Tostado Sandwich Bar

Tostado

Tostado is a small Dominican sandwich bar located in Roslindale, MA. Tostado it's also known for having the best pressed sandwiches in the area. This place has really good pressed sandwiches Dominican style, just the way I like them. They also offer a very special kind of smoothies which goes very well with any of their sandwiches. The place has been renovated in the past year, to make your experience even better. 

Some of the options you will find on their menu are sandwiches such as, real Dominican, Caribbean chicken and their famous Tostado Club, as well as, a  variety fresh tropical fruits smoothies. For about $10 or less you can enjoy a delicious sandwich with a fresh smoothie. The only downside of the place is that they do not take credit cards, so don't forget to bring cash when you visit this place. 

Most Popular Sandwiches:

Menu Display

• Tostado Club
• 3 cheese Melt
• Havana Cubano
• Caribbean Chicken
• Real Dominican 

 

Smoothies:

• Papaya/ Lechoza
• Mamei / Zapote
• Passion Fruit/ Parcha
• Granadillo
• Pineapple/ pina

And more....

Tostado Club Sandwich: 

• Today I tried the Tostado Club, which is one of my favorites. It included delicious chicken, pork, ham, cheese, tomato, ketchup, mayonnaise and onions. 

Location:

3880 Washington St
(between Toll Gate Way & Brookway Rd)
Roslindale, MA 02131
(617)- 522-0578
Open 7 days a week

More information can be found in this Link

Japanese Beef and Scallion Rolls

Ingredients

• 12 small scallions, trimmed to 6-inch lengths
• 1 (1-lb) piece flank steak (roughly 6 to 7 inches square)
• 1/4 cup sake (Japanese rice wine)
• 1/4 cup mirin* (Japanese sweet rice wine)
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

• Special equipment: a meat pounder; kitchen string

Prepare scallions:
Blanch scallions in a pot of boiling salted water 45 seconds, then transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking. Transfer scallions to paper towels to drain and pat dry.

Prepare beef:
Cut flank steak with the grain holding a large knife at a 30-degree angle to cutting board into 12 (1/8-inch-thick) slices (1 1/2 to 2 inches wide). Arrange slices 1 inch apart on a very lightly oiled sheet of parchment paper or plastic wrap, then cover with another very lightly oiled sheet of parchment or plastic wrap (oiled side down) and pound slices with flat side of meat pounder until about 1/16 inch thick.

Assemble rolls:
Arrange 3 beef slices side by side on a fresh sheet of plastic wrap, overlapping slices slightly to form a 6-inch square with short ends of slices nearest you. Sprinkle square lightly with a pinch of salt, then lay 3 scallions (with some white parts at both ends) across slices at end closest to you and tightly roll up meat around scallions to form a log, using plastic wrap as an aid. Tie log with kitchen string at ends and where meat slices overlap. Make 3 more negimaki rolls in same manner.

Marinate rolls:
Stir together sake, mirin, soy sauce, and sugar in a small bowl until sugar is dissolved.

Put rolls in a small baking dish and pour marinade over them, turning to coat. Marinate, loosely covered with plastic wrap, turning occasionally, 15 minutes.

Cook rolls:
Heat a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot, 1 to 2 minutes. While skillet is heating, lift rolls out of marinade, letting excess drip off, and pat dry. (Save marinade.) Add oil to skillet, swirling to coat bottom, then cook rolls, turning with tongs, until well browned on all sides, 4 to 5 minutes total for medium-rare. Transfer rolls to cutting board. Add marinade to skillet and boil until slightly syrupy, 1 to 2 minutes, then remove from heat.

Cut off and discard strings, then cut each roll crosswise into 6 slices. Pour sauce into a shallow serving dish and arrange negimaki in sauce.

Ingredients 101

We posted a lot of recipes on the blog without even considering that some of you never cooked before.

For our recipes a lot of things are needed. Many times, I got discouraged while reading through Martha Stewart recipes.....  and gave up. We really want to avoid that feeling...

In order to help you. I thought it might be good to make a list of the necessary ingredients needed to cook. I promise I will not add fancy ingredients such as 4 spices from Tahiti that I saw in Stewart recipe. By the way where to find such ingredient?!!

 

Here is a list of the basic ingredients you need in your food pantry. 

Flour, sugar, oil, vinegar, soy sauce, salt, pepper. It's the basic!!!

In addition, it might be good to add nutmeg, curry powder, paprika, basil, rosemary, chili powder and cayenne pepper. Finally for the ones who like baking, we need baking powder, extract of vanilla bean, corn starch.

Next time you go to the grocery shopping buy what is missing from the list, then you'll handle every recipe.

Bon Appetit !!!!!

Destination Brunch: MASA – South End

MASA is definitely one of the highlights of Boston’s South End. With a Southwestern influence, everything on their menu is fresh and full of flavor. MASA has a specious dining area as well as a vibrant bar scene with an extensive cocktail menu. The ambience is fun and the staff is very attentive. By far, MASA is my favorite place for brunch in the city. Their brunch is not only delicious but they have the BEST DEAL in town! Every weekend, in addition to the full brunch menu, MASA offers the Brunch Fiesta. For only $7.95 you get two-course brunch, complimentary coffee or tea and homemade corn breads.

   

MASA starts you off with a basket of homemade breads. The bread basket contains different types of delicious corn breads accompanied with a trio of spreads: butter with honey and molasses, chipotle cranberry, and jalapeno apricot.

Fresh Fruits with Granola and Yogurt

For the first course, my two favorites are the Fresh Fruits with granola and yogurt and the Caramelized Plantain Empanada. 

Caramelized Plantain Empanada

The empanada has a flakey yet doughy crust and is stuffed with plantains. It comes with a sweet maple sauce that gives it a perfect sweet taste.

For the second course, my favorites are the Huevos Rancheros and the Santa Fe Style Eggs Benedict. 

Huevos Rancheros

The Huevos Rancheros includes, black beans on the bottom, then some homemade soft tortillas, 2 eggs and on top, some cotija cheese and salsa.  

The Santa Fe Style Eggs Benedict includes, two poached eggs on top of two freshly baked biscuit and avocado all smothered in a deliciously spicy hollandaise sauce. Accompanied with Pico de Gallo salsa and sautéed potatoes. 

Eggs Benedict

Next time you are going out for brunch, try MASA and let me know what you think. 

http://www.masarestaurant.com/boston/index.html

Turkey chow mein

With Thanksgiving over, if you still have some of that turkey left why not use it to substitute chicken or beef for chow mein. Turkey is already full of flavor when it was made for Thanksgiving so it cuts down the extra steps needed to marinade it.

Ingredients

1 cup of bean sprouts

1 red bell pepper (chopped)

1/2 onion (peeled and chopped)

1 clove garlic (peeled and chopped)

1 stalk of celery (cut)

1/2 cup of chicken broth

1 tablespoon of oyster sauce

4 tablespoon of vegetable oil

3 cups of leftover cooked turkey

2 cups of packaged chow mein noodles you can find at any asian grocery store or the international isle.

Heat up a wok or pan and add the vegetable oil for stir frying. Stir fry the bell pepper, onion, garlic and celery. Add the turkey and bean sprouts after. Use more oil if needed. Chicken broth and then oyster sauce. Stir it around some more to let it fully cook then add the noodles. Mix everything well and serve. Now you have turkey chow mein!

Thanksgiving Leftover Casserole

     As the Thanksgiving weekend comes to an end we reflect on the things we are truly thankful for. Some may look into the refrigerator and notice there is one thing they aren't thankful for, which are the left overs in the fridge. What will you ever do will all that left over meat, potatoes, etc.? Make a boring turkey sandwich. Well, have no fear here is a great recipe that will help clear some space in your fridge and fill up the space you have in your stomach.

Ingredients

     -5 Tablespoons of Butter (need to separate them 3 tablespoons/2 tablespoons)

     -2 Tablespoons of all purpose flour

     -1/4 Teaspoon of Onion Powder

     -1 (12 ounce) fluid can of evaporated milk

     -1 cup of finely crushed herb seasoned dry bread stuffing mix 

     -1 cup of water

     -1/4 teaspoon of salt 

     -1/4 of ground black pepper

     -2 cups of leftover mashed potatoes 

     -1 cup cooked of diced turkey      

     -1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

    -Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees and grease an 9x13 inch baking dish

    -In a saucepan melt the 3 tablespoon of butter on low heat. Blend in the flour, the evaporated milk and water. Next season with the salt, pepper, and onion powder and stir for about 5 minutes.

    - Separately melt the 2 tablespoons of butter over low heat in a saucepan. Next blend in the dry stuffing mix.
    -Then place the turkey in a baking dish. Pour sauce over the turkey, then sprinkle the cheese over it then add on the mashed potatoes then top the mash potatoes with the stuffing mixture.
     - Then cook for 45 minutes
     - Then you are ready to serve (Serving size is about 8)

Miso soup recipe

The most common soup in Japan is miso soup which is seasoned with miso (soy bean paste). As typical Japanese-style meals include a bowl of miso soup, making miso soup is the basic of Japanese cooking.

Basic Steps for Making Miso Soup:

1. Prepare dashi soup stock in a pan and bring to a boil.
2. Add hard ingredients and cook until softened.
3. Add soft ingredients and heat for a short time.
4. Scoop out some dashi soup from the pan and dissolve miso paste in the soup.
5. Gradually return the moistened miso in the dashi soup and stir gently.
6. Turn off the heat before the soup boils. Add green vegetables.

The flavor of miso soup varies depending on the type of miso, soup stock, and ingredients. It's best to choose your favorite type of miso and ingredients. In fact, several different kinds of miso soup is served daily in Japanese homes.

Common Ingredients for Miso Soup:

Tofu, potato, onion, daikon radish, wakame seaweed, clams, abura-age (deep fried tofu), green onion, green peas, cabbage, carrots, and lots more.

Mangu/Mashed Plantains

Mangu

Hope you all had a nice thanksgiving yesterday. I know there is many food left over from yesterday, and you must asking yourself what to do with it. Today's recipe i know its a little heavy, but its one of the top choices Dominican culture plate. I personally like with cheese sticks or fried eggs, but some will prepared with the top most ingredients: Salami, white cheese sticks, onions.

Origin of "Mangu":

A little history the origin of mangu started back in 1916 when the Americans invaded the Dominican Republic, afterwards the soldiers would go into town. Then one day one of the soldiers wanted to taste some of the mashed plaintains they saw the locals eat, when they tasted it they said "Man this is good" and pointing at it they said in short "man good!" the local thought that the name of the mashed plaintains in English was "mangu".

  
Ingredients:

•  Plantains
• 1-2 eggs
• 4-6 Salami slices in small pieces
• 4 tablespoons of butter
• 2 tablespoons of oil                          
• 1 tablespoon of vinegar
• 1 cup of cold water
• Salt 
• 1 large onion

Directions:

1. Peel the plantains and cut them in half. Put the plantain in a pot with water and boil adding two tablespoons of salt to the mix. When the plantains are tender turn off the heat.
2. While the plantains are boiling, heat two tablespoons of oil in a pan. Saute the onions, along salami, add the salt and the vinegar and save it. Scramble the eggs.
3. Take the plantains out of the water once tender and proceed to mash them with a fork. Add the butter and cold water and keep mashing until the is very smooth. Top it off with the onions, eggs, and cut pieces of salami.

Appetizer Rolls: Ham and Boursin

In France we don't celebrate Thanksgiving. I discovered this holiday when I moved to the U.S. I love particularly this time of the year because we meet with friends and family.

I'm hosting thanksgiving dinner this year. I want to surprise my friends with nice and easy dishes. Here is a fast and easy recipe to do, some "canapes" (appetizer) for Thanksgiving.

I love it! For a better presentation instead of using regular toothpick, you can use nice fancy ones as suggested in the picture below.

What you need:

8 Slides of ham
1 Boursin
Toothpicks

How to do it :

Spread the boursin on ham as shows below

Roll the slide of ham and cut in pieces every 1.5 inches. To maintain the roll, finish the work by picking the toothpick in the center.

Eh voila!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Vegetable Soup

Since we are on Thanksgiving week, I thought I would post an easy and delicious recipe you can cook to share with your family. This vegetable soup is the ideal appetizer for Thanksgiving dinner. It is tasty yet light so you don't lose your appetite for the main course.

Although we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in Paraguay, I wanted to share this recipe since it reminds me of my family. Growing up, I ate this soup almost every day as an appetizer before lunch. Since I moved out of my parents’ house, I try to make the soup at least once a year. Now, every time I eat it, it transports me back in time to my childhood and teenage years like in the movie Ratatouille, remember? It only took one bite of ratatouille for Anton Ego, the restaurant critic, to be transported back to his childhood when his own mother made the stew for him. It feels nice to be able to taste, once in a while, those flavors that remind us of special times in our life.  HAPPY THANKSGIVING! 

Note: this recipe serves 4. If you want to cook for more people, use more vegetables and water.
Ingredients 
1 piece of squash
1 tomato
2 carrots
1 green bell pepper *
1 onion **
parsley
fresh parmesan cheese

* since I only wanted to make 4 servings, I used a small piece of pepper but you would normally use 1 whole bell pepper if you are cooking for more people.
** I did not have onion when I made this soup but I will normally use 1/2 or 1 whole depending on the number of servings. You could also use green onions instead.

On a pan, boil the vegetables on 2 cups of water. When the hard vegetables (carrots and squash) are soft, turn the heat off and let it cool down. Next, pour the vegetables and the water in a blender and blend everything until it looks just like in the picture.

Pour your soup back in the pan and bring it to a boil. You can add more water to the soup depending on how thick you like it.

Finally, add fresh grated cheese and enjoy! 

Beef Lo Mein

A classic Beef Lo Mein you can find at any Asian restaurant. They're also very easy to make!
You can always substitute beef for chicken or use any type of noodles of your choice.

Ingredients
8 ounces of Chinese egg noodles
3 cups of broccoli (chopped)
3/4 pound of flank steak
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
1/2 cup of chicken broth
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 teaspoons of sesame oil
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons of minced garlic
2 teaspoons of minced ginger
1/4 cup of chopped green onions


Boil noodles till they are tender. Drain and put aside
Marinade the beef and oyster sauce in a small bowl and let sit for about 10 minutes for the beef to absorbed the sauce.
In a separate bowl, combine chicken broth, soy sauce and sesame oil.
Heat up a wok and add vegetable oil. Add broccoli, garlic, ginger and green onion first to cook for about 30 seconds then add the beef and cook about a minute. Then finish off with the sauce and noodles and toss around until sauce thickens and you know its ready to be served.

Maryland Crab Cakes

So when I was thinking about what recipe I should post for you all this time, I realized that you all need an american seafood recipe. Seeing as I was in Baltimore, Maryland I thought of this recipe for Crab. Here is the recipe I hope you all enjoy and can taste it for yourself.

Ingredients

     1/2 Pound of Crab Meat (Lump)

     1/2 teaspoon of Celery Seed

     1 Tablespoon of Mustard

     1 Tablespoon of Mayo

     1 Teaspoon of Black Pepper

     12 -16 Salteen Cracks

     1 Egg

Directions

      First clean the crab meat and take out any shells

      Then combine all of the ingredients and form into a patties

      Then fry until golden brown

 This should serve about 8 patties, and finally enjoy!

Fried Plantains/Tostones

I would say that fried plantains (or tostones) is one of many favorites breakfast dishes for Dominicans. It's easy to make and can be served with fried eggs. Even though, salami is a another good choice too. Fried plantains  also can be a compliment in almost any dish that you eat on a daily basis in the Dominican Republic. In my experience, the hardest part of making tostones is peeling the plantain. However, spraying the plantain with hot water for a minute or so can make your life easier. I personally like to eat tostones with ketchup, without it it's not the same for my personal taste. In addition, I used two plantains for this particular recipe, which serves only one person.

What You Need:

• Two plaintains
• Two eggs
• Salt
• Corn oil
• "Tostonera" this will used to crush precooked plantain     

Steps:

•  Heat up the oil

• Peel the plantains and cut it sideways. Try to make it even

Before

 

• Let the plantain take a slightly golden brown color before taking them out of the pan. If they start to turn too brown, they are been overcooked. 

After

               

                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                                  

• Let it cool down a little before flattening. You can use anything flat to smash the plantains down. The botton of a pan against a cutting board could work if you don't have a tostonera. 

 

• Once the plantains are pressed, start adding them back into the pan. (see step three). In this process make sure you do not let them cook too much as they might start to turn brown. Again, wait for the golden color. If they cook very rapidly, the oil might be too hot.

• Add salt, serve and enjoy !

Miso Nikomi Udon

A bowl of hot noodle soup is perfect for this weather.
Today I'm going to teach you how to stay warm with this bowl of Miso NIkomi Udon Soup.

Ingredients : (you can alway add differen meat as you desire )
280 g fresh udon noodles, uncooked
120 g chicken
4 small dried shiitake mushrooms (black mushrooms)
1 (65 g) package aburage (2 slices thinly sliced and fried tofu)
1 small burdock root (gobo root)
4 slices kamaboko (commercially available fish paste product)
4 hard-boiled eggs
2 green onions
160 g red miso
1400 ml dashi (Japanese soup stock)
200 ml milk
ground japanese brown pepper (sansho)


Directions:

1. Cut the chicken into small pieces and salt lightly.
2. Soak the shiitake in water until the tops (but not the stems) are soft.
3. Remove the stems and cook briefly in a small amount of water flavored with soy sauce and sugar, to flavor mildly; I would use about 1/4 cup water with 2 to 3 teaspoons each soy sauce and sugar.
4. Prepare the aburage by placing it in a metal sieve in the sink and pouring 1 to 2 cups boiling water over each side, being careful not to burn yourself.
5. This is to remove some of the oil.
6. Rinse in warm water, squeeze dry and cut into 3 by 1/2 cm rectangles.
7.Wash and scrape the gobo with the edge of a knife (the most flavor is just below the surface of the skin, so don't scrape too deeply; the scraped areas will darken almost immediately, this can't completely be helped), and cut into slivers, as if you are sharpening a pencil, into a bowl of water.
8. Cut the green onion into thin slices.
9. Peel the hard boiled eggs and slice horizontally.
10.Stir the miso and dashi together and strain.
11.Place miso mixture into a large pan; add the milk and just bring to a boil.
12. Immediately lower the heat to simmer.
13.Boil the udon in a lot of boiling water in a separate pan.
14.Stop cooking when the udon is still a little firm; drain and rinse under cold running water to remove starch.
15. Add the drained udon, chicken, drained shiitake, aburage, and gobo to the pan containing the simmering miso mixture, in this order.
16.When the udon and chicken are cooked through add the kamaboko and green onion and increase heat so that the soup will just boil up once more.
17. Remove from heat, divide into individual bowls, garnish with hard boiled egg slices and sprinkle on sansho.,

Last but not least, enjoy. stay warm