Daily Loaf

Swing by the Ravioli Company on your way home and order your favorite shape; they’ll pull fresh pasta from the fridge and slice it to order, all for less than $5 a pound. Throw in a salad and a container of sauce and you have a home-cooked meal actually cooked (largely) in your home. And, likely, it will be better, cheaper and quicker than if you tried raid the pantry.

Ravioli Company, 3413 S. Manhattan Ave., Tampa, 813-254-2051

[About Daily Best of the Bay: From now through mid-September, CL writers and editors are providing sneak peeks of some of their selections in advance of the Best of the Bay Issue Sept. 16. The polls are now closed for the Readers' Poll portion of Best of the Bay, but you'll find all the winners in the BOTB issue. See you at The Loafies on Sept. 15!]

Who doesn’t like pasta? It’s almost universal in its appeal and it seems that every culture has taken its hand at some adaptation. And while it’s true that the Chinese are probably the inventors, it was the Italians who exploited this simple staple.

Just try to imagine for a moment a planet without pasta. What would accompany our luscious, buttery garlic bread? Have you ever heard of “green beans with clam sauce”? Of course not, you need linguini. Would we even have all of the scrumptious and wonderful sauces that we have today if there were no magnificent vessel to carry the load? I shudder at the thought.

Fortunately though, we don’t have to consider these possibilities, because there are about a million different kinds of pasta within a mile of every urban setting in America. Often, when we think of pasta, noodles come to mind. Long strands of dried varieties that boil until just done, complimented by an almost endless array of sauces and condiments. As a child, I remember my desire for just a plate of pasta with butter and parmesan. Perfection. Today, my palate is a bit more mature and I enjoy every variation I try.

One of my favorite types of pasta is made from potatoes. Gnocchi are like little clouds of heaven that, by design, soak up the flavors that you surround them with. Read the rest of this entry »

As the temperature starts to rise (at least in this part of the country), its time for some refreshing and simple dishes for those hotter days, like my Asian-inspired cold soba noodle salad. Soba noodles are made from buckwheat flour and have a heartier, more substantial texture than regular pasta noodles. In Japan, they’re used in a variety of ways throughout the year: cold in the summer in a salad (like this one) or hot in a soup or broth in the winter months, and in a multitude of variations. Surprisingly enough, soba noodles are now more widely available now bring in the ethnic aisle many grocery stores. Or you could take a culinary adventure to your local Asian market and pick up other interesting ingredients to play with.

Read the rest of this entry »

Sure, a plane crashes, a man gets ready for the biggest job in the land, and Gruden gets a pink slip. All big stories, but where’s the love for a pot of beans and greens, or a jab at Jasmine Thai? Here’s your chance to relive the week that was, without all that pesky news in the way:

• Creative Loafing debuts its new food section! World celebrates!
• Brian reviews Jasmine Thai’s new location and pronounces it “a safety date.”
• Taylor pens a sonnet of middling quality on the pros and cons of oak. She’s well versed on the subject.
• A waiter rants about customers — “If you were to say hello to me in your office I wouldn’t say: ‘pro forma balance sheet!’ or ‘digital rectal exam!’”
• Grapefruit Avocado Salad, plus more great grapefruit recipes.
• How do West Indian ex-pats spend a Christmas in Miami? Like everyone else, but with better food.
• Tampa wins caffeine trifecta — Most Caffeinated City, Least Addicted, Most Pain Killers!
• People get drunk at Tom Pritchard’s charity roast!
• Impromptu pasta: easy Spinach and Gorgonzola Pasta.
• North Coast Scrimshaw Pilsner helps a dark beer girl remember lighter days.
• Taco Bus to host cookbook author and Mexican food maven Diana Kennedy.
• White Bean and Kale Stew will, apparently, “warm your nubbies.”
• CL announces the first of many Monthly Recipe Contests.
• Capital Grille hires new sommelier.

I’m not typically a fan of Italian food per se and pasta isn’t anywhere near the top of my “must have foods” list (mac and cheese being the only exception). But last night I came home wanting something out of my usual dinner routine- usually salad or a can of soup (exciting, I know). I was feeling too lazy to venture to the grocery store, and I didn’t want to spend more than half of my weekly grocery bill on take out. I also feel guilty sometimes for not cooking at home more often after spending forty grand on culinary school. I’m not giving excuses, but it’s hard to be self-motivated to produce culinary masterpieces every other night when you’re: A. living by yourself in a small studio apartment, and B. a recent college grad who can’t afford a huge grocery bill for one stinkin’ meal. This is when I decide to just make due and find inspiration in the cupboard and fridge.

Here are the main ingredients I scrounged up to feature in my improvised dinner: whole wheat penne (that’s been in there for who knows how long), dry Spanish chorizo, gorgonzola cheese, fresh spinach, and a tomato. I also threw in a few other things I always keep on hand: garlic, onion, red pepper flakes, and herbs. Alright, pasta it is.   Read the rest of this entry »