Witlof Braised in White Wine

Chicory has many names of which I only knew this as Belgium endive.  Common names for varieties include endive, raddicchio, Belgian endive, French endive, red endive, sugarloaf or witlof.  In case you weren't already confused enough, Belgian endive is also known as French endive witloof in Dutch, witloof in the United States, chicory in the UK, as witlof in Australia, endive in France, and chicon in parts of northern France.  It has a small head of cream-colored, bitter leaves. It is grown completely underground or indoors in the absence of sunlight in order to prevent the leaves from turning green and opening up.  Exposure to light turns witlof green and bitter so store it in a brown paper bag in the crisper.  It's an excellent source of vitamins A and C, and a good source of dietary fiber.

Serves 4 (as a side dish for roast meats)
recipe from Australian Good Taste
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40g butter
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
4 large witlof, halved lengthways
160ml (2/3 cup) dry white wine
fresh parsley, chopped

Heat butter and oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.  Add the garlic and stir-fry until aromatic.  Add the witlof, cut-side down.  Cook, turning occasionally, for 5 minutes.  Add the wine and season with salt and pepper.  Cover and simmer for 6-8 minutes or until tender.  Transfer to a serving dish.  Pour over the wine mixture and sprinkle with parsley to serve.

The Culinary Chase's Note:  I have never had braised endive (always ate it fresh) so was curious as to taste.  I wasn't too impressed with the amount of wine as I felt it overpowered the delicate flavor of the endive.  Next time I'll reduce the amount by half and mix with water.  I did add a bit more butter at the end of the cooking to soften the taste somewhat which seemed to help.  When preparing the endive, pull off any discolored leaves and trim the root end.  Don't wash, just wipe with a damp paper towel.

Sticky Date Pudding

I'm sure we all have childhood memories of a favorite pudding our mothers made and this is one I used to enjoy especially when the cake was still warm.  Of course, as a little girl, it helped that this dessert was very sweet and thus a pleasure to consume.  There are some conflicting stories as to its origins but as near as I can see, sticky date pudding is either an English or Scottish invention (sticky toffee pudding).   Whatever the case, it's an easy dish to make and one that would appeal to any sweet tooth.  Dates are a great source of dietary fiber and have the highest concentration of polyphenols among dried fruits.  On their own, they are a perfect energy boosting snack.


Serves 6
recipe from Donna Hay magazine
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210g (1 1/2 cups) chopped pitted dates
250ml (1 cup) boiling water
1 teaspoon baking soda
100g butter, chopped
135g (3/4 cup) brown sugar
2 eggs
150g (1 cup) self-raising flour
double cream (whipping cream), to serve


Toffee Sauce:
150g butter, chopped
250ml (1 cup) single pouring cream
265g (1 1/2 cups) brown sugar


Preheat oven to 180c (355f).  Place the dates, water and baking soda in a bowl and allow to stand for 5 minutes.  Place the date mixture in the bowl of a food processor with the butter and sugar and process until well combined.  Pour into a lightly greased 26cm x 16cm tin lined with non-stick baking paper.  Bake 30-35 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer.  Cool in the tin for 10 minutes. 


To make the toffee sauce, place butter, cream and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until butter is melted.  Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes or until thickened slightly.  Cut the pudding into squares and spoon over toffee sauce.  Top with whipped cream.

The Culinary Chase's Note:   This is not for the faint-hearted as it is loaded with calories but like my husband always says: "80/20" rule so go, recreate those memories, have fun and enjoy!

Maritime Martini

Wow!  This is what I call ceviche party style!  Not only does the lime juice marinate the scallops, the alcohol also adds another delicious flavor.  Digby, Nova Scotia is famous for its scallops and bills itself as the scallop capital of the world.  Scallops are Nova Scotia’s most valuable seafood catch and Digby is the home of the world’s largest inshore scallop fleet.  These scallops are huge! I saw this recipe in the Occasions Magazine which is a food and drink periodical produced by the liquor control boards of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island and Alberta.   The Nova Scotia issue highlights local restaurants and showcases their award winning recipes.  I love the fleshy texture and sweet flavor of scallops.   But these gems are not only delectable, they contain a variety of nutrients that can promote cardiovascular health, plus provide protection against colon cancer. Click here for more nutritional information.  If like this recipe, you might also want to try Marinated Seafood Salad, Scallops with Sauce Vierge, or Scallops with Tomato Crust on rich Shellfish Cream


Serves 10
recipe from Chef Shaun Zwarun, DesBarres Manor Inn
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30 large Digby scallops
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup yellow bell pepper, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
10 sprigs of parsley
1/4 cup gin
1/4 cup vodka
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt to taste
freshly ground pepper, to taste


In a large bowl combine vodka, gin, lime juice, chillies, peppers and green onions.  Heat oil in a skillet over high heat, season scallops with salt and pepper, add to pan and sear 1 minute per side, remove from pan and let cool.  Mix scallops with vodka mixture and marinate 2 to 3 hours in the fridge.  To serve, place 3 scallops in a martini glass or on a small plate, spoon some the dressing over the top and garnish with a parsley sprig.


The Culinary Chase's Note:  Del.icio.us!  I'm not a big fan of gin so I omitted this and doubled the vodka amount.  There's a wow factor when serving this in a martini glass.  Cheers!

Amalfi Baked Lemons (limoni di amalfi cotti al forno)

What a beautiful, sunny looking antipasto to make when the day looks so dull and dreary!  Traditional fresh mozzarella is usually sold in containers of brine, shaped into delicate balls. Fresh mozzarella can be purchased in Italian specialty shops, cheese markets, and some natural foods and grocery stores. Originally made from the milk of water buffalo, and called mozzarella di bufala, mozzarella is now most often made from cows’ milk, and is referred to as fior di latte. However, once you've experienced buffalo mozzarella, there's a big difference in taste and personally I enjoy buffalo mozzarella over fior di latte.  Fresh mozzarella should have a sweet, creamy, milky taste and should have a soft, yielding, pull apart texture.

Serves 4
recipe from Jamie's Italy
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2 large unwaxed lemons
1 or 2 150g balls of buffalo mozzarella, thickly sliced
2 anchovy fillets
2 ripe cherry tomatoes, halved
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 dried red chili, crumbled (optional)

Preheat oven to 200c (400f).  Remove the ends of the lemons and discard them.  Cut the lemons in half crossways giving your four 2.5cm (1 inch) thick discs.  Use a small knife to remove the lemon flesh leaving you with 4 hollow circles of skin. 

The mozzarella is obviously going to melt and ooze out when baked.  In Italy, a lemon leaf is placed underneath each one to keep everything in place, but it's fine to use a square of greaseproof paper to do the same thing.  Lay a greaseproof paper square or lemon leaf on a baking tray and place one of the lemon skin wheels ontop.  Cut a piece of mozzarella to fit inside, then lay a basil leaf, half an anchovy fillet and half a cherry tomato on top with a small pinch of salt and pepper.  Add a little dried chili if you like.  Top off with another slice of mozzarella.  Do the same to the rest and cook in a preheated oven for 10-15 minutes until golden and bubbling.  Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.  Serve with a grilled hot crostini.  Simply scoop the mozzarella out, eat with the toast and mop up any juices.  Delicious!

The Culinary Chase's Note:  Because the only lemons I could find were relatively small, I opted to cut them in half, remove the pulp and squeezed out any juice.  I love the flavors oozing from lemon halves.  Next time I will try to find larger lemons and prepare the way Jamie did.  Enjoy!

Silk Handerkerchiefs with Pesto Sauce (fazzoletti di seta al pesto)

Homemade egg pasta rocks!  Two simple ingredients that make boring into amazing.  Making homemade pasta isn't as daunting as one might think and it's actually therapeutic.  Don't worry if you don't have a pasta machine as you can use a rolling pin.  Once you get the hang of making your own pasta, why not experiment with other flavors and colors such as spinach (green pasta), squid ink pasta (black pasta), purple pasta (beet), truffle etc.  Fresh pasta will last up to five days in the refrigerator or one month in the freezer.  Click here to view a video on how to make fresh pasta.

Serves 4
recipe from Jamie's Italy
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pesto recipe
455g (1 lb) fresh egg pasta dough recipe
flour for dusting
a handful of fresh basil leaves, torn up
100g freshly grated pecorino cheese

First make your pesto.  Then make the egg pasta dough and roll it out to 2mm on a pasta machine.  Lay all the long strips ona well-floured worktop.  Using a knife or a pasta wheel, cut the strips into rectangular pieces, roughly the size of beer mats.

Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted wated for about 3 minutes, until just cooked, then drain, reserving a little of the cooking water.  Toss the cooked pasta with the pesto, the torn basil leaves and the pecorino.  Taste and season if necessary, and add a few spoonfuls of the cooking water if you need to loosen up the sauce a bit.  Serve sprinkled with more pecorino and serve immediately.


The Culinary Chase's Note:  Velvety smooth pasta with fresh ingredients make for a perfect meal.  Buon Appetito!

Pasta with Chickpeas (pasta e ceci)

It's been a while since I last did a posting on a Jamie Oliver recipe and this one seemed to jump off the page.  This dish is from Jamie's Italy and is a great book to have.  As in all of Jamie's cookbooks, this one is full of delicious recipes and with over 120 of them there's bound to be something for everyone's palate.  Chickpeas are a good source of cholesterol-lowering fiber, as are most other beans. A very versatile legume, they are in many Middle Eastern and Indian dishes such as hummus, falafels and curries. Chickpeas (also know as Garbanzo bean) high fiber content prevents blood sugar levels from rising too rapidly after a meal, making these beans an especially good choice for individuals with diabetes.

Serves 4
recipe from Jamie's Italy
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1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 stick of celery, trimmed and finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
extra virgin olive oil
a sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped
2 x 400g tins of chickpeas
500ml (18 oz.) chicken stock
100g ditalini (shaped like short little tubes) or other small Italian soup pasta
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
small handful of fresh basil or parsley, leaves picked and torn

Put the onion, celery and garlic into a saucepan with a little extra virgin olive oil and the rosemary.  Cook as gently as possible, with the lid on, for about 15-20 minutes until all the vegetables are soft, without any color.  Drain chickpeas well and rise them in cold water, then add to the pan and cover with the stock.  Cook gently for 30 minutes then, using a slotted spoon, remove half the chickpeas and put them to one side in a bowl.

Puree the soup in the pan using a hand held stick blender.  If you don't have one, you can whiz it up in a food processor instead, then pour it back into the pan.  Add the reserved whole chickpeas and the pasta, season soup with salt and pepper, and gently simmer until chickpeas are tender and pasta is cooked.  Serve drizzled with good-quality extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with freshly torn basil.

The Culinary Chase's Note:  With just a few ingredients that won't break the bank, this soup is hearty and filling.  Jamie noted that if the soup is a little thick, pour in some boiling water to thin it down and add more salt and pepper if needed.   Enjoy!

Roast Ratatouille and Halloumi Salad

I enjoy roasting vegetables as this method tends to bring out the sweetness in the vegetable and is another easy alternative to steaming.  Halloumi, the squeaky cheese, does not melt when heated. Instead it develops a delicious crust that surrounds a slightly springy, mild interior that squeaks between your teeth! Halloumi is the traditional white cheese of Cyprus.  It originated in Middle Eastern Bedouin and was made from ewes' and goats' milk. The popularity of the cheese led to its production spreading throughout the Middle East, to Greece and Cyprus and throughout the world. It is a semi hard cheese and is delicious when grilled or fried.  Bell peppers are excellent sources of vitamin C and vitamin A. Red peppers are also an excellent source of the vitamins K and B6. Green peppers are a very good source of fiber and folate.  Choose vegetables to resemble colors of the rainbow as this will help to maximize the different antioxidants contained in each type, thus helping your body to fight cancer-causing free radicals.

Serves 6
recipe from Woman & Home magazine
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2 x 250g halloumi packages, thickly sliced
zest and juice of 1 lemon
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 eggplants, sliced
2 yellow bell peppers, thickly slicked
2 red bell peppers, thickly sliced
2 red onions, cut into thin wedges
12 to 16 cherry tomatoes
3 good handfuls rocket, to serve

Heat oven to 200c (400f).  Place halloumi in a bowl, drizzle with the lemon zest and juice, and 1 tablespoon of the oil.  Season well with black pepper.  Place the remaining ingredients, except the tomatoes, in a roasting pan.  Season with salt and pepper and combine well.  Roast for 30 minutes until vegetables are slightly charred - add the tomatoes towards the last 10 minutes of the cooking time.  Meanwhile, heat a griddle pan until almost smoking.  Sear the halloumi for 2 minutes each side.  Spread the vegetables over the rocket, top with the halloumi and any of the juice from the marinade and serve.


The Culinary Chase's Note:  I love this type of a salad.  So full of flavor and loaded with minerals and vitamins.  Substitute halloumi for goat cheese or feta if you're not a fan.  Cut cubes of goat cheese or feta and add to the vegetable mixture for the last 10 minutes of cooking time.   Enjoy!

Vanilla and Cream Cheese Pound Cakes

For me, pound cake is synonymous with baked goodies our mothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers made.  The word pound in the title refers to the ingredients because the original recipes contained a pound of butter, sugar, eggs and flour.  Another interesting note on the origin of words is the same idea applies to cupcakes. The original recipe called for one cup of each ingredient.

Makes 12 
recipe from Australian Good Taste 
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100g unsalted butter, room temperature
215g (1 cup) caster sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
250g cream cheese, room temperature
3 eggs, room temperature
190g (1 1/4 cups) plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
40g unsalted butter (for icing), room temperature
230g (1 1/2 cups) icing sugar

Preheat oven to 160c.  Lightly brush twelve 80ml (1/3 cup) capacity muffin pans with melted butter to grease.  Use an electric beater to beat the butter, sugar, vanilla and half of the cream cheese in a bowl until pale and creamy.  Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.  Sift over the flour and baking powder and use a large metal spoon to stir until combined.

Divide mixture among the prepared pans and smooth the surfaces.  Bake 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centers comes out clean.  Set aside in the pans for 10 minutes to cool slightly before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.  Meanwhile, use an electric beater to beat the remaining cream cheese and extra butter in a bowl until combined.  Gradually add the icing sugar, beating constantly, until the mixture is smooth.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 2 hours to chill, or until the icing is firm.  Spread the cakes with the icing and decorate with cachous and edible flowers to serve.

The Culinary Chase's Note:  Make sure the butter, eggs and cheese are at room temperature.  There is a tendency for the batter to curdle when adding the eggs but having the eggs at room temperature and adding each egg separately will help to prevent this.  Change the vanilla essence for fresh lemon juice for a citrus taste.  If you don't have caster sugar on hand, you can make your own by grinding granulated sugar for a couple of minutes in a food processor (this also produces sugar dust, so let it settle for a few moments before opening the food processor).

Massaman Curry with Chicken

Massaman is one of my favorite curries.  It is a Thai dish with Muslim origins.  It is commonly made with beef but you can also use chicken, lamb, pork or tofu.  The name Massaman is thought to be derived from the word Musulman which is a linguistic variation of the word Muslim.  Thai Massaman curry has an abundance of warm spices such as cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.

Serves 2
recipe from Blue Elephant Cooking School
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Paste:
1 stem coriander root
2 cloves garlic
15g shallot

Curry:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons Massaman paste
1 cup coconut milk
2 tablespoons water (optional)
150g chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
100g sweet potato, boiled and diced
1 tablespoon ginger, sliced
1cm cinnamon stick
2 pieces of cardamon
2 bay leaves (optional)


Seasoning:
1 1/2 tablespoon tamarind (use rice wine vinegar or apple vinegar if you can't find tamarind)
1/2 tablespoon fish sauce (use salt if you don't like fish sauce)
1 1/2 tablespoon palm sugar (use brown sugar and double the amount if palm is not available)

For the paste:  in a mortar, finely pound the paste ingredients.  To make the curry, heat a saucepan on medium heat and add oil.  Add the paste from the mortar and mix with the oil until an aroma develops.  Add the Massaman paste and stir until combined.  Add the coconut milk a bit at a time allowing the oil from the milk to rise above the curry, then add more milk and continue this process until all milk is used.  Add potato, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, cardamon and ginger.  Let the curry reduce a bit then season with palm sugar, tamarind and fish sauce.  Add the chicken and simmer until the curry has thickened and the chicken is cooked.  Transfer to a serving dish, garnish with coconut cream, cashew nuts and coriander leaves.


The Culinary Chase's Note:  If you've never had Massaman curry, you are in for a treat.  Unlike Indian or Malaysain curries, this one is not as spicy.  If you find the coconut milk is too thick, you can add the water to thin it.  If you can find palm sugar, make sure to dissolve it in the sauce first before adding it as this helps to dissolve the sugar.  If you don't want or don't have time to make the Massaman paste, a store bought version will suffice.  Enjoy this with a side of fragrant jasmine rice.

Honey Ginger Chicken with Chickpeas

This is a warming and hearty dish.  Garbanzo beans (also known as chickpeas) have a delicious nut like taste and buttery texture. Chickpeas are an excellent source of protein, dietary fiber, folate and are one of the earliest cultivated vegetables.  While many people think of chickpeas as being beige in color, there are varieties that feature black, green, red and brown beans.   Chickpeas make a delicious dip known as hummus.  For other chickpea recipes, click here.

Serves 4
recipe from Woman & Home magazine
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4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon oil

For the marinade:
50g ginger, grated
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped
3 tablespoons runny honey
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 onion, sliced
1 yellow and 1 red pepper, sliced
2 teaspoon chili powder
400g tin chopped tomatoes
410g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
175ml (6oz.) vegetable or chicken stock

Score the chicken and put in a dish.  Mix the marinade ingredients together and pour over the chicken.  Cover and chill for 4 hours.  Heat the oven to 180c (350f).  Heat the oil in a flameproof casserole dish over a medium heat.  Remove chicken from the marinade and fry for 5 minutes until golden.  Remove from dish and set aside.  Add the onion and peppers to the dish and cook for 5 minutes, until soft.  Add the chili powder and cook for 2 minutes.  Then add the leftover marinade and cook for 1 minute.  Add the tomatoes, chickpeas and stock.  Bring to a boil.  Put the chicken on top, cover and cook in the oven for 20 minutes.  Divide the chicken and chickpeas between 4 bowls and serve with garnished rosemary sprigs.

The Culinary Chase's Note:  I think 3 tablespoons of honey was too sweet so next time I will adjust and only add 2 tablespoons.  Also, if the chicken breast is small, check timing as the chicken may dry out if you cook for the full 20 minutes.  Beautiful flavors and textures.

Mini Lamingtons

I first tried these delicious mini cakes when I lived in Hong Kong and it seemed that a lot of the coffee shops there sold them.  They are very addictive and it's been a couple of years since I last had one.  Lamingtons are named after Charles Cochrane-Baille, 2nd Baron Lamington, who served as Governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1901.  It was the Lamington's chef, Armand Gallad, who was called upon at short notice to provide something to feed unexpected guests. According to the Melbourne Age newspaper, Gallad cut up some left over French vanilla sponge cake baked the day before, dipped the slices in chocolate and set them in coconut (an ingredient not widely used in European cooking at that time). Lady Lamington's guests then asked for the recipe.  Ironically, Lord Lamington was believed to have hated the dessert that had been named in his honor, referring to them as "those bloody poofy woolly biscuits".  He obviously didn't have a sweet tooth!

Makes 16
recipe from Australian Good Taste
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300g (2 cups) plain flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
125g butter, at room temperature
155g (3/4 cup) caster sugar
2 eggs
125ml (1/2 cup) milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
170g (2 cups) moist coconut flakes

Chocolate Icing:
230g (1 1/2 cups) icing sugar, sifted
35g (1/3 cup) cocoa powder, sifted
10g butter
60-80ml (1/4 - 1/3 cup) boiling water

Preheat oven to 180c (350f).  Brush a square 20cm (8") cake pan with melted butter and line with non-stick baking paper.  Sift together the flour and baking powder.  Use an electric beater to beat the butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy.   Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add the flour mixture and milk to the egg mixture, in alternate batches, and fold to combine.  Fold in the vanilla.

Spoon into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.  Set aside to cool.  Cut into pieces.  To make the chocolate icing, in a medium bowl combine the icing sugar, cocoa powder, butter and enough water to make a runny consistency.  Dip the cake in the chocolate icing making sure to coat all sides and then dip in the coconut.  Set aside until set.

The Culinary Chase's Note:  A bit messy when dipping into the chocolate and then coconut but worth every bit of sticky effort.  Delectable!

Halifax Coffee Culture

For the love of coffee!!  Coffee is alluring, intoxicating and is the drink of choice for millions. It's one of the largest traded commodities in the world and plays a role in the lives of millions of people every day. There are two main species of coffee: coffea robusta and the Arabica bean. The robusta is low growing, fast producing, inexpensive and not very flavorful (used in canned or instant coffees). Arabica is grown at higher altitudes (1600m) or more. Cool evening temperatures slow the growth of the plant which allows complex sugars to develop. The Arabica bean is a hard, expensive bean and is prized by the specialty coffee industry. The coffee tree (an evergreen shrub) must grow for 5 years before it can produce on a yearly basis. This truly is a labor of love for the farmers.

The coffee scene in Halifax is amazing to say the least.  The population in the HRM is over 370,000 and is the largest city east of Québec and north of Boston.  There are 8 Starbucks, 9 Second Cups, and 30 Tim Hortons.  With these numbers in mind, one would think the market is saturated.  Think again!  Haligonians love a good cup of java and they love to support local coffee shops. And what's unique about these coffee shops is that they all roast their own beans.  After searching for a few placess to enjoy this tawny drink,  here's my list:

Coburg Coffee House (6085 Coburg Rd.) - cappuccino was good but the wait left a bad taste in my mouth.

Cabin Coffee (1544 Hollis St.) - cappuccino was a bit too hot but nice flavor, and plenty of food to choose from.

The Coastal Cafe (2731 Robie St.) - cappuccino had an almost choclately flavor, had a decent amount of foam and the crispy chicken, bacon, avocado, Havarti, and Ranch Wrap was delish!

Alterego's Coffee House (2193 Gottigen St.) - the organic cappuccino was good but too hot, soups and sandwiches are home made .

Just Us! Coffee (5896 Spring Garden Rd. plus 4 other locations) -  this coffee shop is one of my favorites!  The cappuccino is silky smooth and the ambience in this Victorian home is very welcoming.

Steve O Reno's (1536 Brunswick St. plus at the Farmer's Market and Robie St.) - another favorite of mine!  The shop is small but the atmosphere is fun, food is good and the cappuccino's are heavenly! They were voted Best espresso 2009 by The Coast and were written up in Frommer's.

Smiling Goat (1551 South Park St.) - a good cappuccino can certainly be found at this espresso bar.

Wired Monk (5147 Morris plus numerous other locations) - cool atmosphere in this lovely heritage building, cappuccino was very good, and food was scrumptious.

Two If By The Sea Cafe (66 Ochterloney St.) - there was a bit of a buzz surrounding the opening of this cafe which opened today.  My own curiosity brought me to the cafe and I had the most delectable, velvety cappuccino since Sant 'Eustachio in Rome!  I met Zane Kelsall, Master Barista and Tara MacDonald, Baker extraordinaire.  Today was just a taste of what is to come from this cafe.


The Culinary Chase's Note:  ‘Cappuccino’ is derived from the Italian word ‘Capuchin’. The Catholic Capuchin monks wear headdress that bear a likeness to the frothy layer of cappuccino.  I gauge a good coffee shop by how well the barista makes a cappuccino and you shouldn't have to wait a long time for one either!  That's just absurd considering it takes less than 20 seconds for a single espresso shot to come out of the machine.  A cappuccino should never be piping hot and it should have a smooth layer of frothed milk (not a mile high).  The crema (a light-colored top layer from the espresso shot) should be visible around the edge of the cup.