Fodder & Shine and Hidden Springs Ale Works – Seminole Heights

It’s been a busy couple of weeks!  I went to Boston to celebrate my friend Padma’s bachelorette weekend (more on Boston food coming up soon…) Then the following weekend we had two weddings and a Halloween party.  Now I’ve finally got some down time to catch up on all the October foods.

Lance and I took part in the Heights Vibes Bicycle Ride a few weeks back.  A group met at Fodder & Shine, then biked around Seminole and Tampa Heights visiting different murals and art installations.   At the start was a big mural on the side of Fodder & Shine depicting a quilt-like collage of some of the local Seminole Heights businesses.  They were in the process of finalizing the mural for a launch party the very next day.  Many of the logos looked familiar – including Ella’s, Rooster & the Till, Angry Chair Brewing, and The Independent Bar.     

The bike ride was sponsored by Velo Champ bike shop – and apparently they take similar rides about once a month (check out the calendar here).  We really enjoyed ourselves – I’d definitely recommend taking part in one of these rides!  The next one is November 29^th in Bradenton starting at Motorworks Brewing. 

We took a pit stop at Hidden Springs Ale Works – a new craft brewery that just opened about a month ago.  They let us all bring our bikes in and store them in the back while we cooled down with some beers.  Our bartender was really friendly and I enjoyed everything in my flight.  The décor was a little sparse, but they had literally just opened. 

The bike ride ended back at Fodder & Shine, and since we hadn’t dined there before, we decided to grab a bite before heading home.  It was opened about a year ago by Greg & Michelle Baker, who also run The Refinery.  The food is inspired by early cracker cuisine from early Florida natives. 

We enjoyed a wedge of the bacon-fat cornbread along with cornmeal fried chicken, collard greens, and PBR Mac & Cheese.  I cornbread was topped with butter and local honey – it was tasty, but a little drier than I prefer.  But the fried chicken was really fantastic.  Very crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. 

It’s also a great spot to just grab a local beer and enjoy it on the patio with your 4-legged friend  – they have “Yappy Hour” every Sunday 1 – 5pm.  Tonight they actually hosted a pet costume party!

Fodder & Shine is located at 5910 N Florida Ave, Tampa, FL 33604 and is open 5pm – 12am Monday – Thursday, 3pm – 2am on Friday, 1pm – 2am Saturday, and 1pm – 12am on Sunday.     

Hidden Springs Ale Works is located at 1631 N Franklin St, Tampa, FL 33602 and is open 5pm – 10pm Thursdays, 3pm – 12am on Fridays, 12pm – 12am on Saturdays, and 12pm – 9pm on Sundays (they are closed Monday – Wednesdays).  

Bizou Brasserie at Le Méridien Hotel – Tampa, FL

This past Sunday, we enjoyed brunch at Bizou Brasserie, a ritzy hotel restaurant at the Le Méridien downtown.  It opened about a year ago at the site of an old courthouse.  The design merges the original historic architectural features with mid-century modern furnishings.   It’s like someone filled The Oxford Exchange with West Elm’s current catalog.

We had a CL Deal so we got $30 for only $15, which was the perfect amount for our brunch check (it’s still posted on the Creative Loafing website, so if you want one, you can purchase one here while they last…)

They have a pretty concise menu, but everything on it sounded fantastic.  I ordered the crab cake benedict (buttermilk biscuit topped with lump crab cakes, sweet chili jam, poached eggs, and spicy hollandaise sauce).  Lance ordered their Bizou burger – it was a too early in the morning for burgers in my opinion, but he was excited about the caramelized onions at goat cheese atop the chuck and short rib half pound burger. 

I was thrilled with my benedict and the breakfast potatoes it was served with were wonderful.  Lance’s burger came with some of the best fries I’ve had in a long time.  The burger itself was a bit too messy for such a classy restaurant – the cheese and onions oozed everywhere.  The waitress did warn us that the burger came with a lot of cheese, but even Lance thought it was a bit much. 

They do also have a case full of exciting pastries that you can order right there at the counter – we saw a banana bread pudding that I may need to try next time.  Overall a great breakfast – especially for only $15!

Bizou Brasserie is located at 601 N Florida Ave, Tampa, FL 33602 and is open 6am – 10pm Sunday – Thursday and 6am – 11pm Friday – Saturday.   

One Pot Chicken & Sausage Cajun Pasta

I recently started following Buzzfeed’s Tasty page on Facebook.  They post tutorial videos every day of simple recipes summarized in about a minute or less.

I tried out my first one of their recipes and it was a huge success!  And it was incredibly simple – you just throw a bunch of ingredients in one big pot until it all cooks down into creamy delicious Cajun goodness.

This would be a great recipe when having guests over for dinner since it’s hassle free and makes enough to feed a crowd.  Next time I might do a bit less pasta & add more veggies, but we were very impressed with how this turned out.

One Pot Chicken & Sausage Cajun Pasta (adapted from Tasty)

Ingredients:

• 2 T olive oil
• 2 diced chicken breasts
• 8 oz. Andouille sausage, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ yellow onion, sliced
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 1 green pepper, sliced
• 2 cups mushrooms, sliced
• 16 oz pasta
• 5 cups chicken broth
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan
• 1 T Cajun seasoning (or equal parts cayenne pepper, onion powder, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper)

Directions:

1. Pour olive oil into the pot. Add diced chicken breast to the pot, cover with Cajun seasoning, and stir until the chicken is evenly seasoned. Then, add sliced sausage and stir. Cook the meat on medium heat for 5-10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

2. Once the meat is cooked, add in the garlic, onion, peppers, and mushrooms, and stir. Continue stirring for 3-5 minutes as the veggies cook down.

3. Add the dry pasta to the pot (if using long, thin noodles, break in half), then pour in the chicken broth. Stir until everything is well-mixed. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, keep covered bring the heat down to a simmer for 10 minutes (stirring every two minutes). If there still extra chicken broth, you can discard it, cook longer until the liquid evaporates, or add a little cornstarch to thicken the liquid.

4. Lastly, add heavy cream and parmesan and stir until your pasta is well blended. Garnish with green onions, more parmesan, a sprinkle of Cajun seasoning (if you want some extra spice), and salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Stuffed Shells with Lemon Sage Brown Butter Sauce

Even though it’s still 90 degrees outside, I love fall flavors, so this week we had an autumn inspired pasta dish – butternut squash stuffed shells with lemon sage brown butter sauce.  

I’ve actually made this recipe a few other times in the past – but the other times I actually made it with manicotti shells instead.  I actually think I prefer the manicotti since it seems to hold the filling better – the shells are a bit messier.  But either way, it tastes great. 

Butternut Squash Stuffed Shells with Lemon Sage Brown Butter Sauce

 (adapted from Proud Italian Cook)

Shells & Filling:

• 12 jumbo pasta shells
• 2 cups butternut squash (I used prepared pre-cut squash which is easier, but you could peel & chop it yourself)
• 2 cups ricotta cheese
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 cup fresh spinach (or ¼ cup frozen chopped spinach thawed & squeezed dry)
• 1 egg
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 lemon – zest and juice
• Salt & pepper
• Grated parmesan cheese
• ½ cup butter
• 10 sage leaves

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425ºF.  

2. Toss squash in olive oil and arrange on baking sheet.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, cook pasta shells according to the directions on the package.   

4. Remove the squash from the oven and allow to cool.  Reset the oven to 400ºF.

5. In a large bowl, combine ricotta, parmesan, garlic, spinach, egg, cooled squash, and zest of 1 lemon.  Add salt and pepper to taste. 

6. Stuff the cooked shells with the cheese & squash mixture and arrange on a greased 9x13 baking dish.  Bake for 20 – 25 minutes. 

7. For the sauce, melt butter in a sauté pan until golden brown and bubbly. Add sage leaves and fry until slightly crispy. 

8. Remove from heat and squeeze in juice of 1 lemon. 

9. Remove the baked shells from the oven and spoon the sauce evenly over the pasta.  Top with grated parmesan cheese.  We enjoyed ours with red wine & caprese salad! 

Keel & Curley Winery and Two Henrys Brewing – Plant City, FL

We’ve been making our way to as many local breweries as possible when we have days off together.  We had bought a CL Deal for Keel & Curley winery awhile ago and finally had a day off recently to go check it out.  They specialize in fruit-infused wines – but also a few years back launched a brewery on site as well called Two Henrys Brewing (named for Henry B. Plant and Henry Flagler). 

The winery/brewery is located on a pretty big property with a large back patio overlooking a lake and vineyards.  We visited pretty early in the afternoon so it was pretty quiet, but the crowds started showing up and filling the tasting room as the day went on. 

I had a wine flight and Lance sampled their beers.  Their most popular wines are their blueberry varieties, but I also tried flavors like Key West Key Lime, Black Raspberry Merlot, Tangerine Zinfandel, and Peach Chardonnay.   

Personally I actually preferred their beers.  The wines were much too sweet for me (I probably would have liked them more a few years back, but I’m starting to enjoy beer more than wine at this point.  But my favorite of the wines was the semi-dry blueberry. 

Of the beers, the one that stood out to me was their Roasted Jalapeño Blueberry Porter – it didn’t seem too spicy at first, but you could taste the jalapeño kick in the aftertaste. 

They offer a tour around their property by tractor – they do charge, but since we had plenty to spend with our CL Deal, we decided to take a ride.  Our guide told us all about the history of the winery and we got a backstage tour of their facilities. 

For a local stay-cation, I think it’s definitely worth heading to Plant City to check this place out. 

Keel & Curley Winery and Two Henrys Brewing is located at 5210 Thonotosassa Rd, Plant City, FL 33565 and is open 2pm – 7pm Monday – Wednesday, 2pm – 9pm on Thursday, 10am – 11pm Friday – Saturday, and 11am – 7pm on Sunday.