Gateway Drug

“Don’t bogart that joint, my friend,
pass it over to me…”

Like so many of those who grew up in the sixties, I smoked my share of pot. But despite smoking dope and trying a few other things I probably shouldn’t have, the only gateway dope led me to was eating large quantities of oranges (our munchy of choice for some reason). There were even occasions when we spiked joints with codeine and, aside from getting a bit disoriented, we managed to avoid heroin addiction.

Given my personal experience and that of everyone else I went through that period of time with, I’ve long considered the government’s claims that pot leads to harder stuff baseless nonsense. At least I did until last night.

Hearkening back to my dissipated youth, the pot I had last night was also spiked — but spiked with caffeine in the form of espresso powder. And though I didn’t have any hash brownies, I did have coffee meringues. So it was an evening of excess until my indulgence caught up with me and I managed to stagger off to bed around 11:00.

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Pots de Crème au Café Chocolat

2 oz bittersweet chocolate
1/2 c double cream
6 tbsp milk
2 tbs milk
5 tbs sugar
1 1/4 tsp instant coffee
3 egg yolks
1 whole egg

Melt the chocolate in the microwave. In a saucepan, heat the cream, 1/2 cup of milk, and 3 tablespoons of sugar until just boiling. In a little bowl, dissolve the coffee crystals in the 2 tablespoons of milk. Mix the coffee and chocolate into the milk mixture.

Beat the egg yolks with the whole egg and the last 2 tablespoons of sugar. Add the chocolate mixture and whisk thoroughly. Pour into small ramekins and set in a pan of water. Cover with foil and bake for 20-25 minutes at 325F. Remove, uncover and let cool. Chill overnight and then serve with whipped cream and meringues. Serves four.

Coffee Meringues with Pignoli

3 egg whites
1/3 c sugar
1/8 tsp cream of tarter
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp espresso powder
1 tbsp hot water
2 tsp cocoa
1/4 c pignoli

Heat oven to 350F. Spread pignoli in a pan and roast until lightly browned — about 10 minutes. Set aside.

Reduce heat to 200F. Mix sugar and cocoa together and dissolve espresso powder in water. Beat egg whites with cream of tarter until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar mixture until stiff peaks form. Beat in vanilla extract, espresso, and fold in Drop small teaspoonfuls of meringue on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (You may also pipe whites onto baking sheet using pastry tips.)

Bake until crisp and dry — about 2 hours. Remove from oven and run a sharp knife under meringues to loosen them. Let cool and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Makes about 50.

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