Batten Ramen

From Fusion Meals

Miso Ramen

From Fusion Meals

Batten Ramen

From Fusion Meals

Fried Squid

Background:

Flora and I had lunch at one of our favorite ramen restaurants in the area.  The restaurant is Batten Ramen in Fort Lee, NJ.  She had the miso ramen, and I had the signature dish - Batten ramen.  

While the dishes are similar, there are important differences to the ramen aficionado.  

Both noodle dishes have the slices of braised pork, bamboo shoots, thinly sliced seaweed and 1/2 soy braised egg.  I prefer the Batten ramen as it has a shoyu (soy sauce) based soup and the noodles are the straight "hand-pulled" variety.

This time around, the sliced braised pork was a bit "off".  It was as if someone had left it in the fridge a day too long past its due date.  While still edible, the pork had a funky taste.  It was just within the acceptable limits though, and we didn't bother to send it back.

I enjoyed the fried squid tentacles though Flora thought that they were too tough/chewy.

All-in-all, it was a rather mediocre meal due to the slow service and issue noted with the freshness of the sliced braised pork.  I hope that this is a rare lapse in quality on Batten ramen's behalf or we'll soon have to patronize other ramen restaurants - however reluctantly.

Banana Bread

From Fusion Meals

Banana Bread

Prep:

• 2 extremely ripe bananas - peeled and mashed (roughly 1 cup)
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 stick of butter softened/melted
• 1 TS vanilla
• 2/3 cup of sugar, light brown sugar or brown sugar (each imparts a different flavor)
• 1 TS salt
• 1 TS baking powder
• 1 cup of all-purpose flour

Flora Birthday Cake (Strawberry Shortcake)

Strawberry Shortcake

Beef Noodle Soup (牛肉麵)

From Fusion Meals

Beef Noodle Soup (牛肉麵)

Beef Noodle Soup (牛肉麵)

• 1 lb Beef flank (cut to chunks)
• 1 cup diced turnip
• 2-3 large slices ginger
• 2 pods star anise
• 4-5 pods dried chili
• 2 TS salt
• 4 TB soy sauce
• 2-3 TB rice wine
• 1 TB rice wine vinegar
• 3 cups water
• 2 stalks of scallion (for garnish)

Egg Salad Sandwich

Egg salad sandwich - with endorsement by Flora

Flora's Birthday Cake

From Fusion Meals

Green Tea Cake from Parisienne Bakery, Fort Lee, NJ

From Fusion Meals

From Fusion Meals

Green Tea Cake from Parisienne Bakery in Fort Lee, NJ

Pan Seared Porterhouse Steak, Sauteed Asparagus and Potato Salad

From Fusion Meals

From Fusion Meals

Background:

I had a simple yet delicious meal of pan seared Porterhouse steak, asparagus sauteed in butter and potato salad (from yesterday - see previous post) tonight.  The steak tonight was cooked medium rare and was quite tasty - flavorful and tender.  This meal was paired with a South African Cabernet Sauvignon - also very decent.

Prep:

• 1 Porterhouse steak ~ approx. 1 lb. (medium to thick cut)
• 1 bunch of asparagus
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Butter

Cooking:

Steak

• Bring steak up to room temperature by taking steak from fridge at least 1/2 hour or 1 hour before cooking -- Very Important!  If steak is not brought up to room temperature prior to cooking, it will cook unevenly resulting in nearly raw center and overcooked surface
• Season both sides liberally with freshly cracked black pepper and salt
• Add oil to pan and heat pan on high until nearly smoking
• Sear steak ~ 3-4 minutes on each side (turn only once)
• Remove steak from pan and let rest ~ 5-10 min. before serving

Asparagus

• In the same pan, add 1 TB butter
• Add asparagus
• Season lightly with salt (remember, the pan already has residual seasoning from the steak)
• Cook at medium heat for ~ 5 min. or until cooked through