick olive oil or canola spray.

Pat in the cookie dough until it covers the pan.

Bake until done-it varies. In my convection oven at 400 degrees, 25 minutes was perfect.

What a wonderful aroma this fills the house with!

Share the story behind your favorite cup and where you got it

Share your "Mug Shots" or other Coffee Time recipes including Biscotti, Scones, Crumpets, Tea Sandwiches etc...

I will share a few of my favorites and then I hope to see a few of yours too!

Miss Polly Motzko's Valentine's Day Mug Cupid Got Her

Works really well with espresso and number 2 filters and a Melitta Coffee Maker-the simplest coffee maker in the world!

(After all it is just really hot water and coffee!)

Miss Polly's Abulita Cinnamon Mocha

1. Take 2 large tablespoons of the Abulita Cinnamon Hot Chocolate mix and put in a very large 2 cup capacity mug.
2. Add about 1/2 cup milk-whichever kind you like. I used 2% for mine.
3. Stir around to mix
4. With a Melitta Coffee Maker-that fits on top of your cup or mug, place a number 2 filter in the plastic coffee maker-the simplest coffee maker in the world but my favorite. You can take this thing with you on trips and in the words of everyone who has had a cup of my coffee-"It has a full bodied flavor but it isn't bitter at all. Really great!"
5. With a teapot on the stove or in the microwave as I do-so I can leave the room and do something else while the water boils....Get the water to almost boiling and then pour over the coffee grounds-Use 2 1/2 tablespoons of espresso per cup.
6. Other good espresso fav's are: Don Francisco, World Market Whole Bean Espresso Decaf or Regular-Amalfi Espresso-an amazingly great price for whole bean coffee.
7. Trader Joes: Five Country Espresso

Enjoy!

Paulette Le Pore Motzko

March 20th, 2011

3:01 p.m.

What do you serve with your coffee in your corner of the world?

Do you make it drip, French Press-(as I often do), or do you use a Brika as some of the Cuban's do or Greek friends I know do.

Do you like espresso or cafe au lait?

What do you serve with your coffee and what makes it extra special?

There is also a group I created some time ago, that needs some more people in it called "Biscotti: And Other Coffee Time Cookies on Group Recipes.com at:

Biscotti & Other Coffee-Time Cookies on GroupRecipes.com

Share any tips you use that would be interesting to the now 119 members of Cooking Up A Storm All Over the World!

Join COFFEE TALK and share what's not only in your cup but the cup itself! I am having a contest for the most unique cup. Tell the story behind how you got it etc.. and you could win a $20 VISA Gift Card!

Also, share your favorite BISCOTTI RECIPES, RUGELAH RECIPES and anything else YOU SERVE WITH YOUR MUG OF java.

Coffee Presses by Bodum

I was reading in the Sur La Table catalog and discovered that if you love French Press Coffee, there is an alternate way of "brewing" it.

You can grind the beans to a not quite powder consistency, like coarse ground salt, and then put it in your French Press maker and simply leave it in your fridge overnight and wake up to "brewed" coffee that way. I am going to try it later and see what the difference in flavor is. Bodum makes a French Press maker designed specifically for this made of plastic rather than the large one I have with stainless, but I think you can use either for it.

Since I got my Food Professional Discount card, I was so happy to see that not only can I buy the highest quality of merchandise in all things culinary, but it is a substantial discount as well!

Thanks for telling me about that tip Chef Dennis Littley, my good friend from Foodbuzz.com.

In this spot a picture of my French Press maker will be there.

Savor Life, Savor Each Moment and Savor the Flavors You Create!

Miss Polly Motzko

Tuesday, March 29th, 2011

9:08 a.m.

"In 1974, Bistro, the first Bodum French coffee press, was introduced. It was also the first incorporation of the new Bodum design language—beautiful simplicity and excellent materials for everyday life. Many more variations of the coffee press followed. Since 1974, Bodum has produced more than 60 million French presses, taken the leap from “coffee” to “kitchen” and developed and produced a large variety of beautiful household and tabletop designs"-

An excerpt from the latest Sur La Table catalog regarding the Bodum company and its French Press makers.

You can learn a lot by reading the Sur La Table catalogs.....even if you don't buy something, but I have some things on my wish list, like a large marble pastry board and marble rolling pin.........I need more counters!

• Polly Motzko's Awesome almond orange Biscotti.... shopping list
• * 1 cup sugar shopping list
• * 6 tablespoons margarine or butter shopping list
• * 1 tablespoon grated orange peel shopping list
• * 2 eggs or ½ cup egg substitute (I always use the egg substitute and it comes out great.) shopping list
• * 3-½ cups original Bisquick shopping list
• * 1 cup ground almonds shopping list
• * A handful or so of ground almonds to dust the top with shopping list