The Pittsburgh Dish

031 Steven Bright: A Chef's Tale of Culinary Dreams

• Doug Heilman • Season 1 • Episode 31

Share episode

(01:01) Join us as we uncover the extraordinary journey of Steven Bright, whose passion for cooking overcame family resistance and led him to an inspiring career filled with unforgettable moments. From his early culinary education at the International Culinary Academy to leading the kitchen at Shadyside Presbyterian Church, Steven’s story is a testament to the power of following your dreams and the invaluable support of loved ones.

(14:03) Steven recounts heartwarming encounters with icons like Mr. Rogers and shares the joy of cooking for luminaries such as Mikhail Baryshnikov and Isaac Stern, revealing the moments that solidified his trajectory in the culinary world. Tune in for insights into his diverse career, and hear about his future ambitions like penning a memoir filled with captivating catering stories. Whether you're a food enthusiast or someone seeking inspiration to pursue your passion, this episode promises a rich blend of culinary tales and life lessons. Whether you're a food enthusiast or someone seeking inspiration to pursue your passion, this chat promises a rich blend of culinary tales and life lessons.

(32:54) Plus we make our way out to Greensburg, PA for some Mediterranean food and  give a call to mom for a recipe that puts any surplus of banana peppers to good use. 

Support the show

Liked the episode? We'd love a coffee!

Doug:

Welcome to the Pittsburgh Dish. I'm your host, Doug Heilman. What would it be like to cook for Pittsburgh notables like Mr Rogers, this week's guest, has stories to tell On the hunt for some good Mediterranean. Well, if you're on your way out to Greensburg, we have a place for you. And is your garden running amok with banana peppers by the end of summer? My mom has a recipe that will put them to good use. All that ahead, stay tuned. We want to thank Chip and Kale Plant-Based Meals for being an ongoing supporter of the Pittsburgh Dish. Check out their menu at chipandkale. com for dishes like jazzy jambalaya, black bean enchiladas or even a delicious mushroom risotto, and use code DISH to save on your next order. That's chipandkale. com. Now on to the show. Thank you so much for coming over and being on the show. Would you introduce yourself?

Steven:

Well, my name is Steven Bright. I am a classically trained chef. I am from Youngstown, Ohio.

Doug:

So, steven, what do you have going on in food right now?

Steven:

Well, I am currently the chef at a church called Shadyside Presbyterian Church. Yes, it's a rather large congregation and it's one of the oldest churches in Pittsburgh. It's beautiful. Yeah, it's over 150 years old and it is. It's just gorgeous. I've been blessed to be there for the last nine years, 10 years in October. Yeah, so I do food and beverage there. I do all the major events.

Doug:

Any events.

Steven:

Yeah, we have a year's worth of family events at the church and they're fellowship based and I run a program of hospitality and good food and happy times and we really do a good job as a congregation.

Doug:

Wonderful Nine to 10 years. This is a great career already, but this is not where your career has begun. I should say how we met. We were at a mutual friend's birthday party and I didn't know you were a chef and we got to talking and you have quite a storied career as a chef in Pittsburgh and I want to share that with folks today.

Steven:

Okay, so where did it all get started? I was majoring in psychology at Youngstown State and I never realized that I could be a chef until I saw a commercial. Then I came to Pittsburgh and I never looked back. It was the hardest and the easiest decision that I had ever made, in that my brothers and sisters had already graduated from college and they were on their way, and that was the path that I was headed the college route. Yeah, the college route. It was just what we did. My dad was a full tenured professor at Youngstown State in the art department, so that's what we were kind of expected to do, and I always followed suit. Being the youngest, I'm a rules follower, and so that's what I wanted to do. You are the baby of the family.

Steven:

Yeah, I am the youngest and a four, and so going to college getting my degree was in the plan, it was just there was nothing else to really think about. And so when I confronted my dad with that, I called him and I was excited about it that evening and I said I want to go to Pittsburgh for culinary school.

Doug:

And this was after you saw a commercial for one of the culinary programs in Pittsburgh.

Steven:

Sure, yes, it was for the International Culinary Academy and they had all these commercials and I think they had been running for weeks before it actually grabbed me. It just got me that one night and I thought I'm at a crossroads, this is where I'm meant to go. I've always loved to cook. I've been cooking since I was seven years old. Okay, oh, wow. And I finally figured it out and it felt so right.

Steven:

And so I gave my dad a call and I was so excited and he said to me buddy, you know, finish your degree at Youngstown State first and then you can go and become a chef. Did you do that? And I said no. And I never said no to my dad. I said no, I said I think that's what I want to do, dad, and we kind of got off the phone that night and we weren't really in agreement. But he, you know, we were all right. And the next morning he called me and he said I'll support you in whatever you want to do, buddy. And so within a few weeks we were here in Pittsburgh, we were interviewing for the International Culinary Academy and I spelled restaurant on my application wrong.

Doug:

What a way to start. These are the things we always remember, right?

Steven:

And I remember the lady that was in charge of the interview. She noticed that and she kind of just whispered in my ear and she said, oh, you might want to make a correction. She had your back. Yeah, she did, and so you know. But from there I propelled into school and really never looked back and then I started working right when I was in school.

Doug:

So you get your parents support to go to culinary, sure you get into this program in downtown pittsburgh right? Yes, at the time were there like more than even one culinary program? Was there Cordon Bleu?

Steven:

I was only yes, I was only aware of two programs, and there may have been three. There may have been one at the Arts Institute, and then there was the Pittsburgh Institute.

Doug:

Yes so that's PICA.

Steven:

And then there was the International Culinary Academy, which started from PICA. It was one of the chefs and the owners. He started his own school and that was the International Culinary Academy, and that's the one you went to. Yes, and that was in the Fulton Building downtown.

Doug:

Oh yeah.

Steven:

Yeah, where the Renaissance is now.

Doug:

Can we just remind listeners what year is this?

Steven:

This is in the 90s. This is 94, 95.

Doug:

Yeah somewhere around there All right, the food scene is very different than in Pittsburgh. We also, if we think about it, like we don't really have the food TV networks yet. No, it was just beginning.

Steven:

Yeah, and food it was just starting to really really take hold in major, major cities. I started catering because I needed a job while I was in culinary school and one of the assistants was walking down the hall and she was just shouting it out. She said does anyone need a job while you're in school? And it was just like a godsend. And I said I need a job and she said follow me, I'll take care of you If you want to work in catering, I can get you a job.

Steven:

And so I said sure. And it was right. In my neighborhood I lived in the Allegheny Commons or something like that Right on the north side. What was the name of the caterer? The caterer was All In Good Taste, okay, I kind of remember this name, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's huge. It's still in operation to this day. It's a huge, really, really well-run company. Bob Sendall was the original owner and still is the owner now, and so he just runs a tight ship he was known for catering to the stars.

Steven:

So he had yeah, he had clients that were just really well known in the Pittsburgh community and abroad and so he really took care of those clients. He did the best weddings that you could ever commission and just really opulent things back in the days when catering wasn't really that elaborate.

Doug:

He was taking it to a higher level already Sure, he wasn't using chafing dishes.

Steven:

He was, you know, fresh food right into really great platters and just serving it, and from there you know his service and his word of mouth just flourished in that community and so he was doing parties at Fallingwater and just with all the major players here in Pittsburgh.

Doug:

You start there while you're still in chef school? Yes, so do you stay there after you graduate for a bit?

Steven:

Yes, Marguerite Lauro was the executive chef for Bob at that time, and so she was sort of in charge of running the kitchen and hiring all of the chefs.

Doug:

Well, number one, I just want to say so. A female chef at that time leading a team is also already sort of pioneering in the moment it was amazing also already sort of pioneering in the moment.

Steven:

It was amazing and Bob openly gay at that time running this company. It was major, and so he propelled all of the people that worked for him, especially.

Doug:

Marguerite. They just enhanced this company and they were a perfect pair. Were they looking for a diverse team of players in the crew? I mean, I just think about. For you as a young black chef at that time too, was that like one of the best places to land. Sure.

Steven:

It was a great opportunity. I knew that I had something to give Even at that young age in my career. I knew that the passion that I had was going to be great for any company that hired me. I was that confident, I loved what I was learning and I was taking in everything and really doing well, because I wanted to be there.

Doug:

Which is not always the case. I've seen a lot of folks go to culinary school and it's like they're just sort of passing the time.

Steven:

It was like me at Youngstown.

Doug:

State in the psychology department.

Steven:

I didn't want to be there. I didn't know what I wanted to do. I didn't have any passion for that.

Doug:

But now in the culinary program you're on fire, sure, your whole energy, all of that creativity is ignited, I could bring it.

Steven:

And they saw that, they recognized that in me and that reciprocation from them is invaluable.

Steven:

You know that was everything. And Bob welcomed me in. You know he was. You know, at that point I wasn't out and he showed me what it could look like. He showed me not to be embarrassed about being gay. Oh, so much more than just a job, he was awesome and a Marguerite, and so it was just wonderful examples of positive people doing wonderful big work. Yeah, and the influence that All in Good Taste has to this day you can't touch it.

Doug:

I love it, yeah, and so not only a formative time for you as a chef in your career, but even as a young person. Sure, what a gift being surrounded by that environment. How long, how many years did you then stay with All In Good Taste?

Steven:

So my career was really phenomenal there because within, I would say within two years of graduating school, I was the executive chef at All In Good Taste, marguerite purchased the company from Bob. He was moving on to California, palm Springs. He bought Betty Grable's house.

Doug:

Oh, my goodness, All good things.

Steven:

He made it into a bed and breakfast and he was doing catering for stars out in Hollywood.

Doug:

Wow.

Steven:

Yeah, and so he sold the company to Marguerite briefly, and so she made me her chef de cuisine. That was a lot of responsibility.

Doug:

But when?

Steven:

you're that age. I don't know what it was, because when I look back now I think wow would send me to these high-profile clients' homes. Just me to do private dinners for Teresa Heinz and Elsie Hillman. Oh my goodness. And you know, in the 90s, that was when Senator Kerry was running for president yes, he would fly in and spend the night with Teresa at her beautiful farm in Fox Chapel.

Doug:

And you'd be there cooking.

Steven:

So I would just do a private dinner for them. And you know he loved chocolate cake and so the baker would send me with a wonderful chocolate cake, wow. And she loved crab cakes, and so we would just do really wonderful foods for them, you know Wow, little souffles and really wonderful things. And then get in and get out and let them get get to bed and steven, do you mind me asking how old you are at this point?

Doug:

I'll be 24, you're 24, 24. You're going to these high profile. You know notable folks and you know, no fear. No fear because maybe that's the the gift of being 24. It is.

Steven:

Right, it's a blind no fear confidence and that's what I had it, and it was wonderful. You know, Bob would give me refreshers before I would go out the door for some of these parties, you know he'd say you know, make sure when you handle the foie gras you do it this way.

Steven:

You pull it out and you let it come to room temperature. You do this, you do that and this is how you sear it, and you slice the apples this way to put it into the foie gras. This is when you put them in.

Doug:

He had yo ur back, though this was all in good tutelage right Sure.

Steven:

it was Wonderful experiences.

Doug:

Can you remind me? I think we talked the night that you have cooked for Mr Rogers? I did. Can you tell us a little bit about that experience?

Steven:

I did his 60th birthday party.

Doug:

Oh, wow.

Steven:

So this was a party in Oakland at a private condo. It was for eight, maybe 10 people, so still pretty intimate. Yeah yeah, it was a group of ladies and Mr Rogers and it was it was for his birthday. At one point after dinner was served I looked into the dining room where they were gathered, to make sure they were ready for dessert, because it was a sorbet and it was in a Tuile cup and it all needed to be timed because it was sorbet.

Doug:

Yeah, nothing was melted and no soft cups to serve it, so it had to be perfect.

Steven:

So I looked in to see if they were ready for that dish and I proceeded to go back to the kitchen because I determined that they were ready, and I laid out the plates, I laid out the Tuile cups, I got the berries ready and I looked up and I hear someone saying. I saw someone looking at me and it was Mr Rogers.

Doug:

He came into the kitchen.

Steven:

He came into the kitchen and he was standing there and I said hello and he talked to me for 20 minutes. He wanted to know all about my life growing up and my influences and how I came to be a chef and how much I loved it and passion that I had for like just everything. We talked about a lot of different things in that small amount of time and I just was dumbfounded and at the same time relaxed because he had that presence.

Emily:

Yeah.

Steven:

What an incredible moment yeah. Yeah, yeah, he was wonderful and that was my experience with Mr Rogers.

Doug:

This is Chef Stephen Bright and you're listening to The Pittsburgh Dish. Are there any other folks that you have cooked for that really stand out?

Steven:

Oh gosh, so many. Mikhail Baryshnikov. Wow, Mikhail Baryshnikov. Yes, Mikhail Baryshnikov was in town for some benefit, for the ballet, the Pittsburgh Ballet, and there was a large party being hosted in his honor and the first course was a wild mushroom risotto. And it wasn't just wild mushrooms, I mean, these were like the most exotic mushrooms that I had ever worked with. You know how mushrooms are. Some are dirtier than others and have to be soaked several, several times, and others are just you don't want any grit Sure.

Doug:

Not for , no no.

Steven:

And so then from there you take the stems and you make a really wonderful mushroom stock, and so that was the base of this wild mushroom risotto. I was in charge of making that, and so I made this risotto, for I don't remember how many this party was for, but it was over 70 people, and that's kind of hard to do, it's a lot. Making risotto for that many people.

Doug:

Yeah.

Steven:

And that's another thing. Like the timing on that is crazy. So we put the dish out. It did come out really wonderfully. But a few minutes later someone comes into the kitchen and said who made the wild mushroom risotto? And it was Mikhail Baryshnikov, standing, you know, his incredibly five feet something, and he was standing there in the kitchen, in the doorway, and Marguerite pointed to me and she said my executive chef did that and he said that's the best risotto I've had in. I don't even remember. And he went back into the dining room. Amazing, yeah, wow, yeah, Isaac Stern, I did a party for six people for him.

Doug:

Is he a violinist? Yes, okay.

Steven:

Yes, yes, Fiddler on the Roof? Oh, yes, is what I know him from Most famously. It was a dinner party at Joan Apt, her son, Jay Apt is an Jay Apt is an astronaut. Oh, my goodness, did a birthday party for him. But Joan hosted a party for Isaac Stern and it was for six ladies. I specifically remember menus from these parties because you know, I did a salmon souffle and veal osso bucco. Wow, just really wonderful things. And I don't remember what the dessert was. But anyway, at dessert time he called me in to the dining room, Isaac Stern, Isaac Stern, and he was sitting there on the couch and he shook my hand and he said you are a talented artist. And that's what he said. And I said thank you, mr Stern.

Doug:

From another talented artist oh man, you are in your element. I mean, you think about when you were saying you remember the menus. It was your performance. If you were an actor, these are the lines that you had to memorize. These are the motions you need to put into play. So you have a Rolodex of these stories.

Steven:

It's crazy, it's crazy.

Doug:

This is what we were talking about. I'm like wait, you've cooked for who and you have. I mean, we could keep going on A laundry list.

Steven:

Yeah, it sounds like a dream. It is, but it just solidifies the fact that that day that I decided that this is that it decided for me actually that that's what I was going to be doing when I needed to be doing yes, and it just solidified that. It just really made it worth any kind of opposition that I had with my dad that day anything, and it really reassured me.

Doug:

You have me thinking just about all these incredible dishes. I I sort of want to ask a side question is there one or two dishes from your repertoire that you still absolutely love to make, something that you learned from those years that you're like? I'm still doing that? Yeah, mushroom risotto now, or some dish like that?

Steven:

I think it's really simple. Maybe a potato cake, Ooh yeah, you know just that basic. Yeah, you know, because it goes with everything. And when you're wondering, like what side could I make with this beef or fish or chicken, a potato cake always goes with it Always does it. You shave a little bit of potato and you shave a little bit of onion and you use the starchy water from that and bind it together and sprinkle a little seasoning in there and cook it with a little duck fat. Oh, forget about it.

Doug:

It's always the simplest things that are the best.

Steven:

Yeah, they stick with us.

Doug:

Yeah, all right, steven, let's just jump a little bit more forward in this career of yours. So you work for many years for All In Good Taste. What happens after that? Do you leave at some point?

Steven:

I do. There was a lot of transition and I think at that age I was becoming restless. Yes, and at some point, I think before I became the executive chef for Marguerite, I quit. I saw that we were looking for an executive chef and we were looking outside of the company for that, and I think that my ego said that I could do that, you know, and I was already kind of doing it and I didn't understand why I wouldn't be offered that role. So I did, I went to the competition, yeah, so I worked for the Fluted Mushroom, for Fluted.

Doug:

Mushroom yeah.

Steven:

Probably a year, okay, but Marguerite called me and made me an offer to become the executive chef. That's when I got that job. This makes the story even better, isn't it crazy? I know, yeah, and it was just a good fit. Marguerite was just the best mentor, so she helped guide me into that position, and so we took on some really wonderful parties. And then she closed the catering company for a summer and we all moved up to Provincetown Massachusetts. Wow, and we helped open a restaurant there.

Doug:

Amazing yeah.

Steven:

She had a friend in Boston who wanted to develop this old bed and breakfast. Do you know if it's still there? The building is still there, amazing. Yeah, she had a friend in Boston who wanted to develop this old bed and breakfast. Do you know if it's still there? The building is still there. The original name of the restaurant was Esther's, but I think it turned into Enzo and then it's something else.

Doug:

But it's still alive. It's still there.

Steven:

Yep, it's still a bed and breakfast. I think it's right across from Bubala's, which is major in Provincetown, right on Commercial Street. But that was an incredible experience All summer learning to write a menu for a restaurant, open it up and train the staff and execute that, but restaurant work was not my thing. You liked the catering arena better Sure, so that was 2001.

Doug:

Okay.

Steven:

When we came back from Provincetown, the actual day that I came back from Provincetown, we were going to open back up the company because Teresa Heinz has a Jury Awards dinner every year and she gives away all these wonderful endowments and scholarships and things like that, and we were supposed to cater that dinner and I was scheduled to meet the tent guy there out at the farm and that was September 11th 2001.

Doug:

Oh, my goodness yeah.

Steven:

Wow, yep. And so that morning first plane had hit the tower and I was just getting out of the shower and it was so shocking that I still proceeded to go out and handle this meeting. Yeah, I went to the meeting. Secret Service was still in charge of her security and so she wasn't allowed to come out of the house and they just secured the whole thing and we had to leave, and that's when it kind of sunk in. And then that's when the second plane hit, like I think when we were on our way out. It was just a really weird day and people started walking across the bridge to get home. Like I just I remember getting scared To the north side and just mass people just walking to their cars or walking in the streets because they were evacuating the buildings.

Doug:

Yes, the sky scrapers? Yeah, no one knew what to do yeah, or how serious it would be how widespread?

Steven:

it would be no, I think. Shanksville, it just happened at that point.

Doug:

How crazy. Take us forward then, in sort of a summary of the next two decades. So do you, do you stay in catering the whole time? Do you stay in Pittsburgh?

Steven:

the company closed and so I was getting out of the the company. I needed another job. I wanted a job in management. One of our clients were the broadhurst, so I made a call to Susie Broadhurst and asked if they had any positions in management for Eat 'n Park or whatever other companies that they were managing.

Doug:

The Broadhursts are part of Parkhurst. Yes, owners of Eat 'n Park, and now we know The Porch and all of those other concepts.

Steven:

Cura Hospitality was.

Doug:

Oh okay.

Doug:

Yes.

Steven:

Yep Sure, she brought me right on board and. I became the executive chef for corporate dining out at Marconi Okay.

Steven:

At the time it was.

Steven:

Four Systems at one time I think. That's right, yep, and so we were feeding a couple thousand people a day because the cafe was just so huge, huge yeah, it was a flagship.

Doug:

It was up in like Warrendale.

Steven:

Yeah, it was Warrendale I worked right up beside you.

Doug:

I worked for Verizon Wireless for many years, right up there, oh wow.

Steven:

And so, yeah, that was there for maybe six years and then I got restless. I yeah that was there for maybe six years, and then I got restless. I wanted to start my own company. Oh wow, and Jim Broadhurst encouraged me to do that same thing. So I started my company and I called it Shallot Custom Events, and I started getting some clients that I deemed worthy and who would really appreciate my food, and Kevin McClatchy was one of my biggest clients oh yes, of the Pirates back then?

Steven:

Yes, yeah, yeah, he was the manager or owner of the Pirates. At that point I took a big basket of cookies and things that I was good at baking and I took it to his office and I took it to his office and I gave it to his secretary.

Steven:

I said, if Mr McClatchy is looking for a caterer, let me be the one. It worked yes, it actually worked. And so I did several, several parties for Mr McClatchy. He was a wonderful, wonderful client. Just from there I just gathered another client base and, um, I ran that company for five years and then I got bored and then I went to pharmacy technician school. What I just? I think I burned myself out well, you've had a storied career.

Doug:

Yeah, and that's I mean. We are talking now over your first 20 years. You know, you're sort of in a maybe a back half of your culinary life right now, working with the church. Yes, I'm back.

Steven:

Yeah, I never thought that I'd get back in the culinary. I thought, oh, I'm burned out. You know, my knees were bad.

Doug:

You probably found a sweet spot with Shadyside Presbyterian yes, yeah.

Steven:

Yeah, what a wonderful, wonderful transition there and the time has just gone so fast and that's just a testament to how wonderful it is to be there and the people that are there.

Doug:

I want to take a step back a little further. What was your food life like growing up as a youngster? Did you get in the kitchen at an early age? Did you like to cook? Did others cook for you?

Steven:

Yes. So my mother and my grandmother are really really wonderful cooks, and so when I was seven, my mom, let me make my first cake.

Doug:

Wow.

Steven:

Yeah, because I was always in the kitchen with me make my first cake. Wow, yeah, because I was always in the kitchen with her. She used to hold me, actually when she cooked, when I was, you know three and four or whatever, but I don't know if that had any influence, but I've just always loved to be around the kitchen, always around the kitchen. Yeah, so I did. That was the first thing that I ever made was a cake. That just really fueled my passion for wanting to do other things in the kitchen.

Doug:

You had good cooks in your upbringing, yeah, yeah. So I want to take us forward now. We've talked about this career and how you grew up and sort of came into choosing this career because you knew it was for you. What's next? What do you have going on, maybe in the next couple of years? It sounds to me like you've got a lot of stories to tell.

Steven:

Yeah, I would like to sort of put a memoir together of stories. I think they're fun to hear. Yeah, catering is a very specific thing. Every event is totally different, whether you're going to someone's home and you have to acclimate to their oven, to their space, or whether you're going to a familiar venue that you've done parties at before. It's always different and it's always a challenge, and so I just think that it just lends itself to the calamity that can happen. Yes, right, especially the larger the party, the more people that are involved, the more stories.

Doug:

I think you have all the makings of a book of short story, memoir style, whatever, and then you know, whenever the bear has now had its run, you can be the next series that they create. I would love that they could just reenact.

Steven:

Yeah, there should be a show about catering. Oh my gosh.

Doug:

It hasn't happened yet, oh my God, I don't think so.

Steven:

No, because that's its own thing, it's its own little bear. No, because that's its own thing, it's its own little bear. Yeah, there's so many funny aspects of the catering world that need to be sort of brought to light.

Doug:

I would be looking forward to that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, all right, Steven, I always have an ending question. The name of the show is The Pittsburgh Dish.

Steven:

Okay, what's the best dish you've eaten this past week? Okay, so this summer has been really hot. I've been looking for something that is really cool and refreshing. I brought you you and Greg a few samples of it today. It's called Lemon Posset and you know it's becoming very popular. When I first started making it for clients, I had never heard of it. It was a three-ingredient dessert that you know. I thought, wow, how good could this be if it's just that simple? But we realize now that the less the better you know, the simpler the better.

Steven:

So this has sugar cream and lemon in it and it just comes together and it creates this dreamy pudding that totally melts on your palate leaves. Just a lemon cream, not cloying, just wonderful.

Doug:

Perfect for summertime. Perfect for summer.

Steven:

Yep, you can have a large dinner and then still eat this, and you might want seconds.

Doug:

What does thicken it? Is it the?

Steven:

lemon hitting the cream yeah.

Doug:

And that's sort of tightening the cream up. Yeah, so there's no gelatin in it, no gelatin.

Steven:

How amazing, it's just the pectin from the lemon juice. Yeah, so there's no gelatin, no gelatin. How amazing, it's just the pectin from the lemon juice. Beautiful, wonderful.

Doug:

Thank you so much for the sweet treat. Oh yeah, you got it. I hope you enjoy it. And Chef Steven Bright, thank you so much for being on The Pittsburgh Dish. Thank you for having me. If you're headed out to Greensburg and Mediterranean is on your mind, we have a place from our friend, Emily Struhala. So, Emily, if you had a friend coming out to Greensburg, what's a place that you've gone recently that you might want to take them?

Emily:

I would say Sittay's Mediterranean Kitchen. They have absolute authentic Mediterranean food and one of my favorite dishes from there it's a lamb kebab wrap. And it has freshly chopped lamb red onion pickle, served on a homemade pita.

Doug:

Oh my gosh, that sounds so delicious.

Emily:

Oh yeah, and feta cheese.

Doug:

And Sittay's is like it's right in Greensburg, isn't it?

Emily:

Yeah, it's right, by the Greensburg YMCA, not far from downtown.

Doug:

Yeah, east Pittsburgh Street, I think.

Emily:

Yes.

Doug:

Is there anything else you've had there that you've enjoyed?

Emily:

There's this salad. It's like freshly chopped greens and it has tomatoes and like this olive oil dressing, and it's so amazing.

Doug:

Oh, that sounds great. So they've been around for a couple of years, right.

Emily:

Yes.

Doug:

And you were telling me you found out about this from your sister-in-law.

Emily:

My stepsister.

Doug:

Oh, your stepsister. All right, that's awesome. And of course they have some of the standard Mediterranean fare. Of course they've got hummus, they've got baba ganoush, all of those good things, but the lamb wrap is your favorite go-to.

Emily:

Yeah yeah, the lamb kebab wrap is my go-to and it's my favorite. I did have the hummus one time, actually, when I picked up a gift card for my stepsister and it was absolutely phenomenal. I really love satays and when I did an article for Girl or Highlands, I even mentioned them.

Doug:

All right. So if people out there are interested in visiting, they could find more either linking through your article or at the website, which is S-I-T-T-A-Y-S dot com. Sittay's in Greensburg. Yes, Emily, thanks so much.

Emily:

Thank you.

Doug:

You can follow Emily on Instagram at E-M-S, Underscore experiences, Underscore P-G-H. If you have a garden like ours that's running amok with hot banana peppers by the end of the season, my mom has a recipe just for you. Let's give her a call.

Emily:

Hi Doug.

Doug:

Hey, mom, hey, I know you just canned some of your spicy mustard. What do you call it Hot mustard?

Mom:

Hot mustard Hot mustard.

Doug:

Yeah Well, I thought it's a great recipe to talk through because it uses up so many banana peppers. If people plant those in their garden and at the end of summer it puts them to good use, right.

Mom:

That's for sure. Yes, and it doesn't take long to make a batch. So you could make you know a batch now, and then maybe in a week, if you wanted to use some more of your peppers, you could, you know, do it again. It's simple.

Doug:

This makes a good amount, like seven to eight quarts typically, right.

Mom:

No, it's seven to eight pints on the recipe, but it depends on the size of your peppers.

Doug:

So I have a couple of questions. You use a couple hot peppers in there a jalapeno, a cherry bomb and two serranos. Then you use a huge amount of the banana peppers, but you take all the seeds out of all of them. Is that right?

Mom:

Oh yes, the first thing you have to do is wash them all and dry them, and then I actually do it outside at a table where it's well-ventilated because they're hot, you know, and I use it says 38, and if my peppers aren't real big, I will use maybe six more or eight more, it depends If they're too small, I like to have enough.

Doug:

You process all of those peppers up with a couple of onions in like a food processor or a blender and then you're cooking this whole thing on the stove. I saw on your recipe card it calls for a quart of yellow mustard. Is that like? A regular prepared mustard you'd buy at the grocery store, yes, just get.

Mom:

What I get are the two 20 ounce bottles, and that makes a whole quart.

Doug:

All right, and so then you end up boiling this on the stove with some brown sugar and white sugar and apple cider vinegar, and then towards the end you thicken this a little bit, is that right?

Mom:

Correct. Yes, what I do is you take a half a cup of flour and a cup of cold water and I mix that together really well so that it is not lumpy. And then put that into your hot mustard mixture that you have already on the stove boiling. And then you stir that in and bring it up to a boil again for five or 10 minutes, and then you can jar it.

Doug:

We love this mustard because it's kind of sweet. It's sort of like a dipping mustard or something you can put on a burger. Do you hot? Can it where you store it on a shelf, or do you just put it in the fridge?

Mom:

I hot, can it? It'll be preserved, you know, because I can take it downstairs and put it on my shelf then for the winter. But with all they don't have to be in the fridge with all of the other canned goods.

Emily:

Yeah, yeah, that's right.

Doug:

Well, we love this stuff and it is pretty simple to make and, like I think you put it on everything right sandwiches, or you put it out as a dip.

Mom:

Yeah, we dip chips in it like something. You can use it on sandwiches. You can use it on, like if you have some kind of meat that you just want to add a little flavor to on your plate, you can put it on your meat. I mean anything. Yeah, it's delicious.

Doug:

Mom, how long do you think you've been making this hot mustard? A few years.

Mom:

I probably five years. I got it from a recipe that your dad worked with, a man that brought it to work and gave us a sample of it and I loved it and I said I need that recipe.

Doug:

yeah, that's how we got it yeah, yeah, I'm so glad you got it really good it is all right, mom, hot mustard for the end of the summer that's right, and it's a good one. So enjoy all right. Thanks so much.

Mom:

Mom love you thank you, love you too, Doug.

Doug:

Bye-bye if you have a recipe, share it with us. You can go to our website at www. pittsburghdish. com and look for our share a recipe form. That's our show for this week. We'd like to thank all of our guests and contributors, and to Kevin Solecki of Carnegie Accordion Company for providing the music to our show. We'll be back again next week with another fresh episode. Stay tuned.

People on this episode

Head Shot

Douglas Heilman

Host