Labor(less) day

We will be closed Monday, September 1st for Labor Day. All other days are regular hours.

So come in Sunday for your picnic needs!

Thanks, Forward Foods

Are You Ready For The Footballs?

Glorious football. An intricate strategic game with periodic bursts of energy, it begins here in Switzer-land SATURDAY. Uniquely American, it dominates many people’s conversations in the fall (and for the hardcore their winter, spring and summer). Every fan, pro or college, has their rituals on game day– the things that make the game more fun or make your team win.

One of the rituals is food. If at the game, it’s either in the form of a nasty hot dog and watery Coke from the concession stand or tailgate barbecue tended over in a more caring way. If at home, food is usually snacky style with chips and dips thrown in your mouth while watching a play and then five replays of that one play. Whichever, it’s time to turn it up and show your respect for the Great Game with better food.

We’re the place for your tailgate/game day needs. That’s right. You want proof? Well, no less an authority than The Ultimate Tailgater recommended us in his book. High praise indeed.

You need our Amylu Chicken Sausages or Framani Sausages on the grill. You need to wrap Nueske’s Smoked Bacon around everything on your plate to make it better. You need one of our thirty mustards to take your burger to excellence. You need one of our forty kinds of chips. And of course you need cheeses to melt or just to eat. See you then!

Fresh Figs For Forward Foods Friends

A fresh fig is such a wonderful thing to savor. An earthy aroma and the perfect mild sweetness are contained in each one. We just got in organic Brown Turkey figs. They’re milder than Black Mission figs and are best fresh. Have some with fresh goat cheeses, nuts, or even added to your cereal.

Whatever you do, get them now because their shelf-lives are very short and need to be eaten soon!

Watch the opening ceremony of the Olympics!

(this message is from our superawesome designer Matt Goad, a man whose words should be heeded)

Hello friends, I felt compelled to tell everyone to make a point and watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics tonight at 6:30 central on NBC.

My good friend Jennifer Ma, former OKC resident (originally from Shanghai) is part of the seven person team that designed the opening ceremony! She’s an amazing artist and designer and she’s worked on this for the past five years. Her former boss, a renowned Chinese artist, works in gun powder and will be a significant part of the show. http://www.caiguoqiang.com.

So congrats Jennifer, it doesn’t get any bigger than this!

Forward’s For’s Six - Dog Days Edition

Ah, summer in Norman. The place is emptier, the pace slower, and the heat ungodly. We continue on in the dog days and here are a few things that keep us going.

• Fish Tacos at Pepe Delgados - I hesitate to write about this new Saturday special since they’ve run out twice before we got there, but I have to report. This is the best fish taco ever. Mahi mahi with mango, cabbage and a nice sauce. Perfect summer fare.
• The Chief Drive In - Just a short drive south of Norman on the edge of Chickasha is the Chief Drive In, showing double or triple features of first run movies. A root beer float under the Oklahoma sky with cows a few hundred feet away is nice, but while watching The Dark Knight, the experience is transcendent.
• Spiced Coladas The NYT had a feature on blender drinks in June and we’ve been enjoying them (too much) since. The spiced rum, fresh lemon and lime juice and bitters cut down on the cloying sweetness of Piña Coladas. It’s the perfect summer drink. The amount of syrup in the recipe makes far more than what they say it does. Invite people over (and double the amount of rum the recipe calls for).
• Hapi Snacks Crazy Mix - A nice salty and spicy mix to wash down with your Coladas. And it’s fun to say the full name.
• Wizard! - A versatile (can be played with 3-6 players) and very fun trick taking card game. We have spent a lot of time playing it with friends and family. We have decks here by request. We just never can figure out where to display it.

You’ve Got To Concentrate

written by Suzy

I’ve been meaning to start writing about the stuff we have at Forward Foods for quite some time. Where to begin (in addition to a regular case of writer’s block) has always stumped me. So I’ll just start with what I have on my counter right now that I am particularly fond of: Rustichella D’Abruzzo pastes and concentrated sauces. Basil paste, Red Pepper paste, and Sage pesto are three that we regularly carry. They come in small little jars with plain labels and therefore don’t offer much insight as to what one might do with them, but they are one of the most versatile pantry items in the store.

Take for example the basil paste. A tablesoon added to any soup or sauce adds a fresh taste of basil when the leaves aren’t readily available. I love having this on hand to add to anything where that sweet herbaceous basil flavor is welcome, though I wouldn’t use it on its own as a sauce – it’s pretty much just straight forward basil, but it complements other ingredients nicely.

On the other hand, the sage pesto is blended with cream and olive oil and is really rich and full. I’ve used the whole jar as a sauce for pumpkin ravioli, with nothing else added save for a small bit of the pasta cooking water and the obligatory sprinkling of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. I also added a couple tablespoons recently to a very spur of the moment desperation quick sauce I had to come up with after I had already thrown my frozen tamales in the microwave to defrost/cook (leaving the store at 8:30 often leads to the need for such convenience foods – not that I’m apologizing for them!). The sauce I threw together was 1/3 cup vegetable broth, 2 scant teaspoons of our Mahjoob spicy sun dried tomato spread (not Rustichella’s, an ingredient worthy of its own future post), 2 tablespoons of sage pesto and 2 ounces of Vermont Butter and Cheese peppered chevre (expired of course – that’s how the cheesemonger rolls). I simmered and whisked this concoction while the tamales took their six minutes in the microwave. I threw in a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil at the end because, heck, it was just sitting there, along with a little salt and pepper. Super dinner superfast! I’ve since poured this sauce over rigatoncini with roasted beets and carrots, and also over leftover cheese grits from The Classen Grill (another rhapsodic post could easily appear from that wonderful Oklahoma City institution).

A look at the ingredients of the Red Pepper paste offers a little intrique into this pspicy sauce. The addition of cashews and extra virgin olive oil makes for a creamy and rich consistency, while garlic and white wine vinegar move along the piquancy of the roasted red peppers. I’ve added this paste atop Indian mung beans and red rice, where it worked just fine with those currylicious spices, but it makes a dandy addition to a plain tiomato sauce for pasta. This was a sauce I myself had ignored (and I don’t ignore very many food products!) until the fabulous Allan from the company that brings us Rustichella D’Abruzzo informed me that it’s his own secret weapon in his kitchen.

These are some high quality ingredients. Even though their sizes are tiny, a little goes a long way, and once they’re opened they have a nice long life in the fridge, particularly if you pack them tightly in their adorably reusable jars and add a layer of olive oil on top for preservation’s sake.

Lunch at Forward Foods

From 11 to 3, Tuesday to Saturday, Forward Foods has a lunch menu. We offer sandwiches, soups, quiche and Okie Straw Hats (veggie chili made with heirloom beans served over corn chips with Grafton cheddar and sour cream).

The soups, sandwiches and quiches vary day to day but here’s today’s menu as an example:

QUICHE: Broccoli and Gruyere (slice or slice with small salad)

SOUP: French Onion or Veggie Chili

GRILLED SANDWICHES:
Mahon, ripe tomato and fresh thyme on black olive bread
Reuben with sauerkraut, housemade Thousand Island dressing, spicy mustard and Gruyere (choice of turkey pastrami or tempeh)

COLD SANDWICHES:

Veggie - avocado, cherry tomatoes, carrots, cucumber, pea greens, Kalamata olives, green olive tapenade and Vegenaise on 12 grain levain bread

Italian - salami, ham, prosciutto, aged provolone, fresh tomato, arugula, sundried black olives, mustard vinaigrette on fresh baguette

See you soon!

Happy Fourth of July!

Put your right hand over where they told you where your heart is and repeat after me:

It is the fourth of July.

The day our forefathers declared independence from the tyranny of unjust rule.

And today I declare my OWN independence.

I declare independence from rubbery hot dogs made from who knows what made by people who don’t care about taste. Instead, I’ll grill chicken sausages.

I declare independence from mealy and gummy white bread with no taste. I’ll have some Farrell bread, thank you.

I declare independence from all foods not made with care or skill. I will eat a wonderful meal with family and friends today.

And the home of the brave.

HAPPY FOURTH!

A Dinner for Summer

Can you hear that? Listen. It’s a distinct absence of people yelling WHOOOOOOO! That means one thing in Norman– school’s out and summer is here.

Summer here in Oklahoma can be frightfully hot. And when it’s hot, cooking and heating up the kitchen is the thing you want to do the least. And going out to eat sometimes just doesn’t seem so desirable either.

A perfect summer meal is simple: a few cheeses (we usually do one soft, one gouda and one other), some olives, fruit and crackers all spread out for noshing. A filling complete meal with minimal effort and no cooking is done! We’ll be here for all your food needs. And we cook lunch. For you.

New Page for You

We put up our suggested pairings. Just click on “suggested pairings” or the tab above.