The Pittsburgh Dish

032 Heather Abraham: Exploring Local Flavors from TV to Family

• Doug Heilman

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(00:38) Heather Abraham, the dynamic co-host of Pittsburgh Today Live and Talk Pittsburgh on KDKA, joins us this episode, sharing her whirlwind life balancing a bustling family with her influential role in Pittsburgh's culinary scene. Heather pulls back the curtain on the multiple TV kitchen segments each week, illustrating the powerful connections she forms with chefs, influencers, and food purveyors. From heartwarming encounters with Goat Rodeo to stories about Pittsburgh food icon Bill Fuller, Heather gives us a glimpse into the rich tapestry of Pittsburgh's vibrant food culture.

(08:08) The joy and importance of family meals come to the forefront as we delve into beloved recipes. Despite the chaos of daily life, Heather emphasizes the significance of device-free family dinners and shares practical tips on balancing home-cooked meals with convenient takeout options. Join us as we discuss the  delight of hosting, tasting, and sharing delicious homemade dishes with loved ones. Finally, we journey through husband Frankie's kitchen escapades and Heather's treasured food memories. 

(35:11) Plus, Catherine Montest shakes up your next tailgate with her expert wine selections, challenging the traditional beer-centric mindset and offering perfect pairings that elevate the tailgating experience. Learn how to join a live class in October at Third Space Bakery with Catherine to experience 'wine tailgating' first hand.  Enjoy!

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Doug:

Welcome to the Pittsburgh Dish. I'm your host, Doug Heilman. How does this busy mom with three kids, two dogs, a loving husband and two daily TV shows get dinner on the table? We get the scoop from this week's guest Looking to take some wine to your tailgate. Why not we check in with Catherine Montest and get some picks from her? Why not we check in with Catherine Montest and get some pics from her? And, dreaming of a fall trip to Germany, I'll leave you with a recipe of my own.

Heather:

All that ahead, stay tuned.

Doug:

Thank you so much for coming over and being on the show. This is so fun.

Heather:

I am so excited to have you. The tables are turned as we're sitting at a table.

Doug:

Oh they are. Would you introduce yourself to our listeners?

Heather:

My name is Heather Abraham and I am one of the hosts of Pittsburgh Today Live and I also co-host Talk Pittsburgh in the Afternoon on KDKA. It's so fun.

Doug:

I have had the opportunity to be in many kitchen segments now with you on Pittsburgh Today Live and when I told you I was doing the podcast you're like I want to be on but I don't know what we're going to talk about, and I instantly thought oh my goodness, heather, your shows impact the local food scene so much in an average week. How many kitchen segments do you think you guys have between the two shows?

Heather:

I thought you were going to ask how many calories I consume, because there's that too.

Heather:

I don't think you hold back on the butter when you come on, do you? You know we have a lot of chefs on, and I would say I mean we do anywhere from maybe three to 10 kitchen segments a week, my goodness. And so some of them are, you know, big restaurants, and some of them are independent chefs and some of them are influencers, and some of them are just getting their start. And it's just really what I love about chefs and what I love about the cooking segments is all of them seem to come from a place of I had a passion and I leaned into it. Yes, and so, yes, it's food and food centers. All of them seem to come from a place of I had a passion and I leaned into it.

Heather:

And so, yes, it's food, and food centers all of us and brings us all together, but there's still this like really amazing passion. It reminds me of like Ratatouille. You know the movie.

Doug:

The story behind it. All right, yes, like why are they doing it and getting to meet the people, getting to talk with them? I think that's what makes it more special than just being a food segment, right.

Heather:

Exactly.

Doug:

So, heather, doing all of these segments I'm sure there are so many, but has there been any chef or purveyor or restaurant that has just really captured your heart, or somebody that you've really connected with?

Heather:

I mean there are tons of people Like I said. I mean you and Rania. Yeah, I mean, I've brushed shoulders with so many different people Selina Progar and like these, just really talented people. There are a couple people that I could mention, though One would be the owners of Goat Rodeo, oh yeah.

Doug:

The cheese.

Heather:

Oh my gosh. You know I love cheese.

Doug:

I know you love goat cheese too.

Heather:

Yeah, I do. I really love goat cheese. But if I get started on cheese I could list all of them I start to sound like Bubba Gump and just like how you can cook shrimp, like that's how I feel about cheese. But being on their farm again, it was like there was this family farm that started and they were like you know, what if we, what if we just get a couple of goats? What if we just get a couple of chickens? What if we just get a couple, you know? And then all of a sudden they have dozens of goats and they're making this award-winning goat cheese on this farm right up the street from us. You know, like it's just so being on there again, it's like that passion of like you see someone who just was like, hey, why don't we just do this thing?

Doug:

Oh, I love that and I do love them. I remember that segment you did where you went out. I also notice you sort of have a good relationship with Bill Fuller.

Heather:

Oh, I love him Of the.

Doug:

Big Burrito fame right, yes. You guys just did Recipe for Hope together, right?

Heather:

Yeah, we did, and I've done this now a couple of years with him. And what I love about Bill Fuller is, I don't know, it's like we came from the same family almost. You know there's no connection there and we just kind of like bonded over this. You know, I know that he had some things in his childhood, just like I did, that weren't't like it wasn't the perfect household. You know there were some issues and he has this great sense of wanting to help the food bank and help others who maybe are less fortunate. And there's this charitable aspect of him. You know he's had students that come in from exchange exchange students yes, that's it. Like they've had exchange students come for, as you know, when his kids were going through school. Like he's just done some really interesting things as a family and as a businessman and growing from maybe smaller means to now having this huge fame in the Pittsburgh restaurant world.

Doug:

Huge connections through food right, and I think he puts a lot of that out even on his socials about what he's doing at home, how he's cooking. But he also sort of mixes that with some of the stuff he's doing with yoga Right. It's just really cool. I love meeting people through that food community. Yeah.

Heather:

Thanks so much for sharing that. Yeah, he really has just become a good friend.

Doug:

You know a couple of relationships that I've developed through the KDK Kitchen is Chef Janet Loughran and Aleka Sweeney. I really wouldn't have known those ladies if we didn't have that shared experience of being on CBS Pittsburgh.

Heather:

I love that that happened, and I don't remember how early on it happened. I think Chef Janet was still new to like the TV world and she is the sweetest, kindest person and I think you guys found this connection and you kind of helped her like you're going to be fine this is how you do TV, though that's right and helped guide her through that. I love that there was that connection and what you know it's Pittsburgh, it's just there's a small world there, but that you guys were able to become friends through our shows.

Doug:

It is a smaller food community, a more tight-knit food community than you realize, and I do love that. It's less about competition and more about supporting one another, and I have to say I've interviewed dozens of people now on this show and so many of them have a connection to being on KDKA at some point.

Heather:

There is something that speaks to that. So much, though, about the. It's not about competition, it's about working together. This was a number of years ago I want to say pre-pandemic over at Floor 2 at the Fairmont.

Doug:

Oh, downtown at the Fairmont, that's right.

Heather:

The executive chef at the time held this. It was like a taste of all of these different restaurants. So he invited I think it was like six or seven chefs to come in and everybody did a different course. They all came from different restaurants. It was the most amazing dinner I've ever had.

Heather:

It was this incredible experience? Because you can see the open kitchen and floor two and you saw all of these chefs working together and kind of interested in the processes that each other were doing to make this amazing meal. It was out of this world.

Doug:

It is when I talk to other restauranteurs. We just talked to Andrew Heffner of Bar Marco and he was talking about all these connections and it's there. I mean, the web of support is truly throughout our city. I did want to actually ask a different question, sort of pivot a bit. You've had all of these experiences in the kitchen. Has any of that influenced your own cooking at home?

Heather:

Oh yeah, there are two things that I can tell you that I've made from our chefs and they have become staples. One was a peach cobbler dish that Chef Crystal made from.

Doug:

Market District.

Heather:

And she used thyme in the cobbler and it was just so. It's so good.

Doug:

Oh my gosh, that is so different. So we're in the height of peach season. Maybe just getting slightly past, so she used fresh thyme leaves in this sweet peach cobbler? Yeah, it was amazing. All right, I need to look that up. I will send you the recipe.

Heather:

It's worth putting in your rotation. The other one and I know that this is nothing new to a lot of people, but Mississippi pot roast. It was a recipe that Chef Rania made.

Doug:

Oh yes.

Heather:

So Rania made this on the show and she was like this is so easy, it can be your weeknight, it's just a stick of butter and this and that, and I'm like you had me at butter. Say no more, Rania, but it's become a staple in our house. And those are two recipes that I can think of that have just like they were so easy to make. But there are so many things like you come on and you make these dishes that are just out of this world and like also really approachable too.

Doug:

I hope so. Yeah, I mean, everybody could crank it up a little bit. But you know, I think what a lot of folks are watching your shows for is access and information, and so you don't want to sort of throw them this show. That's something you can't recreate.

Heather:

So thank you. I tell you what there are some days I mean you've, you've done. I know you've experienced this with, with being on the show, on PTL and our other shows. There are some times where I take that first bite and I'm like you take that bite and you're like oh, my gosh, this is the best thing I've ever had.

Doug:

Well, I think all of the food that you all get to eat on these shows is probably one of the premier perks of doing all this hard work all week long.

Heather:

Yeah, I had two sandwiches yesterday, two full sandwiches within a half an hour period. Because they were so good I couldn't put them down.

Doug:

I don't understand if there's anything wrong with that.

Heather:

There's nothing wrong with that at all.

Doug:

All right. Well, let's keep talking about you and sort of the food world, because you do cook I do I've been sort of stalking some of your socials and I recently saw a couple of things. I saw the sous vide egg bites that you just made. Those look delicious. They're kind of a Starbucks knockoff.

Heather:

A dupe yeah.

Doug:

Yeah, but you also made this stuffing chicken broccoli, craisins thing.

Heather:

Oh yeah, oh man, it was like Thanksgiving dinner.

Doug:

It looks like. Totally like. Get me in the fall mood, right.

Heather:

Yeah.

Doug:

And then you do a book club once in a while and I saw this incredible spread. It looked like a brunch. It was a brunch, yeah.

Heather:

I will say I think I get this from my aunt. I love hosting. Is this Aunt Terry? This is Aunt Terri. Yeah, We'll talk about Aunt Terri. My aunt Terri loves to host you know and I don't.

Heather:

it's funny because the day of hosting I'm the most miserable person to be around, but there's something that I feed off of the stress of serving others or having them over and like I don't know that I have fun at all if I throw a party because I'm so worried about everybody else In the moment In the moment. But I'll look back and I'll be like that was a really good party.

Doug:

That was a really good one, because everybody else had fun.

Heather:

Like that's the only thing I care about, but I do. I love hosting and I think that there truly is something to be said about having someone come up to you and say that was really good. I really loved that. Oh yeah, right, right, it's like the ultimate compliment.

Doug:

I know big pat on the back.

Heather:

Right, I can't cook, I can follow a recipe.

Doug:

Well, I think that's what you're doing. That's super smart. You're grabbing some stuff from the shows or you're finding stuff. I think often you are scrolling through social media and finding inspiration. Yeah Right, is that how you do it?

Heather:

Yeah, and so Frankie and I actually have something on Instagram. It's like our shared meals, and because I love that Instagram does this, now that you can kind of have these shared boards, almost like Pinterest.

Doug:

Yeah, with the bookmark.

Heather:

Yeah, you can kind of bookmark them and save them, and so we have this like one for our house for home projects, and we also have one that are just meals, and so I have like all of these saved and I just, you know, we just send them to each other. Heather is showing me her meals feed right now. Yeah, and they're amazing. A lot of them come from Half Baked Harvest.

Doug:

Half Baked Harvest. Do you follow her?

Heather:

No, I'll have to. Oh, she's amazing. She also likes butter.

Doug:

Oh well, that's okay. Yeah, it sort of makes everything better.

Heather:

It does, but I really like more of the home-cooked meals. I like those hearty meat and potato. I want to feel full after eating A salad doesn't do that to me.

Doug:

Right, and actually there's something about just having that home cooked experience. You're in this zone right now of what I like to call the messy middle. You're married with kids, everything's happening and you want to have those meals where you sit down and everyone sort of comes together.

Heather:

We do it. We honestly, I'm telling you it is a priority in our house. There are some nights that, yes, they are just like a grab and go. Everybody's trying to decompress from the day, but I would say 90% of the time we are sitting down at the dinner table. Even if it's 15 minutes that we're shoving food into our face, we're still sitting down together, no devices and just talking.

Doug:

I love that.

Heather:

Me too.

Doug:

Oh my gosh, you actually led me to my next question. You are two busy parents with three younger kids and two dogs.

Heather:

And two dogs.

Doug:

How do you do it? I don't know Really I mean, I guess where I'm going with that is like do you and Frankie take turns cooking, or are there some go-to dishes or even some go-to takeout that, like it, gets you through the crazy weeks that you have?

Heather:

Yeah Well, sometimes for sure, like last night I told Frankie cause you know, school starting and we're trying to get everybody out the door and settled and and you know, getting all their supplies ready, like everything is just so crazy and I told him. I said I really want Taco. Bell yeah, there's nothing wrong with Taco Bell, you don't have to whisper.

Doug:

Don't be listen. Why do I have to?

Heather:

whisper, you don't have to whisper, I feel like you have to whisper. Listen, don't feel like it's dirty. Get me nachos bel grande. Oh my gosh, don't tell anybody.

Catherine:

It's the best.

Heather:

So there are some times where we'll get you know fast food and just bring it home. And it's so easy.

Doug:

Yeah.

Heather:

But yeah, I don't know. Sometimes it feels like in Frozen 2, Anna sings a song about like you just got to put one foot in front of the other. It's after Olaf melts and her world is crumbling. But sometimes I do feel like we're kind of living our lives, sometimes like you're just taking that one next step.

Heather:

Like you, just kind of have to do the next thing, and so there might not be this long forward thinking like what are we going to have for dinner on Wednesday? It's okay, we have chicken and we have something else, and why don't we do this?

Doug:

So you're being flexible, Like I think so many home cooks have to do. You're looking in the fridge or the pantry and you're being like I've got these three things, we can do this. You're not actually meal planning for the month.

Heather:

And I do. I will say if, unless it's a very busy week, I try and write down some meals on, like Saturday or Sunday, and then do our grocery shopping so we do have some sort of plan, because if you don't have a plan then it oftentimes leads to more McDonald's or Taco Bell than you probably like, right. But yeah, so we try and have a plan.

Doug:

You're living the life that so many families are living.

Heather:

Are the kids having to pack lunches right now? Oh gosh, it's the worst. Oh no Do. Are the kids having to pack?

Doug:

lunches right now? Oh gosh, it's the worst. Oh no, do we have some picky eaters in the family?

Heather:

We went through a very long period of the beige food. Oh, Do you know what I'm talking about? Listen.

Doug:

I have a nephew that graduated high school and the beige food phase is still there.

Heather:

Yeah, it's bread, pasta and rice and that's it pretty much. How about a chicken tender?

Doug:

pasta and rice, and that's it pretty much. How about a chicken tender?

Heather:

Well, and a chicken tender every once in a while, if we're lucky.

Doug:

Okay.

Heather:

My girls are starting to graduate a little bit into like oh, I'll try that.

Doug:

Oh, that's so good.

Heather:

My oldest. She's a big meat eater, so she'll eat steak and chicken and all of that. My middle is food can't touch.

Doug:

Oh, there's, rules.

Heather:

There's very specific rules.

Doug:

Do we have separated dishes with the little zones?

Heather:

I used a spoon once to try her mac and cheese and she wouldn't eat it.

Doug:

It's very Our rules, mother. There's separation.

Heather:

We learned the hard way that day of that new rule that she had created. And my youngest is like a teenager he just eats cereal. Separation, very specific we learned the hard way that day of that new rule that she had created. Wow, and my youngest is like a teenager he just eats cereal.

Doug:

Oh yeah, I think you just mentioned this on the show. He's walking around with a big bowl of cereal. Yeah, it's all he eats. This was like my generation, he's like a Gen Xer.

Heather:

Right, that's right. It's all the bad cereal too, and I will have people who will come for me like Lucky Charms is not a food group. Well, he's growing, so he's doing okay. It's going to keep him alive and he's getting Flintstone vitamins, so we're making it work.

Doug:

Are you packing lunches?

Heather:

Yes, so and that that comes in the hard part is you know, we can't pack the night before, we have to pack the morning of Things change.

Doug:

Yeah.

Heather:

We may have liked peanut butter and jelly the night before, but this morning-.

Doug:

A new rule has been enacted.

Heather:

Don't thinks so. Yes, exactly, so it could be very different hours apart from each other.

Doug:

I don't know about your youngest, but do the girls help? Yet Does anybody help with their lunch or with cooking?

Heather:

This is funny because birth order is a real thing. So baby does nothing, you know, Rocco does nothing, Lila also very independent.

Doug:

But does nothing. She's your oldest.

Heather:

She's the one that will be a CEO, but have an assistant.

Doug:

Of course.

Heather:

You know she's like I'm doing things, but you can do it. Sonni, though our middle. She's fiercely independent but will tell no one. So I have caught her on multiple occasions getting her own cereal, making a mess, not telling anybody, cleaning up said mess. Wow, yeah, I mean it's so. She will help. She'll pack her lunch.

Doug:

Well, one out of three.

Heather:

One out of three isn't bad. We have one helper in the family.

Doug:

Oh well, better than the zero Wow.

Heather:

Hi, it's Heather Abraham from PTL and Talk Pittsburgh and you're listening to The Pittsburgh Dish.

Doug:

So we're talking about the kids' lunches. What about you and Frankie? Is there a dish that he makes for the family at home that you all love?

Heather:

So one of my favorite things that he makes. Remember how I told you that I can follow a recipe, but I'm not a cook. Very different from him. He does not follow a recipe. Reading is not his forte. He will tell you. It's not his favorite thing.

Doug:

He just does it. He goes into the kitchen and makes something.

Heather:

IKEA instructions. Forget it, he's building it himself. Oh good luck, I know, but he can just do it. One of my favorite things that he makes is eggplant rollatini.

Doug:

Ooh yeah, this is like a long slice of eggplant.

Heather:

Yes, and how he has learned to do this, I don't know, but he will slice the eggplant long ways, salt it. How did he know to do this? I don't know, because he doesn't read Like I told you salt the eggplant, lets it sweat a little bit, pats it off, breads it, fries it, lets it sit, rolls it with some ricotta. Oh my Tops, I know. Chops it with some cheese, chops it with some sauce, tops it with more cheese, bakes it for a little bit and I'm a puddle. It's amazing.

Doug:

That sounds amazing.

Heather:

It's incredible that sounds way better than like eggplant parm. I know it's amazing Eggplant rollatini.

Doug:

So let's turn that around, heather. So clearly Frankie, and we could just say too Frankie is a firefighter. Really Frankie, and we could just say too Frankie is a firefighter.

Heather:

He is, does he?

Doug:

have to cook at the fire station, because they're kind of known for really good food.

Heather:

So he was just promoted to lieutenant and I know we're really excited for him. When he was a hoseman he did a lot more of the cooking. When he was a hoseman he would tell me the things that he's making. I'm like why would you not make those for me?

Doug:

For you guys, yeah.

Heather:

Yeah, like crunch wrap tacos, Like you know the-.

Doug:

Oh my gosh Speaking of Taco Bell going back to Taco Bell, let's just do that at home.

Heather:

He makes those at work sometimes, and the weekends they'll do breakfast. So he does a lot of breakfast on the weekends.

Doug:

This is where the dude sharpened his saw in the kitchen.

Heather:

Yeah, he really did.

Doug:

Sa Sausage gravy On any kind of biscuit on chicken fried steak you tell me he can make it in his sleep.

Heather:

Wow, yeah, it's actually very easy to make too, as you know.

Doug:

I'm sure I don't know if I've actually made sausage gravy.

Heather:

That one is pretty easy. He's taught me how to make that one and I can make it. Not nearly as good as him, but I can make it. We've established that your husband, Frankie, is a very good cook. Yes, is there a?

Doug:

dish that if Frankie was asking you to make something is a go-to request. He likes my meatloaf oh that's good.

Heather:

You know, I don't know. Nothing that I make is so standout like he does. He said something to me the other day because I don't know what I made. I made something and I was criticizing it because for me I'm like this is good, but how can I make it better if we make this next time? And he's he said something like nothing you make is bad, like this isn't I? Yeah, add this to the rotation, I love it. Nothing you make is going to be bad. So he's very complimentary in that way. But I don't know if he would request anything, I'd have to ask him.

Doug:

All right. So let's take that one step further. If you guys are going out on a date night, where would you want to go?

Heather:

This is a fight. You're bringing up fights.

Doug:

We don't have to fight about it. Let's pick two different places minimum, okay, because if you're picking and you're winning, where are you going?

Heather:

Do you guys fight about this, like, where do you want to go to eat? I don't know. Where do you want to go? You?

Doug:

know it is a little tough because Greg keeps mostly vegetarian and I am omnitarian everything. So most of the time I'll go out to eat with my friends at all the places.

Heather:

I want to go.

Doug:

And I'll go out with Greg to places where he can find something on the menu.

Heather:

I see Well, one of my favorite speaking of Bill Fuller earlier. One of my favorite places is Alta Via.

Doug:

Oh yes.

Heather:

And there is this it's a papardelle pasta with short rib and burrata and this wonderful, like you know, the short rib is cooked in this amazing sauce and then they use that to build it and put it on.

Doug:

Oh my gosh, it's amazing, it's topped with burrata. And it's topped with burrata, which you are a cheese girl.

Heather:

I am a cheese girl and I can eat you. Give me a container of burrata, I will go sit in the closet and eat that whole thing. So I love Altavia. Frankie is the kind of guy who is not a big fan of eating out for Italian.

Doug:

Of course, because this is his sort of background, right, he loves cooking Italian.

Heather:

He feels like I can make it and I think I can make it better.

Doug:

Well, I get it for him because I actually love cooking breakfast and I sort of know how cheap eggs and things can be. Even when they're expensive, they're cheap. So when you go out for breakfast and it's kind of pricey, I'm like I could have done that.

Heather:

Well, those are the two things he does not want to like. If I want to go on a date, he will not take me to breakfast and he will not take me to go get Italian.

Doug:

These are like special occasion things, yeah, where he will yield to your request.

Heather:

I love going to breakfast because to me it's like a treat Because, yeah, you can cook breakfast at home and it's so easy. But sometimes it's just so fun to sit there with someone coming around and pouring you endless coffee.

Doug:

Oh, I know.

Heather:

It's amazing. One of our other favorite places, though and I know that he requests this pretty often is Totopo. Have you ever been to Totopo?

Doug:

Oh no, I don't think I know this.

Heather:

Okay, Totopo is in Mount Lebanon. It's on Washington Road.

Doug:

I think I might've been just saying it wrong, totopo, maybe maybe I'm saying it wrong.

Heather:

I have no idea Totopo. Totopo, and this is a place where we know we can bring the kids.

Doug:

And Totopo. We should say for our listeners it's a Mexican.

Heather:

It's a Mexican restaurant.

Doug:

Yep, and they're open. I'm just going to take a look right now. They're open almost every day, which is actually rare on a Monday and Tuesday nowadays. 11 am.

Heather:

Let's see if I can find this on the menu, because it is, quite honestly, his favorite thing, but he gets the same dish every time we go and and he, um, he calls it his like death row meal, like if he was, if this was like the last thing, like what do?

Heather:

you, what do you want? This, this is what he would what does he get? Uh, it's like a. It's like a chicken dish that has is it, the Choripollo asada Char-grilled chorizo chicken breast topped with queso sauce, garnished with grilled onions, roasted jalapenos, salsa verde. I think this is it. Oh my gosh, I think that's the one that is his go-to dish.

Doug:

That is his death row meal. All right, heather. Well, I kind of want to move us forward, but I want to do that by taking a step back. So you know, you grew up in the Pittsburgh area, right?

Heather:

I did, yeah, Shaler and growing up like?

Doug:

what was food like in your household? Were you a picky eater like some of the kids?

Heather:

Yeah, I mean I think I have that same traumatizing memory that a lot of people do. For me it was peas and milk, like being stuck at the table like please finish these.

Doug:

Yeah, no, that doesn't sound good together.

Heather:

No, they're not good, but my mom was a very busy nurse and so I think a lot of her meals were we got to get on the table. I'm just getting home from work, it's late and then there were a lot of times that my sister and I were coming home, like I said, as latchkey kids and we would do a lot of mac and cheese and like quick and easy things that we could make, but my mom would do some crockpot meals and a lot of comfort meals Again.

Heather:

my love for meatloaf probably came from all of that too. And then on my dad's side of the family we're Syrian and so you know, while we had like these really Americanized home-cooked meals with my mom when I would go visit my dad's side of the family, my mom and my dad are divorced. I had this like totally different experience because-.

Doug:

With food.

Heather:

With food, because we're eating lamb on the rod and grape leaves. And like these really interesting things that I don't know. I couldn't eat peas, but I could eat a grape leaf, Like that's crazy when you think about it.

Doug:

It was exotic, but not.

Heather:

But not In that environment, right.

Doug:

Have any of those Syrian dishes or flavors kind of stuck with you? Do you crave some of those things today?

Heather:

Oh, all the time, all the time and you know one of the things that I really want to learn how to do. My grandma, on a couple of occasions, showed me how to make grape leaves. And I remember sitting with her and she was like you have to try the meat mixture, and she would just eat the raw meat and I was like, but it's not cooked, why are you eating? No-transcript. Those are dishes that I want to learn how to make so that I can make them more frequently from my family.

Doug:

I love that. Now you mentioned your aunt. I don't know if we're talking about the same person.

Catherine:

Aunt Terri, is this Aunt?

Doug:

Terry. Yes, so it sounds like Aunt Terri has also been sort of a food-centric force in your life, she is yeah. Tell us about her a little bit.

Heather:

Well and I was actually just telling somebody about this the other day my Aunt Terri is like a matriarch. She has that presence.

Doug:

Yes.

Heather:

Yes, and she is a firm believer in, you know, family above all else, and how. How much food can unite us as a family? She's I don't know. When I think about growing my own family, I look at that as as an example of like what, what we can do to bring people together more.

Doug:

She's given you a great model.

Heather:

Yeah, yeah.

Doug:

I'm so glad you have her in your life. I am too. A little side note Was she also a notorious pampered chef?

Heather:

Oh, yes, did you see that video. I posted it on Instagram.

Doug:

I think so. She was selling it and selling it hard.

Heather:

You know. So she was a nurse for many years and I think that at some point along the line she was like, like before a side hustle was a thing, she was like this is a great way to make money. So she was in like the Tupperware gang and like she was selling all that stuff and she got into the Pampered Chef stuff. And so she the one day starts showing us some of these tricks and tools that she had. And at one point Lila's like why are you showing us all of this? And I'm like no, show us more, we need to see all of the stuff.

Doug:

She was well-versed in what all of the cool gadgets do in the pampered chef world she had that one thing that you would roll and you could get the skin off the garlic, the peel.

Heather:

Yeah, amazing, amazing.

Doug:

Amazing Time saver.

Heather:

The little tongs where you put them up, they lock. You put them down, they open up. That's the one I remember, oh my gosh Go, aunt Terri.

Doug:

Well, heather, let's move forward too. So I know you and I both just helped out with Recipe for Hope that's Bonnie Diver's org and you worked with Bill Fuller. I was with Ron again hawking my stuff and he gets all the credit. It's always good. Is there any other like big food centric benefits or events that you're involved in coming up?

Heather:

Yes, In fact, I'm taking part in Best Buddies their Taste Buds event. Have you ever done it?

Doug:

I haven't done it, but I'm aware of Best Buddies, but could you tell our listeners a little bit about them?

Heather:

This will be my second year participating, so I'm not as well versed in like all of it as some of these chefs. Like some of them have been with the program for years now because it's just truly so amazing. So a lot of these chefs will act as a buddy, as a mentor to people who may not have those opportunities Right, and so they do this amazing big night, a big fundraiser, and it's one of those nights where you kind of like have a tear, like you're just like holding it back all night.

Doug:

Yeah, because it's so heartfelt, it's so great.

Heather:

It's wonderful, and just to speak to, what they're capable of doing with this one big fundraiser they set up at the David L Lawrence Convention Center and they have enough chefs to fill like the outer perimeter of the room and feed hundreds of people. But I do think at our very core, from the beginning of time, food has been something that not just nourishes us but it really does bring us together. So to see chefs giving back in that way is just really touching.

Doug:

Yeah, really warms your heart, Sure. Giving back in that way is just really touching. Yeah, really warms your heart, sure. And then you guys are also probably doing it's called the TV Turkey Fund. Oh yeah, the.

Heather:

KD KA TV, turkey Fund.

Doug:

Yes.

Heather:

So this is something that the station started Al Julius started.

Doug:

That's right.

Heather:

Decades ago, over 40 years ago. You know it's gone through. It's like team leaders over the years and within the last couple of years we started really taking it over for PTL.

Doug:

So you and David Highfield, and the rest of the gang take the lead, and this benefits the greater Pittsburgh food bank.

Heather:

Yes, so, um, so this is something that you know. They're able to provide gift cards to people to kind of supplement for their meals.

Heather:

And then they also have a number of programs where they're giving people boxes of, like, the sides that you would get. It's so funny because every year I come up with these elaborate plans for David's birthday. Like, my station never says yes to them. They're always like we can't do that. We can't do that and I'm like but what if, like I'm right now, I'm trying to get his face on the side of the bus.

Doug:

Like wrapped on the bus.

Heather:

Yes, because why not, you know, is it a milestone birthday? No, last year I wanted to get his face on a billboard, but three or four years ago my idea was let's throw it. It was his 50th birthday it was coming up and I was like let's throw him a party on the Gateway Clipper? And they were like no. And I was like what if it's for the Turkey Fund? And they were like yes, but it still can't be David's birthday party.

Doug:

So you're the one that created the Gateway Clipper event indirectly with these other ideas.

Heather:

Yeah.

Doug:

I love it and I think you guys just mentioned it's happening again.

Heather:

It's happening again and it's just. You know what? I think we know that it's for David's birthday. In the back of our heads we're like this is secretly your birthday party, but it really has become a wonderful way and I think David loves that. All of these people are coming out to celebrate the Turkey Fund and celebrate giving back. And in the back of our minds. We're kind of like it's really your birthday gift.

Doug:

This is David Highfield. By the way, if we haven't mentioned, this is your co-host on Pittsburgh Today Live. Oh my goodness, I love that story. It's always cool to know the backstory.

Heather:

That's the backstory.

Doug:

Heather Abraham, it's been so wonderful to talk with you. Oh, you too. If there are some people out there that don't know you that well or don't follow you, where can people find you and follow you?

Heather:

Sure, well, of course, please watch. We do Pittsburgh Today Live 9 am weekday mornings on KDKA, and there are so many different streaming options, so we have people that reach out who are watching us in Florida or Colorado or California, because you can watch us really anywhere. I also do an afternoon talk show, which I love. This is still in its infancy, but we're on at 3 o'clock in the afternoons also on KDKA Talk Pittsburgh which is a wonderful show, and of course, you can follow me on Facebook and Instagram as well. What's the?

Heather:

handle now on Instagram I changed my Instagram handle. It's @theh eathera braham.

Doug:

All right.

Heather:

Or the. Do you say the or the? I'm a the.

Doug:

Yeah, but I think either one works.

Heather:

It's a little weird to change my handle, but I just thought. You know, I'm still working at KDKA, but because I have these two talk shows, I just thought let's remove that part of it, just so that it's like this is Heather.

Doug:

I think it's good for your own personal brand.

Heather:

Maybe I don't know, I'm just winging it. I have no idea what I'm doing. It allows you to put on there whatever you want. Right, exactly.

Doug:

All right, heather, the name of the show is the Pittsburgh Dish. Yeah, I always have a sign-off question. Oh, I love it. Is this a secret, surprise question? Oh, I don't know. If you've listened to the show so far, you might have an idea. What was the best dish you've eaten this past week?

Heather:

This past week. Well, it wasn't Taco Bell, no although that's pretty good. Okay, it was just memorable. This week, chef Crystal, again from Market District, she was getting us ready for school lunches and she made a toasted croissant sandwich with Biscoff cookie butter.

Doug:

Oh, yes, yeah, this is like that Speculoos they call it sometimes. I don't know.

Heather:

Yeah, I have no idea, I had never tried it before.

Doug:

You can get it in several places, but yes.

Heather:

I don't know what it is about food that makes me whisper.

Doug:

Because it's so good.

Heather:

It's so good. It was Biscoff cookie butter, and she brought in this peach bourbon jam. Oh, you couldn't taste the bourbon.

Doug:

Yeah.

Heather:

But I guess it probably had hints of it. But I ate it in 30 seconds. It was delicious. I had crumb, you know, because croissants they get all flaky. I have flakes all over me, I still. I think I still have some of the jam in my hair. At some point I touched the back of my head. It's stuck right there and I don't wash my hair every day, so it's going to stay with me, that little, that little present.

Doug:

Chef Crystal Baldwin, you had a winner.

Heather:

Yes, it was really good.

Doug:

Wow, best bite this week.

Heather:

Best bite this week, for sure.

Doug:

Heather Abraham.

Heather:

Thank you so much for being on The Pittsburgh Dish. This is amazing.

Doug:

Thanks for inviting me heading to a tailgate and want to take some wine with you instead of the beer, our wine expert, catherine Montest, says absolutely. Hey everybody, we're back with our resident wine expert, catherine Montest, of your Fairy Wine, mother Catherine. I was thinking we're getting into the season of tailgating. Is there a wine or a set of wines that, in your mind, are good for the tailgate season?

Catherine:

You know tailgate a lot of people think beer they don't think wine.

Doug:

Right.

Catherine:

But why not? So I think I believe wine really belongs at a tailgate, and so I'm going to surprise you with my first recommendation Okay, box wine.

Doug:

I just, yes, surprised, but I guess maybe there's better quality boxed wines than I've come across.

Catherine:

There are Okay, and we're going to get into that. But there's a lot of good reasons for boxed wine. One there's no glass to worry about breaking in the parking lot. Right, it's a little easier to handle A boxed wine. They're eco-conscious, you're not going to have a lot of wasted packaging and that kind of thing. Good point Each box holds about four bottles of wine and once it's opened, that wine's going to stay fresh for up to six weeks.

Doug:

Inside the box there's usually like this foil bag and it's vacuum.

Catherine:

The pouch and it's vacuum sealed. You open up the spigot, the wine pours out and the pouch kind of collapses around it and that keeps oxygen off of the wine, which is totally different than a traditional wine bottle.

Doug:

right, that's exactly correct.

Catherine:

So oxygen can be a friend and a foe to wine. So a good bottle of wine, you want to open it up and let a little oxygen get at it for a while, so that it opens up and it becomes all of the best versions of itself.

Doug:

All of those notes, all of those flavors.

Catherine:

Absolutely. But if wine is exposed to oxygen for far too long and by far too long I mean we're talking a couple of days and just only the surface that's exposed within that bottle it can start to taste kind of meh, it's heading towards vinegar land.

Doug:

It's heading towards vinegar land Exactly.

Catherine:

It's not a great thing. So if you've got a lot of people at a tailgate, a four-bottle serving coming from the box is really kind of a good way to go. It makes perfect sense here it really does and box wines are budget-friendly. Most of them are going to come in between $22 and $25. But we have a challenge. We live in the great state of Pennsylvania where our liquor is all purchased by a government agency. I don't think the folks who run that agency have been reading some of the wine publications that I read, because when I was thinking about preparing for this segment today, I did some research like what are the good box wines out there, some research like what are the good boxed wines out there and most of the good boxed wines you know, as recommended by all the big wine publications they're not available to us here in the state of Pennsylvania.

Catherine:

Oh, that's a bummer, but I did manage to find a few good choices that are widely available in Pennsylvania. I'm thinking tailgate. Some of the most popular foods I've had at tailgate parties are burgers, chili, even sometimes ribs, yeah yeah. So a great choice for that is going to be a red blend. I like a red blend. Yeah, I do too. I love a red blend because it allows the winemaker to really express the best of what's been going on in the vineyard that year, and a little bit of this grape, a little bit of that grape, bring it together to make something really harmonious and something beautiful on the palate. If a wine maker goofs up a red blend, they need to get a new job. So the red blend that I would recommend is Bota Box Nighthawk Black Red Blend. Oh, I like a Bota Box. I've had those. Yeah, they do a really nice job and truly they're one of the best available box wines to us here in Pennsylvania.

Doug:

Through the state store.

Catherine:

Through the state stores. That's correct. This Black Red Blend from Bota Box it's going to have a really good flavor of black cherry, plum, raspberry and even some baking spices and a note of cedar. That actually sounds good for the fall time of tailgating. Yeah, it's kind of like a warm hug in the glass of wine.

Doug:

So, Catherine, I do have a question. So the Bota box is our go-to for our PA wine and spirit stores. If I was doing some research and I found another box, can I order boxed wine and have it shipped to me the way I've heard you can do with bottles of wine from?

Catherine:

out of state. From out of state, a lot of the really good selections just aren't available anywhere in the state, so you would have to go to another supplier who works with the state of Pennsylvania and has permission to ship into Pennsylvania, and an example of a company like that would be Winecom.

Doug:

Okay.

Catherine:

They've got a great selection and they are allowed to ship here to your home in Pennsylvania Good to know. And if you're looking for a white wine because we know we've got a lot of white wine lovers out there and white wine is a great thing to pair if you're doing chicken or if you're having a lot of cheese dishes Black Box Chardonnay that would be a good white wine recommendation for your tailgate parties.

Doug:

And this one again is available in our PA Wine and Liquor stores.

Catherine:

It's one of the ones we can get.

Doug:

All right, catherine. So we're saying box wine is the way to go for your tailgate and the Boda Box can you remind me the one you liked? Bota Box, Nighthawk Black Red Blend and, if I have some white wine drinkers.

Catherine:

Black Box Chardonnay and Doug. If you really want to wow your guests, you could go a little bit deeper with a more thoughtful menu and a curated wine selection. Deeper with a more thoughtful menu and a curated wine selection. And I'm sharing this with you because I'm pairing with the folks at Third Space Bakery for a special tailgating and wine cooking event. It's going to be at their location in Garfield on October 2nd and this is an opportunity to learn how to make some real crowd-pleasing recipes, including bacon, cheeseburger slider bake, muffaletta sliders and buffalo chicken meatballs, and they're all going to have special sides to go with each one.

Catherine:

And you're pairing a wine with all of these. I am I'm going to be pairing wines with each of these dishes that are really selected to enhance the flavors of the food and give you the opportunity to show off a little bit for your guests, and you can sign up for it at thirdspacebakerycom.

Doug:

What I really like about the classes over at Third Space is, I think the max that they can do is 12. So you're getting this really intimate experience and you definitely can talk to the folks that are holding the class. You can ask a question, you bet. Catherine. Happy tailgating. Happy tailgating, Doug. Thanks so much.

Doug:

You can follow Catherine on Instagram at yourfairywinemother that's, you are fairy wine mother and, as Catherine said, you can catch her at Third Space Bakery doing her upcoming class with wine pairings and tailgating on October 1st. Coincidentally, I have the next class at that same space. I'm doing a fall trip to Germany with Spätzle, bratwurst and more, and it's on October 10th 2024. You can find more information about these events and more at the Third Space Bakery website, that's www. thirdspacebakery. com, and just look for classes and events. Well, I thought, with my class coming up on a trip to Germany, I would leave you with my own personal recipe for Spätzle this week. You can find it on the blog www. pittsburghdish. com. 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.

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Douglas Heilman

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