Trattoria Pasquale – Tampa, FL

My friend Hillary was super sweet and gave us a gift card to Trattoria Pasquale as an engagement gift (we got engaged over a year ago!)

We finally got the chance to check this place out.  It’s an Italian restaurant and since they don’t have a liquor license, it’s BYOB.  We stopped by Total Wine on the way there and picked up some beers to enjoy with our meal. 

It was pretty nice out this evening so we decided to eat out on the patio.  It seemed a bit loud inside and this gave us our own private dining area since we were the only ones eating outside. 

Our waiters were really welcoming.  They even brought out an ice bucket for the table since to keep our beers cold. 

They have an extensive menu of all sorts of traditional Italian dishes.  I ordered the Tortellini Susanna – beef filled pasta with caramelized onions, tomato cream sauce, and truffle oil.  Lance had the Veal Parmigiana – served with side penne pasta and green beans.

They started off with bread and olive oil with whole roasted garlic cloves.  Each of our meals came with a fresh garden salad. 

Our dinners were both delicious but my pasta was amazing!  The sauce was so flavorful - and it was very filling so I brought enough to make a second meal out of it.  

We decided to splurge and split the tiramisu for dessert since we still had a bit left to spend on our gift card.  It was coated in chocolate sauce - despite being pretty full from dinner, we polished it off in no time. 

I was very impressed with our meal – you wouldn’t think that this unassuming little restaurant in a strip mall had such authentic food.  It is definitely worth checking out! 

Trattoria Pasquale is located at 4334 S Manhattan Ave, Tampa, FL 33611.  They are open Tuesday – Saturday 5pm – 10pm.    

Bacon Parmesan Snap Peas

 

When we made the mustard-roasted chicken a few weeks back, I made way too much of the crispy breadcrumb mixture.  So, for Super Bowl Sunday, I used the rest to make a healthier replacement for fried chicken to enjoy during the game. 

I asked Lance what sides he wanted, and he said Trader Joe’s Mac & Cheese and something green with bacon in it.  I’m not usually a fan of most frozen foods, but that Mac & Cheese tastes like a side you’d get at a restaurant.  It has four cheeses – Cheddar, Swiss, Havarti, and Gouda. 

I had already bought some snap peas, so I prepared those as our 2^nd side.  They turned out so delicious that I had to share the recipe! 

Bacon Parmesan Snap Peas (adapted from The Pig & Quill)

Ingredients:

• 1 lbs sugar snap peas
• Juice and zest of 2 lemons
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• ½ T Dijon mustard (I used Trader Joe’s whole grain Dijon)
• ¼ cup grated parmesan
• 3 slices thick bacon
• Salt
• Pepper

Directions:

1. Cook your bacon and crumble into pieces.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Prepare another bowl with ice water. 

3. When water boils, add your snap peas, cooking until tender and bright green, only 30 – 60 seconds.  Immediately remove with a slotted spoon and add to the ice water so they stop cooking. 

4. In a large bowl, whisk together lemon juice, zest, and mustard.   Whisk in the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.   

5. Drain the cooled peas and add to the dressing bowl.  Toss with parmesan cheese and crumbled bacon.  

Buffalo Wild Wings

We’ve been craving wings for awhile, so we spontaneously stopped at Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch yesterday.  I had never been to this restaurant until I started dating Lance – probably since I’m not a huge sports fanatic.  Their original location was in Ohio (where Lance is from), so I’m sure they were more prevalent when he was growing up.  

They are now in every state in the U.S., and even some abroad.  Tampa has one in Ybor City, plus there are locations nearby in Brandon, Pinellas Park, Clearwater, and New Port Richey.  The one we ate at yesterday was in Largo.

Their slogan “Wings. Beer. Sports.” explains the whole concept pretty accurately.  They have a wide variety of wing options – even outlining the spiciness level from “Smilin’” to “Sizzlin’” to “Screamin’”.  They have a nice beer selection, although they focus mostly on popular beers like Budweiser, Coors, Blue Moon, and Sam Adams...nothing that you couldn’t pick up at your typical grocery store.  There are flat screen TVs covering the walls with every sport you could possibly want to watch.  Lance said that in college it was the go-to place to watch Steelers games (since that’s his team). 

We ordered the medium sized wing basket with 3 varieties – Lemon Pepper, Parmesan Garlic, and Honey BBQ.  The lemon pepper was a dry rub seasoning, while the other two were slathered in sauce. 

My favorite was the Parmesan Garlic – as you can see in the photo below, it is completely coated in seasonings.  None of ours were spicy – we ordered all mild flavors.  If I were more daring I’d try the Thai Curry or Mango Habanero, but they’re both in the red-zone on the chart. 

It would be a great place to meet up with a group of friends to catch a big game.  The atmosphere is laid-back, and they really know how to make fantastic wings.  With the official football season starting today, I’m sure we’ll be back again soon… 

The location we visited yesterday was at 10500 Ulmerton Rd, Largo, FL 33771 and is open from 11am - 12am Sunday through Thursday and 11am - 2am on Friday and Saturday. 

Yogurt Parmesan Chicken, Thyme Smashed Potatoes & Asian Snap Peas

Yesterday, Thu came over and helped me cook dinner.  I’ve made this Yogurt Parmesan Chicken several times before – the original recipe uses mayonnaise, but I substitute plain greek yogurt instead to make it healthier.  The yogurt keeps the chicken incredibly moist.  I purposely made extra so we could have leftovers. 

This was my first time making smashed potatoes.  I will say, ours didn’t turn out nearly as pretty as the original recipe, but they were some of the best potatoes I’ve ever had.  You boil potatoes, and then once they are soft, smash them, top them with spices, and bake them in the oven.  It would probably be a lot easier if you have a potato masher, but we were smashing them with a fork which just made a mess.  But once cooked, the outsides were nice and crispy, and the spices were perfect. 

The Asian Snap Peas were super simple to make as well – the addition of hot sauce added a little bit of a kick to it, but they weren't too spicy. 

Here are the recipes:

Yogurt Parmesan Chicken (adapted from The Enchanted Cook)

Ingredients:

·        6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

·        ½ cup Parmesan cheese

·        1 cup plain Greek yogurt

·        3 T Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs

·        1 T Italian seasoning

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Cut the fat off the chicken breasts and lay them flat on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

3. Mix the yogurt and parmesan in a small bowl.  Spread over the chicken, then sprinkle with bread crumbs and extra Italian seasoning (I actually mixed all the ingredients this time, but it turns out better if you top the yogurt & cheese mix with the breadcrumbs).      

4. Bake in oven for 20 – 30 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked through.  You can finish them off under the broiler for a minute or two if you want to get them extra crispy. 

Thyme Smashed Potatoes (adapted from Damn Delicious)

Ingredients:

·        10-12 baby yellow potatoes

·        2 T olive oil

·        2 cloves garlic, minced

·        1 T fresh thyme leaves

·        Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees and bring a large pot of water to a boil.

2. Cook the potatoes in the boiling water until tender, about 20 minutes, then drain well.   

3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the potatoes on it.  Using a potato masher or fork, smash the potatoes until flattened.  Ideally you’ll want to keep them all in one piece, but it may be difficult if you’re only using a fork.  To make it easier, you can cut the potatoes in half, then mash them flat. 

4. Top them with olive oil, garlic, thyme, salt & pepper.

5. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until crispy.      

Asian Snap Peas (adapted from Kalyn’s Kitchen)

Ingredients:

·        1 lb. sugar snap peas, strings removed

·        2 T soy sauce

·        2 T peanut oil

·        1 tsp Sriracha (or whatever hot sauce you have)

·        1” ginger root, minced

·        2 large garlic cloves, minced

·        1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Directions:

1. Mix the soy sauce, 1 T peanut oil, and hot sauce in a small bowl and set aside.

2. Put either a large frying pan or a wok on the burner on high heat.  Once it feels hot, add 1 T peanut oil (careful that the oil doesn’t splash). Once the oil simmers, add your ginger and garlic, stir frying until they become fragrant.  

3. Add the sugar snap peas and cook on high heat, stirring constantly, until they turn bright green.  Pour the sauce soy sauce mixture over and coat the peas, cooking for about 1 more minute. 

 4. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.