Daily Loaf

Tuesday, September 1: Blue Figs Gourmet Lounge
Whiskey Dinner. Four single-malt scotch whiskeys (Aberfeldy, Glenfarclas, Balvenie DoubleWood and Highland Park) accompany four courses at this horizontal tasting. Executive Chef David Burton’s bold menu is sure to stand up to the stiff drinks. It includes: smoked wild river salmon with horseradish creme fraiche, duck leg with black barley soup, lamb and arugula salad with chevre and grapefruit, and creme caramel with candied key lime. Call in advance to reserve one of the 16 available seats. $50 in advance; $60 at the door. 7 p.m., 15463 N. Dale Mabry Hwy., Tampa (813-963-3447)

Tuesday, September 1: Publix Apron’s Cooking School
Hispanic Techniques. Learn to inject Latin flavor into your cooking in this four-part series of cooking classes. The course menu borrows from many Hispanic traditions, and includes: rellenos de papas; rice and beans with calabaza; salted codfish stewed in tomatoes and olives; coconut ice cream;  cucumber soup; hearts of palm salad; pupusas; Honduras torrijas (ladyfingers in syrup); empanada de pino (meat turnover); bistec a lo pobre (traditional beefsteak); pastel de choclo (corn and meat pie); turron de vino (wine meringue); ceviche de pescado; aji (Andean-style Cchile paste); lomo saltado (steak with red wine); aji de gallina (spicy chicken); papas a la arequipena. $200 for all four classes. 10 a.m. Tuesdays, Aug. 11-Sept. 1., 7835 Gunn Highway, Tampa (813-926-4465)

Wednesday, September 2: World of Wines
Ed Hardy and Rutherglen Estates Wine Tasting. Robert’s Catering provides hors d’oeuvres to complement the wine selections. $5. 6-8 p.m., 3431 S. Westshore Blvd., Tampa (813-835-9463)

Wednesday, September 2: Bern’s Fine Wines and Spirits
Potluck Wednesday. Beat the mid-week dinner blahs by stopping in for SideBern’s gourmet take-away — and enjoy a complimentary mini-wine tasting while you wait. This week’s one-stop wonder is Provencal short rib, seasoned with carrot, fennel and mustard sauce. $19.95. 5-8 p.m., 1002 S. Howard Ave., Tampa (813-250-9463) Read the rest of this entry »

Voting is hot and heavy whenever hardwood smoke and succulent pork get into the mix. After a lot of votes cast, Best Barbecue is still up in the air, with two frontrunners and a whole lot of possible upset contenders close behind. Voting ends monday, so get on the ball, wipe your hands, and vote for the ribs you can’t live without!

Leaders and vote tallies after the break: Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been working on CL Sarasota’s Food Issue — Summer of Pig — and one of the pieces is a rundown of local roadside barbecue stands. The Bay area is a much bigger nut to crack when it comes to tracking down these impromptu purveyors of pork, so I need your help.

Drop me a comment below to let me know which neighborhood smoke stands you frequent, and give me a hint about where to find them and what they do best. If we can assemble a rough map of Tampa Bay’s barbecue network, we’ll all benefit.

This time of year, states north of Florida lead the good life. Just in time for the Memorial Day holiday, Mother Nature ushers in mild weather up there while she shoves torrid 90 degrees/80 percent humidity down my throat. But it signals the official beginning of grilling season and that’s always a good thing. So grab what you got in the fridge and get cooking.

Which might be chicken sausages and microbrew, if my current fridge contents are any indication. When it comes to beer versus wine, though, carb-laden ales might slake a sweaty brow but wine bests it in the food-pairing department (yeah, yeah, I’d love to throw down with a beer geek on this topic). There’s something magical about the natural fruit acids and tannins that harmonize strong seasonings, especially sprinkled or spread on meat. Another bonus: No burping or bloating with wine.

Lighter whites, such as sauvignon blanc and albariño, start the party but also pair up with seafood items like grilled shrimp and fish. Dry rosés — far from the sweet and wimpy rep they unfortunately suffer from — quench under the hot sun, but also dance happily with shellfish (or anything else, for that matter).

But, geez, who eats fish on Memorial Day? That’s denying your inner carnivore.

Read the rest of this entry »

This Saturday, April 18th, some of the C.O.O.K.S. Club at the Art Institute of Tampa will be hosting a BBQ cook-off and competition. Culinary students will be competing to see whose barbecued protein of choice will reign supreme, after being judged by some “professionals” and the public.

The event will be from 11 a.m.- 3p.m. at the Art Institute of Tampa (4401 N. Himes Ave., Tampa; on the northeast corner of Himes Ave. and MLK, just north of Raymond James stadium). The judging will be held in the dining lab on the second floor ($1 for each entry sampled) and there will be a smoker chock full of burgers and dogs for sale outside on the back patio. Judging will end by 1:30 so get there before it runs out.

The money earned from the competition will go to the Chef and Child Foundation. Come out to support these future chefs and culinarians and enjoy some barbecue, too!

For more information, contact Katie at: katie.machol@cln.com

Barbecue sauce is one of my favorite things on the entire planet. I don’t discriminate — sweet, tangy, thick, runny, you name it and I’m a fan. It’s the main reason I go out for barbecue in the first place. This versatile condiment is not only great for grilling, there are a plethora of uses for barbecue sauce (most of which I have tried) as a marinade, slathered on meatloaf, french fry dip, substitute for tomato sauce on pizza or spaghetti, pretty much in and on anything. Maybe not on cereal, though. I draw the line there. I have tried tons of different types and this following recipe is one of my top favorite barbecue sauces I’ve ever consumed.

Vinegar is the main ingredient in barbecue sauce and I’d never seen one that used balsamic in place of red or white, so this piqued my interest. I had seen this recipe for balsamic-based barbecue sauce on Giada DiLaurentiis’ show Everyday Italian on Food Network a few months ago and jumped at the chance to make it. I love this version because of its unique, slightly sweet, and rich flavor. I could even eat it on ice cream (maybe not on cereal though). Seriously tasty. Read the rest of this entry »

Have you watched the news lately? Apparently, the economy isn’t doing so well. They say that January saw more layoffs in one month since 1974.

I almost got through January, but on the 27th I became one of those statistics too. Now, it’s not all bad, folks. My career field is actually in demand so I will be back at work before I even want to. For now, though, I’m enjoying my time off and I’m wondering how I was able to get anything done with that silly ole’ job in the way. I am also becoming reacquainted with my kitchen. I’ve missed her. She was neglected, I think. Last year, I circled the globe and dined in Europe, Asia and at least a dozen major US cities, but my amazing little kitchen just sat here waiting for me to return to her. Her patient granite sorely underutilized and cluttered with mail. Fortunately, she never wavered and welcomed me back without a hitch. Now she helps me turn out dish after dish, lauding my successes and keeping my failures to herself. I wish I could take her to the beach for the weekend.

So with the economy in mind I thought to myself, “What affordable meals are out there that guests would think you pulled out all the stops for?” Read the rest of this entry »

For the few who follow my blog, some might recall that earlier this year I slow-roasted beef ribs in the oven for hours. They were perfectly spiced and fall off the bone tender.

I also smoked some ribs in the backyard for an upcoming Food Network BBQ show to air in the spring. I ended up with about 50 pounds of ribs that I passed out to the neighborhood. The interesting part of the story is that the oven roasted ribs were received with more accolades than the smoked ribs. Personally, I liked the oven ribs better too. While smoking and grilling will always be my preferred method for many cuts of meat, this little find got me thinking. What else could be roasted to perfection that one might only think was BBQ worthy? Read the rest of this entry »

Last weekend I was able to fulfill a long-standing dream of mine: visiting San Antonio, Texas. Why San Antonio, you ask? Well, there’s the historic Alamo, the touristy River Walk, and many other cultural and historic sights. But this city has also been the mecca of Tex-Mex food in my eyes (and also a stop on my “BBQ of the U.S.” tour) for longer than I can remember.

I had been planning this culinary pilgrimage for almost two months, as soon as I found out I was going (courtesy of wonderful boyfriend and free airline tickets), and did extensive research on just about every Tex-Mex/barbecue/Mexican restaurant in town. My main goal was to stay away from eating on the River Walk as much as possible, since it contained mostly overpriced tourist traps with bland interpretations of the authentic Tex-Mex food I sought. This weekend getaway made me feel like Giada on one of her “Weekend Getaways” (minus the camera in my face). Read the rest of this entry »

The only thing better than eating good barbecue is scouting for new and interesting restaurants.  Lucky for me to stumble across BJ’s Alabama BBQ this morning.  The plume of white smoke coming from the chimney caught my eye as I headed north on S. Dale Mabry.  When a buddy called to tell me he was swinging through the area around lunch, we agreed this would be a good place to meet.

We both opted for the lunch special… $6.50 gets you any one of their seven different sandwiches, plus one side and a drink.  I ordered the chopped pork.  It came piled high with (mostly) lean chunks of pork and a healthy dollop of sweet BBQ sauce.

BJ’s has an impressive selection of soul-food-esque side items, so ONE side would definitely not be enough for me.  In addition to the collards and macaroni & cheese I ordered, they also offer corn on the cob, jalapeno peppers (not poppers), potato salad, macaroni salad, cole slaw, green beans, BBQ beans, and corn bread.

The collards were Read the rest of this entry »