Teddy's...My search for great Devonshire!

Just like my search for the best fish sandwich or pizza, I'm always on the lookout for a good Turkey Devonshire. For those of you not familiar with this great sandwich, it is usually toast points, turkey, a slice of tomato, and topped with a creamy cheese sauce then bacon, and baked or broiled. It's very similar to the Hot Brown sandwich which is famous in Kentucky.

This is a common menu offering in the Pittsburgh area, but like anything else, most of these are great and some not so much. A local Chowhound recommended that I try the Devonshire at Teddy's Restaurant which is just east of Pittsburgh on route 30. Stacy and I were traveling past that area last week and decided to give it a try.

Teddy's is an old-school type of place. The interior is pretty dated, but that's what gives this place it's charm. Stacy ordered a lunch special of talapia which was excellent and quite a large portion. I of course went for the devonshire, which at Teddy's is made from chicken, not the traditional turkey. Two large pieces of chicken sat on top of a thick slice of Texas toast. The cheese sauce was very good, and the bacon on top was thick and good, but there was no tomato. While I wouldn't call this one of the best, it was pretty good and a large enough portion that I could barely finish it.

Teddy's is by no means "fine dining", but its very acceptable for a casual meal. It hasn't ended my search for the best Turkey Devonshire though!

Teddy's is on route 30, just off of the Irwin exit of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Sweet Potato Pie!

Since it's Thanksgiving, I decided to repost this recipe. It really is good, and very easy to make. Hard to believe that I had never tried sweet potato pie. Now it's becomming a yearly tradition!

Desserts have never really been a big deal to me. To stay away from the "super-sweet" stuff, cakes and pies have been my choice. One that I always loved was traditional pumpkin pie. Rich and creamy, but not too sweet. Well, my favorite pie has been replaced! It's hard to believe, but I had never tried sweet potato pie until recent years...I just didn't know what I was missing!

Here is a recipe for a simple but great tasting sweet potato pie. I just use a frozen pie crust, but if you are talented enough to make home made, that's even better! Maybe I'll master that next year.


1 (1 pound) sweet potato
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

Directions
Boil sweet potato whole in skin for 40 to 50 minutes, or until done. Run cold water over the sweet potato, and remove the skin.

Break apart sweet potato in a bowl. Add butter, and mix well with mixer. Stir in all the other crap. Beat on medium speed until mixture is smooth. This is from scratch, so you need to mix it quite a bit to make it smooth. Just pick any stringy stuff off the beaters. Make sure it's smooth! Pour filling into an unbaked pie crust.

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 55 to 60 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Pie may puff up like a souffle, and then will sink down as it cools.

My Favorite Recipe!...Not really, but pretty good.

You know how you have a favorite recipe, then you get another one? Well this is my favorite one right now. This one's really good. I was in the mood for chicken soup, but wanted something other than the standard chicken noodle. It's very easy and really good!



Chicken Curry Soup

1/2 cup chopped onion
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 carrot, diced
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 apple, cored and chopped
1/4 cup white rice
1 skinless, boneless chicken breast half - cut into cubes
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
1 pinch dried thyme
1 pinch of ground cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon parsley

Saute the onion, carrot and celery along with the butter until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the curry powder and flour and mix. Add the broth, bring to a boil and simmer for 1/2 hour. Add the chicken, apple, rice and spices and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the rice is done.

Grandview Bakery

Bakery's aren't really something that I give much thought to. I'm just not a huge fan of desserts, doughnuts or other sweets, mainly because they are usually too sweet for my taste. That doesn't mean that I won't stuff a couple of doughnuts in my face on occasion.

The residents of Mount Washington have been quite vocal about the need for more local business ventures over the past couple of years and the idea of a bakery seemed to lead the pack on the wish list of the locals. The Grandview Bakery just opened a couple of weeks ago, and although it wasn't on my list of "must try" places, I kept hearing and reading such great things about this place, that I had to try it.

We stopped in Sunday morning around 10am, to find the cases about half full of a variety of baked goods. In addition they bake beautiful bread and have a large selection of cake and candy decorating supplies. I ordered a small nut roll and a coconut eclair and Stacy went for a cream filled donut. We decided to sit a one of the two small tables in front of the window to enjoy our treats. As we sat down, one of the nice women working there wondered out loud whether or not she should put the outdoor furniture on the sidewalk. Her dilemma, she explained, was that while they had just opened about an hour ago, she thought they might be totally out of product in another hour or so! That explains the half empty cases. That's also a pretty good sign.

All three of our selections were excellent. My nut roll was probably the best I've ever had. Aside from being top quality, the real reason that I love this place is that none of our choices were overly sweet. I could really start to enjoy baked sweets if they are made like this!

The Grandview Bakery is on Shiloh Street on Mt. Washington. If you go, make sure to get there early!

Click on the title above to see their website.