Tuesday, April 26, 2011

The Refinery

Hello everyone! Well Last Thursday Night Katie and I did our Date Night at a local Restaurant that I had heard about called the Refinery. http://www.thetamparefinery.com/ 
I had heard all sorts of great things about this little Gem in Seminole Heights just about on the corner of Florida and Hillsborough.  We actually made a reservation, even though it was Thursday night. They could have seated us without it but if you are going on the weekends or a special occasion with more than 4 diners I would make a reservation. I  believe that I counted 11 or 12 tables inside and then there is a second story balcony bar that has room for more but we didn't make it up that far.

This converted bungalow is truly a gem! With an ever changing menu (check every Thursday) a decent wine list and very knowledgeable staff, oh and a great chef this was a place that we will visit again.  An appetizer of Andouille Sausage Tourchon for Me and Katie had the Korean Barbecue Tostada and two main courses of Mangrove Snapper and the Roasted Chicken followed up by Ginger Vanilla Froyo and a Camino Rosco Terrine made for a splendid meal.

I am not spending a lot of time on the meal itself other than to say that it was great due to the menu change each week. I am sure that you will find something to your liking here and I will say that we will come back.

4 out of 5 !

Friday, April 22, 2011

In Search Of The Elusive Loaf!

Today's post is a bit more reminiscing than it is about anything current. A couple of years ago Katie and I were victims of the recession. An original plan to take our new born son Gage to Dublin to have him baptised turned into a two and a half month journey around Europe. Actually it turned into Patrick and Katie ate Europe. I think we both gained at least 15 lbs and thank goodness that we were walking all over places like Berlin, Vienna, Rome, Florence, Barcelona and Paris because without this bit of exercise I shutter to think what would have been the outcome.

(Some of my future Blogs will include pictures and some of the stories from our train/car journey across Europe)

Anyway, the main reason for today's blog is the lack of pure artistry that seems to be in the US or at least quite a large chuck of it when it comes to the art of baking a great baguette. Now I am not saying that in certain cities, certain restaurants that I have not had a good loaf of bread but I am talking as a whole I truly feel like "Oliver Twist" saying "Excuse me Sir Can I Have Some More", but replacing it with, "Excuse Me Sir Can I have a good one". It seemed that no matter what city Katie and I were in, finding good bread was not a problem. Especially in places like Florence and Rome, all over Spain and of course anywhere in France. Hey you can say that they are rude but they can bake a baguette.

I was watching one of my favorite shows the other day, Tony Bourdains, "No Reservations" and it was a rerun when he was back in Paris and he was at  Le Grenier a Pain.  This place actually won the best Baguette competition and I could see why. 4 am in the morning and there was a line out the door.  I am willing to say that there has never been a line out of the door at Publix or Sweetbay the two Grocery Stores here in Town. Katie and I ate at "The Refinery" last night (review to come in another blog) but there was a great Cuban bakery across the street and they definitely have a handle on the Cuban Bread and the Guava pastry's but we continue to look for the elusive Baguette.

When Katie and I were in Paris with her mom we had decided to go to Notre Dame and luck would have it they were having a Baguette Baking Competition. I was in heaven. A Baguette, some stinky Cheese and a bottle of Water for 3 Euros. Now that's what I am talking about.  It seemed that anytime you saw a normal French person walking through the streets with that beautiful, long, brown piece of loveliness under one arm or in hand with bits being torn off, eaten as they walk. What a great Lunch/Breakfast/Dinner that is.

So, I come back full circle and I continue the search around Tampa for my Baguette. Hopefully one Day I will find it but until then it's Hispanic cousin the ever ominous Cuban Loaf (along with a couple of friend eggs and some bacon) will have to be my South Florida Substitute.

PS.  My hats off to the Mauricio Faedo Bakery for one fantastic Cuban Loaf and great guava pastries.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

The Smell of An Italian Kitchen or at least a good restaurant.

Well, I know that computers have come a long way in the past 20 years but I wish that they could figure out how to send a smell through the computer. Today's drill has been Classic Ragu Bolognese. The simple act of sauteing onions, celery, and carrots in a little olive oil is one of those magic things that happen in the kitchen. Enough to make the mouth start watering and thoughts of a really, really great Italian Gravy come to mind. This is a recipe that is out of the current May edition of Bon Appetit - now my favorite since Gourmet is no longer with us (moment of silence). For such a basic recipe the complexity of flavors is absolutely amazing. I really wish that we could get a real baguette  here but the secondary attempt from Publix will have to work. We actually had a family sit down dinner tonight (all three of us) which is quite rare as you guys with young children know. Amazingly enough I love it when I actually create a dish that Gage loves or at least will eat.



I am going to make this Sunday nights blog pretty short. I will we your appetite with a shot of the Chile -Braised Port Shoulder Taco's for tomorrow night. I will keep sharing with everyone and always remember that our House/Kitchen are always open for guests and we would love you see/feed you.



Also, Keep an eye out for this coming up weekends Easter Sunday Menu as we are going back to the Irish roots of my wife and going with a Leg Of Lamb from Fresh Market. I will share that experience with you once it happens on Thursday.

Have a great week and remember that your Kitchen is your friend.

Patrick

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Ebony and Ivory Living in Perfect Harmony!

OK sports fans! Well this is the finished product from the Homemade Ice Cream Sandwich experiment. I have to admit that it turned out fantastic. I used the cookbook "The Perfect Scoop" by David Lebovitz for both the Chocolate and French Vanilla Recipes. For any of you that have a Kenmore Stand up mixer I would say definitely purchase the Ice Cream Bowl as it is an amazing attachment.


Things Turned Out Pretty Well thanks to Mr. Lebovitz for some great recipes! Have a great weekend.

Patrick

Friday, April 15, 2011

The Trials and Tribulations of Homemade Ice Cream and a Taco Bus

Let me start by saying that yes I have had an interesting life and I hope that it continues and I guess that this is the next evolution of the 40 something species "Learn to Share Your Life (or at least part of it) with anyone and everyone and hope that it is now interesting enough to sell advertising (JK).  I consider myself a foodie which of course means that I am a chef wanna be and I harness that energy by attempting a gourmet dish here and there for my wonderful wife and hopefully one day wonderful son (at 2 1/2 his pallet isn't ready for daddy's cooking) and that hopefully it is appreciated.

On the other side, one of my favorite things to do in the world is eat. We absolutely enjoy going out to new places and finding the little known or very well known culinary gems where ever we go. I find it very interesting that our travel life has now become so centered around the culinary/gastronomy part of life. We are always looking at what Chef (from Top Chef) has a restaurant here or there, hell I even have an app on my I phone that tells you where the top new chefs restaurants are.

I will attempt to blog a few times a week and who knows maybe it will be more I guess that will be based off of my exploits in the Kitchen and abroad.  I am currently in the throes of trying to create homemade ice cream sandwiches for a cook out tomorrow. Wow! I had no idea that Haggen-Dazs went through so much to make one of those little itty bitty pints that I LOVE SO MUCH (Favorite was called Mayan Chocolate but they angered me and discontinued it). So far I have the makings for Chocolate and either French Vanilla or Strawberry so we will see. I will keep you posted after tonight when I attempt to create the frozen goodness after a few glasses of wine.

The other thing is after almost 5 years Katie and I finally made it down to the Taco Bus! Wow! Now I can say I have finally had good, authentic Mexican  Hillsborough Avenue and 275 means its not the greatest neighborhood but when the cops are eating there safety and your car become a non issue. While I ordered Katie actually struck up conversation with a couple from NY who had literally just gotten off of a plane and came straight there. She asked if we could share a table, as seating was going fast and they happily agreed. I had the Chicken Mole and she had a couple of Pibil Taco's. As I said before it was awesome! Not bad considering that they really do cook in the Bus! Open 24 hrs makes it a very successful late night drinking crowd place but anytime of day you can get a great meal. So for my taste it gets a 4 out of 5 on the scale.

So, the Chocolate Ice Cream turned out great. I love the Ice Cream Attachment for my Kitchen Aid Mixer. We will see how the Vanilla and Strawberry turn out in the morning.

Bon Appetit!

Patrick