Espresso Your Love

Cuban Coffee (Café Cubano), is made with Café ESPRESSO, the bold, strong coffee that we associate with romantic Italian sidewalk cafés (and now Starbucks). Enjoying a cup of it is a deep and almost-revered tradition in my Cuban culture as well.  I have many memories of my family’s after-dinner “cafecito”—a small coffee—as the basis for long (and often-animated) conversations at the table.  (By the way, these after-dinner conversation are such an ingrained and much-loved part of a Cuban family meal that we have a name for it: sobremesa [so-breh-meh’-sah].  Isn’t that lovely?  The family not running off after a meal, but staying to chat and discuss the events of the day?)

Some readers of this blog may stay away from espresso because it has more caffeine per unit volume than most drinks, but because it’s served in small vessels—usually in a demitasse or even smaller cups—it actually has less caffeine than an 8-ounce cup of drip-brewed coffee! Now, that’s a surprise! The brewing process makes the flavors more concentrated, which tend to be a bit too concentrated for me, so I make a cortadito, which in Spanish means “small cut,” meaning that you “cut” the intensity of the coffee by adding steamed milk to it.  Not to be confused with lattés and cappuccinos, and café au lait (or since we’re “speaking” Spanish today, café con leche), a cortadito is still served in a demitasse.

Yesterday was a lovely day in central Ohio; the perfect time to serve ESPRESSO cortaditos for two in the garden.

But first, how to make it.

Nothing fancy…the stove-top ESPRESSO maker I’ve had for years. This is the small version, which makes 1 or 2 cups, and I have a much larger one for family serving.

My family’s espresso of choice is Café Bustelo, now available at many large grocery stores or online. (It’s also available as decaf, as well as instant. I use the instant to make a bold cup of American coffee—it’s delish.)

This won’t be a complete how-to, nor will it be technical, but the reservoir below the coffee basket holds the water, and the coffee basket is filled completely, and the coffee tamped.  I use the bottom of my coffee measure to tamp it.  There is no measuring—you fill the basket, tamp, and refill and tamp as necessary.

Can you smell it? The brewed coffee bubbles up through the central core. The wonderful aroma of coffee wafts through the house.

This is how we enjoyed our cafecito in the garden.

The demitasses are fairly new to me—an auction win I was thrilled about. Six blue and white demitasses! And the darling demitasse spoons I’ve had for years.

Steamed milk to make our cortadito…

And of course, sugar…LOTS of sugar (or in my case, Splenda). Warning: This is not a drink where you want to cut back on the sugar! Such bold coffee needs the counterbalance the sugar provides.

And I should add that the flowers are real. I am NUTS about these two geraniums we have this year. Don’t they look like they have been hand-painted?!

As the sun moved it created wonderful shadows. I’ll share some of the pictures for your enjoyment.

Of course, we couldn’t be al fresco and not have a few of these!

 

It was lovely in the garden, and the cafecito…perfect. Won’t you join me? I’ll have it ready in a wink.

So tell me—are you a fan of ESPRESSO, or not so much? Have you ever tried it as a cortadito? I’d love to hear from you—even if you like the setting more than the café.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you’ll leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I read every single one of them! And if you like what you see a lot, maybe you’d like to Google+ this post or pin it on Pinterest too! Thank you!

I invite you to follow me. If you’ll let me know that you’re following, I’ll be sure to follow you back.

Sundays at The Tablescaper: http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/

Mop it Up Monday at http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com

Metamorphosis Monday at  http://betweennapsontheporch.net/

Tuesdays at http://www.astrollthrulife.net/

Tuesdays at http://hickorytrailblog.blogspot.com

Wednesdays at Let’s Dish: http://www.cuisinekathleen.com/

Wednesdays at http://diybydesign.blogspot.com/

Wednesdays at Wow Us: http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/

Thursdays at Tabletop Thursday: http://betweennapsontheporch.net/

Thursdays at No Minimalist Here: http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com/

Transformation Thursdays at http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/

Be Inspired Friday at http://www.Commonground-do.com/

Fridays at Feathered Nest: http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

Fridays at http://rootedinthyme.blogspot.com/

Fridays at Home Sweet Home: http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

From my nest to yours~

Zuni

Pre-wedding Dinner Party

The excitement is building!  Our son is getting married in 12 short days.  Amidst all the to-do lists, the last-minute details, and the stress, tonight my mother provided the bride and groom and my husband and me with a much-needed, and much-enjoyed respite--a lovely dinner party to celebrate their upcoming wedding.

The Battenberg runner and placemats, silver pieces, and white china with
a black band and gold rim set the tone.
The red flowers--plants from her garden--and the candles and napkins added a beautiful touch of color.

The china is new to her--a recent fabulous find at an auction--and it was so perfect
for the occasion that I commented that it reminded me of a tuxedo...
The pattern?  Black Tie, by Mikasa!
How apropos.

The butter in its own covered butter dish,
with mint garnish.

Crystal bobeches...such a beautiful and sparkly touch on the silver candlesticks.

And silver and crystal salt cellars.

Silver tea service, including a gorgeous samovar, is a gift from my brother and sister-in-law. 
WOW.

Then for dessert...



Espresso to accompany dessert...served on a silver tray.
Have you ever seen such a beautiful demitasse set?
Another recent auction find, my mother remembers an
identical set at her childhood home.
We don't know the pattern--can anyone help us there?



A gold band on the cup and saucer, and this woman, whose
dish addiction I've inherited, just happens to have
gold demitasse spoons and sugar server!
I told you I come by it honestly! :)

And the set even has its own holder!



Isn't it the sweetest?



The after-dinner drink--Bailey's Irish Cream--was served in the living room.
The pink Depression glass cordials are new to her too, and the pattern
remains to be determined.  For now let's just call it "Beautiful."
Too bad that the other pictures I took of them were blurry--I'm lucky to have gotten
these with my phone (!), as I forgot my camera. 

Thank you for visiting and sharing in our happy family occasion!  I'd love to hear from you.

I'll be joining these parties this week; please visit them and join in the fun!

 Marty's Table Top Tuesday at http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/ 

 Kim's Wow Us Wednesdays at http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/ 

 Susan's Tablescape Thursday at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

 Open House Party Thursday http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com

 Courtney’s, Feathered Nest Friday at http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

 Honey's Potpourri Friday at http://twenty-eight-0-five.blogspot.com/

 Inspiration Friday at http://www.atthepicketfence.com

 My Romantic Home at Show and Tell Friday 

 Common Ground at Vintage Inspiration Friday

 The Charm of Home at http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

 Stuff and Nonsense at http://www.stuff-and-nonsense.net/

    The Tablescaper's Seasonal Sunday at http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/