Foumami

I've been meaning to visit this kitschy spot since I read about it months ago in my daily ThrillList email. The self-proclaimed Asian sandwich bar has a creative menu of sandwiches and salads using many key Asian ingredients such as ginger, Wasabi, soy sauce and cilantro. While a few of the items seem a bit forced into the constraints of what would be considered "Asian," (Wasabi Caesar Salad, Asian Cobb), the majority of the menu is striking and unique.

When I glanced at the menu online, in preparation for my visit, I immediately knew that I needed to have an Iced Ginger Tea! I love beverages with ginger in them, and this one was absolutely no exception. The spiced bite of ginger flavor integrated with the sweetness of the tea is a definite winner! It was wonderfully refreshing on this warm day!

I opted for the Braised Beef Brisket sandwich as my lunch, and as soon as I could pay and step sideways to the pickup window, they had called my name! Now, that's some service! I unwrapped my meal, thinly sliced brisket, cooked to perfection (silky, smooth and falling apart) along with some cucumbers, scallions and cilantro sprigs, all wrapped in a flat bread similar to naan. It wasnt very large but it ended up being a hearty lunch for me and I was satisfied for the afternoon! The sandwiches also come with a pickle and potato chips...but I wished for something a bit more authentic as a side...some Kim Chee, or a small bowl of edamame would have been a really cool touch.

They offer many soups on their online menu, one or two of which are available each day. There were a few specific flavors that would certainly go back for (Wonton, Hot & Sour, String Bean Noodle), because they sound delicious. Other options include desserts such as shaved ice and cookies.

Foumami is located at 225 Franklin Street, in the Financial District of Boston. Check them out at their website, or call them (617-426-8858) to find out about those soup specials!

Cool fact of the day: In Japanese culture, umami is one of the five basic tastes with sweet, sour, bitter and salty.  In Japanese, it means "pleasant savory taste."

There's a New Sherpa in Town!

I'm always looking out for the newest culinary trend, or a great deal on a rare ingredient, or even, an ingredient I've never used before! This is why I am so excited about a website that was recently brought to my attention: FoodSherpa.

The website offers a daily deal on a specific food item, and some of the past deals are nothing to scoff at! Great prices on truffle oils, exotic teas and fancy dips and marinades is a very exciting prospect for me. I promise you I will be taking full advantage of this brilliant idea for a website.

I will make an effort to post the especially special deals on the blog, so that all of my faithful readers can take part, but I certainly suggest signing up for the free email-a-day so you can participate in this amazing concept!

The Sum of All It's Parts

I got home later then I planned today, and I will admit, I did not do a mise en place for tonight's dinner. I prepped as I cooked, I improvised, and I rushed...but dinner turned out pretty darn good, I must say. I cracked A Platter of Figs, and turned to the chapter I had initially added to my current menu. The title of this chapter: Salmon on My Mind. The menu featured in this chapter includes:

Fried Egg Soup

Wild Salmon with Vietnamese Cucumbers

Rose-Scented Strawberries

Unfortunately, I planned this menu awhile ago, and all the strawberries have been eaten...so I didn't make the dessert portion of this chapter. I did, however, manage to make both the soup and the salmon, accompanied by some white rice and the Vietnamese Cucumbers. While the majority of the recipes in this book are extremely labor-intensive, this one took about an hour, total, and that's nothing to complain about!

Each part of this menu went very quickly, and timed out perfectly so that everything finished at the same time. I love it when that happens! So as the title of this post describes, this menu really is the sum of all its parts. The salmon was simply seasoned with salt and pepper and drizzled with a little olive oil. It is supposed to bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, so I pre-heated the oven and put the salmon in. I felt that the preparation of the fish was a bit too simple, but it ended up working so well with all the other flavors. I will never doubt again! :)

I immediately set my rice-cooker so that it would be cooked at about the time I pulled the salmon out of the oven. Now that the things that take the longest are set to cookin', I had the time to throw together the other two components of this meal.

For the cucumbers, I used mini seedless cucumbers, and I did not peel them the way the recipe suggested. I like the crunch of a cucumber's skin, so I left it on, and tossed them with some fish sauce, julienned ginger, palm sugar, salt and pepper. After 5 minutes of sitting, I mixed in the juice of 2 limes as well as some chopped jalapenos and put it in the fridge until dinnertime.

At this point, there's about 12 minutes left on the timer for the salmon, so I better get that soup going. I poured some chicken broth into a pot (the author HIGHLY recommends making your own broth, but really...I did not have that kinda time today...so I hope he forgives me). I brought the broth to a simmer and added some thinly sliced garlic cloves, and a few minutes after that, some minced ginger. While the broth was simmering, I fried up a few eggs for the bottom of our soup bowls. It's an interesting concept, and it turned out to be a yummy one, at that. At the last minute of cooking, I added some bok choy ribbons to the pot and allowed them to wilt slightly.

The cucumbers were garnished with chopped mint and scallions directly before serving, and the soup was also decorated with scallions...a generous handful! I did not follow the directions in these recipes to the letter, by any means, but I think I got the gist of the concept, and produced a delicious (and healthy) meal in about an hour. The meal was hearty, fulfilling and delicious, and while I didn't follow my regular practice in the kitchen, things turned out okay. And the clean-up for this one was totally easy, so score one more point there!

Tip of the day: Read through an entire recipe before you start preparing it. If you can anticipate what comes next, you can produce a complicated meal with less stress, and in less time than if you really had to go step-by-step through a recipe. 

Marinated Grilled Flank Steak with BLT-Smashed Potatoes

Tonight, I opted for a recipe from the Food Network Favorites cookbook. I really like this book because it showcases a few wonderful recipes from each of the stars on the Food Network. This specific one is by Rachel Ray. For the most part, I'm not really thrilled with Rachel's recipes, but I have to say that the BLT-Smashed Potatoes in this recipe were just...awesome! The flank steak was, well...just a flank steak, but those potatoes made the dish! You can find the recipe here.

Here's what you'll need:

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon grill seasoning blend

1 teaspoon smoked paprika, ground chipotle chile power, or ground cumin

2 teaspoons hot sauce

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus additional for drizzling

2 pounds flank steak

2 1/2 pounds small, red skin new potatoes

1 leek, trimmed of tough top

4 slices thick-cut smoky bacon (I used thick-cut pancetta instead.)

1 3/4 cup chicken broth

1 vine-ripe tomato, seeded and chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup sour cream

The first step was to marinade the flank steak. Mix the garlic, steak seasoning, smoked paprika, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and vinegar in a bowl with a whisk. Slowly whisk in the 1/3 cup of olive oil until everything is blended together nicely. Once the meat is placed in a shallow dish, pour the marinade over the top, distribute it evenly, and allow to sit for at least 15 minutes.

When you are ready to start cooking, this one goes pretty quickly so get all your burners going. Place the potatoes in a pot of water, boil and cook for about 12-15 minutes. At the same time, heat your grill pan and place the flank steak on the heat. It should cook for about 7 minutes on each side.

While the potatoes and flank steak are cooking, drizzle olive oil in your pan and cook your bacon (or pancetta) until cooked through, and crispy, and then add the leeks, allowing them to wilt in the heat.

Everything should finish up around the same time. Once the steak is done cooking, remove it from the heat and allow it to rest for about 10 minutes. I opted to tent mine with aluminum foil as well. Drain your potatoes and then return them to the pot. Start smashing them, using the chicken broth to help with the job. Add the bacon (or pancetta), leeks, and some chopped tomato to the potatoes and season with salt and pepper to your liking. Slice the steak against the grain to avoid chewiness. Although I did do that, mine was still a tad on the chewy side. I'd say maybe it needed to cook a minute less, but really, it was on the rarer side as it was, so I'm not sure how to fix it...possibly a thinner flank steak would not have been as problematic. 

Fix-It of the Day: I've stressed the importance of tenderizing meat to obtain a more succulent dish. While I don't normally tenderize flank steak, I think I should have done that with this one. It was thicker in some spots than others, and I think that contributed immensely to the chewiness of the meat. A little tenderizing could have turned this one around, for sure!

Flavor Infusion

Let's get creative! A great way to add your own touch to something is by using infusion. You can infuse all sorts of liquids, with all sorts of flavors, to add your own flair to an otherwise ordinary recipe. Oils, vinegars and even water can act as a blank canvas for your creations!

from Flickr - by quinn.anya

A really refreshing treat for the summer is to add slices of cucumbers and lemons to a pitcher of water and allow it to sit in the fridge for a few hours. When you have a glass, you get a chilled glass of wonderful flavor, rather than a plain glass of water.

from Flickr - by erik boralv

Try infusing some chili peppers in olive oil for a few days before using it to sear some scallops or shrimp, for an added bite to your seafood. To infuse an oil like this, you can do it over time, in a shelf-stable container. You can also heat the oil with the flavors to speed up the process. Herbs and garlic also make a great infusion for oil. I've never tried this, but I'm thinking a scallion-infused rice vinegar might be de-lish-ous!

Do you have ideas or suggestions? Share with us!

Summertime and the Livin's Easy

Today marks the first day of summer...and that means lots of culinary-related awesomeness. Farmers markets have started to spring up, and the booths have begun to fill with green and lush vegetation. Invitations to BBQs and backyard luaus have started to roll in, and the warm weather leans us towards refreshing salads, and maybe a few frozen cocktails! The livin's easy in the summertime, ain't it!?

from Flickr - by CubaGallery

In honor of summer, I thought I'd provide you with a delicious drink, to be enjoyed on a patio, terrace or porch...because what's better than a refreshing drink in the sunshine? My favorite summertime cocktail is the Sidecar. The drink's origins date back to World War I, and the Ritz Carlton Paris has laid claim to the recipe.

3/4 ounce Cognac (or Bourbon)

3/4 ounce orange liqueur (Cointreau, Grand Marnier or Triple Sec)

3/4 ounce lemon juice 

Served straight up in a martini glass, this drink is definitely meant to be sipped. It's strong, but very refreshing, and totally delicious!

from Wikipedia

Tip of the day: A lot of cocktail recipes describe their measurements in "jiggers." A jigger is 1.5 fluid ounces, or about one shot. Don't be afraid to use a shot glass to measure your drinks out until you get the hang of a recipe. Too heavy a hand can end poorly, and a light pour will have you making drinks more often then you planned!

Happy West Virginia Day!

I was scanning the web, looking for a topic of inspiration for tonight's post, and stumbled upon the fact that today is West Virginia Day! This brought me to another bright idea: A new recurring post on the blog! When it's a state's special day, I will feature a dish from that state in my post. This will not only help us all learn more about our good ol' USA, but the things we want to eat when we visit new places. This is definitely in keeping with the Wiki Project I wrote about last week, mycitycuisine.org. I tried searching for a list of all the state days but can't seem to find one, so I'm going to need your help! Comment on this post with your state's special day, so I can be sure to include it in this series!

from Flickr - by fsmphoto

Supposedly invented in 1927 in Fairmont, WV, miners began bringing pepperoni rolls to lunch with them. These soft bread rolls were baked with pepperoni inside, and could also include cheese, tomato sauce and banana peppers. Apparently, they are popular throughout the state, and can be found in convenience stores, bakeries, and local restaurants. I really couldn't post this entry without the inclusion of this very special website, The Pepperoni Roll Homepage. This website is amazing! It's got recipes, restaurants that serve pepperoni rolls, and it even tells us that in Virginia, pepperoni rolls are illegal because the meat is baked inside the roll. Crazy, right!?

from Flickr - by Author Erica Rivera

Another thing I learned while researching West Viriginia is that the ramp originated here. I wrote briefly about ramps in a past post, I believe, but they are seriously delicious, and now that I know that there are ramp festivals held in the state of West Virginia, I have a feeling I will be making a concerted effort to attend. The ramp is a wild leek that looks a bit like a scallion, with a very potent scent that is quite reminiscent of garlic. They are delicious in salads, but the season for them in Massachusetts is a short one. I tried to find them for a recipe on this current menu, but alas, I think I just missed them. I also found a website all about ramps, including recipes and some of the festival dates. Richwood, West Virginia is the Capital of Ramp Country!

from Flickr - by Harris Graber

I think we learned a lot about West Virginia today! I had no idea that ramps originated in this state, and I would definitely like to try one of those pepperoni rolls sometime...reminds me a bit of a calzone, no? So all you readers out there, send me info on your state's special day, and tell me what delicacy you couldn't live without. I'll try and keep up with the states and feature them as the days pass!

Tip of the day: When working with a new ingredient, do your research. Read about it, check out some other recipes to see what flavors tend to meld well with it, and most importantly, taste it. Don't throw something into a pot without knowing what flavor you are throwing in there. That's the best way to broaden your palate!