Taking Donuts Old-School!

I've never really been a big doughnut fan. Like desserts, most are just a little too sweet for me. In Sunday's Post Gazette was a story about a doughnut shop in the West End called the Better-Maid Doughnut Company. The story is interesting, noting that the owner, Ken Smith, starts work at about 8:30 in the evening and spends all night making, frosting and filling the doughnuts. On weekdays he opens at 6 am, and closes when he runs out of doughnuts, sometimes as early as 8:00.

As a child, my parents had a small cottage on a little lake in northern Pa, and one of the weekend treats was an early morning trip to a little store (I think called Pierces) where the owner would be rolling dough and frying doughnuts. The unusual thing was they were old fashioned cake doughnuts. That's what Ken's making at Better-Maid, and why I was so interested in this place.

Stacy and I showed up at about 8:00am, and when we went inside, there were 4 or 5 people in front of us. No problem, except there weren't any doughnuts! Ken was in the back working and the nice girl at the counter said it would be 10 or 15 minutes. Huh. I'm not one to wait for something like that, but Stacy already had a cup of coffee in hand and was not leaving. I'm glad we didn't! We only got two kinds, glazed and sugar, but they were worth the wait. Crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside. These may be the best doughnuts I've ever had. Just like I remember from the little store at the cottage and I've got to admit, I think Ken does them better!

Burgh'ers

A local TV station, WPXI, just held a contest to name the top Burgers in the Pittsburgh area. The competition is split into two portions, one being a blind taste test with eleven judges, held at the WPXI studios, and the other a peoples choice. The judges chose their top ten favorites. Here are the winners:

BRGR Bar, East Liberty
Burgh'ers, Harmony
City Grill, South Side
Cornerstone Restaurant & Bar, Aspinwall
Five Guys Burgers & Fries, Ross Park Mall
McGinnis Sisters, Mars
Someone Else's Bar, Castle Shannon
Tessaro's, Bloomfield
The Union Grill, Oakland
Winghart's Burger & Whiskey Bar, Market Square

I have good reason to have faith in this contest. A couple of months ago, they did the same thing in order to name the best pizza, and the winner was my favorite, Franks in Ambridge. These judges must know what they are doing!

I've had the burgers at City Grill, the Union Grill and of course, Tessaros. I also tried to go to Winghart's, but unfortunately it was Sunday and they were closed. Then one afternoon last week, my friend Tom and I decided to try Someone Else's Bar in Castle Shannon, but again closed. Finally, Stacy and I, hungry for a great burger decided to take a drive north to Burgh'ers.

Burgh'ers is in a new strip mall just north of the Zelienople business district. You enter and go to the counter to order from a chalkboard menu. The burgers are named after areas around Pittsburgh, including the Polish Hill, with fried onion, cheddar cheese and of course a peroigi. The Mexican War has roasted green chile's, cheddar, avocado, tomato and cilantro. All are $8.99 and include your choice of fries or salad. Since both of us ordered salad, I can't comment on the fries but the salads were very good. Fresh spring greens, no iceberg here, and your choice of dressing as long as it's vineratte or ranch.

I ordered the Shadyside Burger which is served with bacon, grilled onions, Swiss cheese, and fresh wild mushrooms. The ingredients were all very fresh, and the meat had a tremendous flavor. Stacy got the Forrest Hills, with blue cheese, fresh wild mushrooms, spring mix, and finished with local honey.

I don't know if this is the best burger around Pittsburgh, but it definitely belongs at the top of the list.

Burgh'ers is BYOB.

Patron Mexican Grill

I've driven past this place hundreds of times in the past few years, and for some reason I never had a desire to try it. I just thought it was a typical chain (remember Chi Chi's?), and never stopped. After reading some good comments on different food websites I decided to give it a try.

I admit that I don't have much knowledge about Mexican food, but I do know it when I like it. This is not the type of place that the Azul crowd (in Leetsdale) will flock to, but it sure satisfies my taste for what I know, which is admittedly Americanized/Mexican.,

The interior is covered with bright colored Mexican artwork, with a large dining area and a small bar in the rear. The menu is extensive and very reasonably priced. Service was prompt, and the server offered suggestions and readily answered our questions about the menu. Stacy ordered a bean burrito with a cheese enchilada and Spanish rice. I had a chili rellieno with refried beans, a taco and bean and guacamole salad, each for $6.99. The servings were very generous, more like dinner size, and very good.

Patron Mexican Grill is a great choice for a family, with a nice atmosphere and good prices. I'm sure we will be back.

My Favorite Kitchen Tool

I've always thought that the most important tool in the kitchen is a good quality, sharp knife. Many years ago, I acquired a good set of Henkel knives along with a wooden knife block for the counter. The Henkels, which are very similar to Wusthof's, have been a great knife. Very solid, well built and they hold a sharp edge. I've also tried Shun knives and while they have received great reviews, I don't like them nearly as well as the Global's. Then Robin,a friend of mine (she just so happened to manage a Williams Sonoma), turned me on to Global knives. Wow! What a difference!

Despite their rather unconventional look, the knife has an excellent ergonomic design. It is well balanced, easily gripped when wet and scary sharp. You are unlikely ever to meet a sharper knife. When I first picked one up, I immediately noticed how well balanced and comfortable it was, but what really sold me was how well it functioned. These knives will flow through a tough onion or a tender tomato with ease.

Of course, they are pricey, but the price is comparable with the others. If you are on a budget, the 8" Global Chef's knife would be a good start and would most likely take care of about 80% of your needs.

The Pines Tavern (click here to go to their website)

It's been quite a while since Stacy and I have gone out to a nice dinner. That's not to say we never go out, heck we do that every day! Usually we end up at one of our favorite local lunch spots or just have an appetizer or two at happy hour while we relax and talk about the day.

Something else we don't do much anymore is celebrate birthdays, so it's no suprise that we didn't make a reseveration in advance when Stacy decided we should go out for my B-Day. You can't even get into an Outback on a Saturday night without at least an hour wait, and we just don't care to do that. After kicking around a couple of ideas, we decided to try the Pines Tavern.

The Pines Tavern has been one of my favorites for many years but it's been a long time since I've had the opportunity to go there. We walked in around 6:30, and although it was very busy, we were able to get a table. The restaurant has the feel of an old country inn, with dining rooms with working fireplaces and a comfortable bar. Stacy really got a kick out of the wallpaper with pictures of horses in the bar. Stacy ordered the Creekstone Delmonico which is served grilled with gorgonzola & green onion demi glace, garlic parmesan bistro fries & fresh green beans.

I ordered the Pan Seared Yellow Fin Tuna Steak on Wilted Baby Arugula, Roasted Apples, Toasted Walnuts and Crumbled Goat Cheese topped with Fig, Honey and Balsamic Glaze, Bistro Potatoes. It was just tremendous! A glass of the house (I can't remember what it was) Cabernet topped off the great meal.

Another thing that I really liked was they serve a tap room menu at the bar along with the full restaurant menu. The tap room menu has a couple of selections that appear to be full meals at very reasonable prices, in the $10 to $15 range.

I was happy that this restaurant is still just as I remembered it, and will make sure to visit again in the near future.

The Pines is a bit of a drive for those of you in the city, but it's an easy drive up interstate 79 to the Warrendale exit. The address is 5018 Bakerstown Road in Gibsonia.

A Pittsburgh Legend (click here)

The Pittsburgh Steelers are headed to their fifteenth AFC Championship game tomorrow. Here's a great clip of Myron(just click on the title above), and the power of the Terrible Towel.

GO STEELERS!

Janoski's Country Restaurant

In warmer weather, I enjoy visiting farm markets around the city. Janoski's, which is west on route 30, is one of my favorites. They have a farm market with a nice variety of fresh vegetables, pies and various cheeses. There is also an upstairs area with a country style gift shop, and next door is a greenhouse with a nice selection of plants and herbs.

Stacy and I were on our way back from Chester WV and looking for a place for lunch. I had never even noticed it before, but Janoski's Country Restaurant is right across the street from the market. The building is painted barn red, and has a wrap-around porch with several rocking chairs for customers. Too cold for that, so we went inside. The restaurant is as we expected, family style and nicely decorated country kitch. Perfect!

I noticed that they have a set up for a breakfast buffet, which I learned is served on the weekends. After looking at the menu, I decided on one of the daily specials, a stuffed pork chop served with a side of mashed potatoes and of course, gravy. Stacy had a moment of temporary insanity and ordered liver and onions. My pork chop was stuffed to about 4 inches high, and was delicious! Although I did not taste it, Stacy's liver and onions was awful. I know this, because all liver and onions are awful. I won't hold this against the restaurant.

This is a comfortable country style place, with excellent home style cooking. I can't wait to return for the breakfast on an upcoming weekend.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Merry Christmas

Somehow, not only for Christmas
But all the long year through
The joy that you give to others
Is the joy that comes back to you.

Merry Christmas to all...and to my "wonderful daughter" Kim (as she has refered to herself on this site!)

Cooking Tip

I prefer to use olive oil instead of butter or margarine when I can. EVOO imparts a bit of a flavor, but it's a flavor that I enjoy. In addition, it provides beneficial health effects due to both its high content of monounsaturated fatty acids and antioxidants.

When buying olive oil you will want to obtain a high quality extra virgin oil. This is the oil that comes from the first "pressing" of the olive. The less the olive oil is handled, the closer to its natural state, the better the oil.

One very simple thing that I do in the kitchen is to keep one of these cheap plastic squirt bottles of olive oil right on my counter top. When it's time to saute some onions, garlic or such, the oil is within easy reach. Just a quick squirt into the pan and away we go!

I also keep another bottle with balsamic vinegar, because I use it pretty frequently. Of course you can use these for any liquid that you like.

Now I know that some of you might prefer to go to the fancy cooking store, and spend a lot of money on one of those fancy glass bottles...Go ahead. I'm gonna use these.

Stuffed Banana Peppers

I love stuffed banana peppers! Around Pittsburgh, this is a staple appetizer at any decent Italian restaurant. A few years ago we moved to Mount Washington, and in an effort to "soften" our concrete deck, Stacy and I started to fill large clay pots with a variety of plants and flowers. I didn't care so much for planting flowers, so I confiscated a few pots and filled them with herbs and vegetables. Rosemary, oregano, basil, tomatoes, cucumbers, and a variety of peppers were planted. I decided to start them from seed, mostly because I'm not happy unless I make a simple task difficult.

Everything grew beautifully but the banana peppers really turned out nicely. They grew from tiny spots of green to beautiful adults. Heck, I wanted to name them.
After reality set in and I realized that I would not be able to keep these as my children I had to find something to do with them. The answer was obvious: Stuffed banana peppers. I headed to my favorite source for recipes, AllRecipes.com. This site is nice because it not only has a large data base of recipes, but allows users to write reviews and rate them. I like to search for a recipe and then sort them by the top reviews. It's easy to sort through the duds and get to the good ones!

This basis for this recipe came from AllRecipes, but I've modified it a bit (of course) to Burghify it. Those of you that don't appreciate the fine nuance of dining in da Burgh can easily adjust it. Just take out any ingredients that are tasty or fattening, like the cheese and sausage. Better yet, you could just boil up some tofu...

I'm going to make them this way:


8 or 10 banana peppers
a little butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
3 or 4 cloves garlic, all minced up
A teaspoon of basil and oregano
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese.
2 pounds of your favorite sausage. I like to use maple sausage. Some people don't like the flavor of maple sausage, but I think the mix of slightly sweet and hot really give a great flavor.

Cut the peppers in a "T" shape, a small slice across the top and then slice down the length of the pepper. using a small spoon, remove the ribs and seeds. You can leave some of this stuff in if you want a really hot pepper.
Put the peppers in a pot of boiling water and boil until tender, 5 or 10 minutes.

To stuff the peppers:
Use a little butter or margarine, saute the onion, garlic and celery until soft, about 5 minutes.

Brown the sausage and drain the excess fat. Mix in the onion mixture and add the Worcester sauce.

For the sauce:
Mix the tomatoes and tomato sauce. At this point, I like to add a little basil and oregano to the sauce. Another clove of garlic wouldn't hurt either!

In a glass baking dish, stuff the peppers with the sausage mixture. Put some grated cheese on top of the exposed stuffing, and pour the sauce over the peppers. I like to add some more cheese on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.

Sweet Potato Pie

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
1/2 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 sugar, milk, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. 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.

Soergel's Orchard

I love going to farm markets. A couple of the one's that I like are Trax Farms in the South, and Janoskis out in Clinton. but Soergel's (just off of interstate 79 at Wexford) has always been my favorite farm market in the Pittsburgh area.

My trips are usually for their fresh produce, bakery items or freshly baked pies. They will sell you a half pie...a very nice touch. When in season, the farm grown items are tremendous. The summer months bring strawberry picking, corn roasts and apple festivals, then in October pumpkins and hayrides rule. Soon the lot will be filled with Christmas trees. They also have an entire store dedicated to glutin free and allergen free food selections. A nice gift shop sits next to a few farm animals that the kids (and Stacy)can pet and feed.

Soergel's is a fun place, and easy to get to from 79. Beware, the afternoons on the weekends can be crowded so go early!

The Blue Water Tavern

I've been in the North Hills alot recently and have had the pleasure of trying some new places. The Blue Water Tavern has received a lot of press in the local papers and for good reason. Being in Wexford, the place is in The Pine Tree Shops, a strip mall. Not usually my favorite atmosphere, but owners clearly overcame the "mall" feeling by presenting a very smart, modern and very comfortable decor. As you enter to the right is a long bar with a couple of HD screens that would be perfect for a Steeler game. The restaurant and bar are separated by an attractive glass wall that leaves an open feeling, but still provides a physical division.

The menu started off with a nice selection of Tapa's including Kobe Sliders, The Best EVER Crab Dip, and Calamari. A nice selection of sandwiches, burgers, pizza, and entrees followed. A couple of items that caught my eye included Mediterranean Chicken, chicken breast grilled with artichokes, green olives and peppers tossed in a white wine and garlic sauce and served with balsamic rice ($14.99). They also have several seafood selections including Mahi Mahi and fresh Norwegian Salmon and a good looking Porterhouse steak.

Stacy went for special of ravioli stuffed with lobster or crabmeat in a light vodka sauce. The waitress noted that she could split these (she did) which is a nice touch. It was lunch time, and I wasn't interested in a full meal so I chose the Blue Water Chicken Club which is a grilled chicken breast served with apple wood smoked bacon, tomato, lettuce and provolone cheese on Italian Panini bread. Both were excellent, although I didn't taste the rav's until we got home!

Since our lunch, I've talked to others that just rave about their burgers. The comment was made that you don't have to go to Bloomfield to get a great burger anymore, a reference to the great burgers at Tessaro's. It won't be long before I find out!!!

The Rosecliff Tavern

I've been spending some late afternoons in the Monroeville area and of course, one of the first things that I do is search for a local place that looks like a good place to eat. Now I've been to Monroeville dozens of times...Maybe hundreds, but usually to go to a destination and then leave. I have no clue how I stumbled across the Rosecliff, but I'm glad I did!

First of all, this is not "fine dining". Anyone that reads this blog knows that's fine with me. What it is, is a nice, comfortable, local restaurant/bar where the staff is friendly, the locals all talk to you, and the food is very reliable. The menu includes a nice variety of salads, burgers, sandwiches, and entries. I don't think anything is priced over $10.00, with most items $7.99 or under. The Antipasti salad and a huge fish sandwich both caught my eye coming out of the kitchen. They also seem to sell a lot of pizza.

Happy hour is daily from 4 to 6 with $1.50 domestic drafts and $2.00 bottles, and they always have something set out to nibble on. Most days a couple of different pizzas are available for happy hour, but I've also seen wings (cooked the right way, crispy!), pasta, and sandwiches. That's really a nice touch when you want something to snack on with your drink but don't really want to order a meal.

One thing to note is that this is a smoking establishment, so that may be a turn-off to some of you. Other than that, it's a place where everyone wants to know your name in a nice comfortable atmosphere, with great prices and pretty good food.