The Pittsburgh Dish
Do you really know the food scene of Pittsburgh?! The Pittsburgh Dish introduces you to the people, places, and recipes that make our regional cuisine so special. By sharing personal stories, weekly recommendations, and community recipes, we aim to inspire you to connect with local taste makers and experience the unique flavors that shape our city.
The Pittsburgh Dish
046 Feasting on Film with Roxanne Easley
(00:55) What if your passion project turned into a thriving business going 18 years strong? Roxanne Easley of Roxanne’s Catering joins us to share her incredible journey from her roots in Pittsburgh to becoming a key player in the catering world. We delve into her diverse menu options, popular brunch selections like red velvet waffles and deep-fried French toast, and her educational pursuits in culinary etiquette.
(11:31) Roxanne's fascinating experiences with 'on-camera' catering offer a unique glimpse behind the scenes, detailing her work on the sets of major films like "Fences" and "The Deliverance." Explore the hustle and creativity involved in film catering, where Roxanne's adaptability meets the high demands of Hollywood. She recounts the challenges of sourcing ingredients and collaborating with props departments to bring her authentic food to the big screen.
(29:10) Later in the show, we discover the Korean dishes and flavors of Nak Won Garden with Shelly Danko Day, and Chris Fennimore of WQED provides a recipe and culinary lesson with his grandson, Tobias, in Rome. Chris not only passes down the art of making a healthier Eggplant Rollatini but also celebrates the joy of cooking across generations.
Join us for an inspiring episode filled with stories of culinary innovation, and the bonds formed through food.
Welcome to the Pittsburgh Dish. I'm your host, Doug Heilman. Ever wonder who makes that on-screen food in a movie? We talked to a local caterer that's in the know Craving a kimchi pancake. Shelly Danko Day takes us to one of her favorite Korean spots. And are you teaching a new generation how to cook? Chris Fennimore shares a recipe and lesson in eggplant rollatini with his grandson. All that ahead. Stay tuned. If you have a food-related business and want to advertise on The Pittsburgh Dish, just drop us a line. You can send us a DM in Instagram or use our get in touch form on the front page of our website, www. pittsburghdish. com. Now onto the show. Well, thank you so much for coming over and for being on the show. Would you introduce yourself to our listeners and what you have going on right now in the world of food?
Roxanne:Okay, my name is Roxanne from Roxanne's Catering. I also own a company called Easley Event Staffing, which is the staffing and bartending portion of our company, and I also own a training service called Smiling Services, which is etiquette and professionalism in the food industry.
Chris:Oh my goodness yeah.
Roxanne:So we do full service catering, so we're a one-stop shop for any events. We do film catering, we do small parties all the way up to $1,500. Whoa yeah, we do corporate America nonprofit organizations and we provide catering services for private homes and private chef services, and we also do traveling services. So there are times we travel to Puerto Rico and different states to provide catering services. Oh my goodness.
Chris:Yeah.
Roxanne:So we've been doing that for several years. I began in 2006 with my catering services'm just traveling around the Pittsburgh area selling dinners, just trying to make a name for myself so and today we pretty much are catering pretty much every day. Wow, yeah.
Doug:You're doing so much more than I even picked up on the website.
Roxanne:I tried to do a light little bit of research but that is amazing.
Doug:The one thing that you said which is really what piqued my interest is that you said which is really what piqued my interest is that you've done some movie catering. So I definitely want to talk about that because what an interesting niche in the world of catering. But I do want to start with the food. I did take a look at your website and the menu is. It's so vast. I mean from chicken to fish to vegetarian lasagna, I mean someone can get almost anything.
Roxanne:Yes, that's why I make it. I make it so that we can feed anyone. Yes, so everyone can be my customer.
Doug:I always love to ask our guests that are in the food business what are some of the most requested dishes on your website.
Roxanne:Actually, the most requested dishes on our website would be our small plates, really.
Shelly:Yeah.
Roxanne:And boxed lunches actually like sandwiches. Yeah. So when we get the opportunity to be creative, we go for it, because on a day-to-day basis people usually just order like meals for their office meeting or they'll order things for like an event they're having after work and they want small plates, appetizer type dishes and it's fun. But we get to be creative when people call us and say hey, we have a party of 200 and basically, can you make the menu for us? That's where it's really fun for us but we love what we do every day.
Doug:Yes, and your commercial kitchen is based over in the north side, so you are local Pittsburgh through and through. Did you grow up?
Roxanne:in the area. Actually, I grew up in Homewood. You did, yes. I went to George Westinghouse High School. I went to Edinboro University. I also did online school for catering and culinary, and that's how I pretty much fell into this business. It was God given, though, because I believe that I did it just to do something part-time, to make extra money.
Chris:And.
Doug:I tell people all the time God had a different plan for me, Sure did You're getting close to 18 years now, getting close to 20 years doing this catering thing? Yes, and it's such an expansive amount of things. And did you just tell me off the mic that you also teach a class?
Roxanne:Yes, so the Smiling Services, it's a book that I've written. It's available on Amazon. We'll plug it. Yes, is available on Amazon. We'll plug it. Yes, and I do. There's a Catapult Culinary Program for Catapult Pittsburgh and I come in towards the end of their session and I teach etiquette and professionalism in the food industry and it's this six weeks course and I teach them how you know, a lot of them come in and they know how to prepare food, they know what they want to do, but there are just some etiquette things that I try to teach them and then give them a little secrets about catering while they're in the class.
Doug:Well, it's such another side of the business, beyond the food, that's super important. Yes, you want to get that customer and then you want to win them back because you've made this great impression. It's great relationship. Do you have that in your business? Do you have like repeat customers again and again?
Roxanne:I have customers that I've still had since 2006. Isn't that incredible? Yes, I love it, because you've got the skills to know how to do that.
Doug:I do want to go back to that menu, so I was looking at some pictures on your website and I would encourage anyone to do so. You do some like grazing table spreads and some of those small bite things look amazing. There were one or two things that I saw that I wanted to ask about and this is not your small bites, okay, red velvet waffles, oh yeah, oh my.
Roxanne:That's a big hit, but I'm going to tell you what's even bigger it's our deep fried French toast. It's a signature dish that we prepare, yes, and people love it. So they're red velvet waffles. They're very popular on our brunch menu.
Doug:Yes.
Roxanne:With that we serve. Sometimes we'll add a chicken bite to it. Oh, like chicken and waffles. Yes, chicken and waffles, but with a little flair, because it's red. Velvet, yeah, real soft, real moist waffles yeah, they're delicious have you ever done them with like a cream cheese? Yes, we have, we have done them with a cream cheese drizzle, but a lot of times, um, people just like to have like a pipette like a syrup pipette with them, with the chicken with it, and it's really good yes, I actually just came from a cupcake contest this past weekend
Doug:oh, really a red velvet cupcake won the best traditional.
Chris:Yes, I think that's why it was on my mind and I saw that today.
Doug:The other one I wouldn't mind talking about is your specialty baked mac and cheese. Yeah, Is there any secrets you can give us? That's a differentiator. Anything you do, that turns it up a notch.
Roxanne:I probably use more cheese than anyone in Pittsburgh.
Doug:I think that's the right answer.
Roxanne:Yes, it's the cheesiest macaroni and cheese that you'll ever find. My secret is more cheese, less noodles.
Doug:Oh, that's sort of my key to like mashed potatoes more butter, less potatoes. Now you said the small bites were also the most popular thing. Is there anything that we want to mention in terms of a small bite highlight?
Roxanne:Yeah, so we talked about our specialty macaroni and cheese. So we actually have taken that specialty macaroni and cheese and turned it into a deep fried macaroni and cheese, and we deep fried and we top it with a marinara sauce. Oh my, so this is really popular this is like a cheese stick beyond yes steroids and we can also make that a vegan option as well, so we do make a vegan macaroni and cheese too. That's becoming rather popular in this generation too, with everyone going vegan yeah, whether they've got.
Doug:You know it's the lactose thing or the just no animal thing you know I it's the lactose thing or the no animal thing. I mean, there's a lot of good options now for that, and I noticed there is a huge amount of vegetarian items on your menu. Again, back to your point you're doing something for everybody.
Roxanne:Yes, and you know what we also offer. So I always tell people. If you don't see it on the menu, that's okay. I can create one specifically for you and it's not an extra fee or anything, it's just something to design it specifically for the person that I'm preparing food for.
Doug:I want to dig in a little bit more to some of the other culinary things you're talking about. So you're doing this local catering from small to large parties, but how did you get into the traveling? Did you say Puerto Rico?
Roxanne:Yeah. So what happened was there are some of my clients that travel a lot and one time someone asked me hey, would you be interested in coming out to Puerto Rico? We're going to be celebrating my partner's birthday and I was like sure. So they paid for my Airbnb and paid for the rental car, and in Puerto Rico they have Walmart, they have Sam's Club, so I can shop there as if I'm home, and I love Puerto Rico.
Roxanne:So, given that opportunity. I took that and I started sharing it on Instagram and TikTok and those sorts of things and it brought me more opportunity to go back and do private chef services. Now the only hitch is you got to pay. Oh yeah, right, yeah, because you have to pay for my airfare, you have to pay for the rental car so that I can do the shopping and you have to pay for the.
Roxanne:Airbnb, so so that I can do the shopping, and you have to pay for the Airbnb so that I can pre-prep before I come to your Airbnb. Yeah, you need a kitchen, yes. And so in Puerto Rico there's not a all-inclusive feel. They have resorts, but they're not all-inclusive, so you still have to pay for restaurants. So I sort of tell people I bring the all inclusive when you're there. Yeah, so bring me with you, it's a great niche.
Doug:Yes, so smart. Yes, when you're back home, it sounds like you've gone there mostly by yourself.
Roxanne:Yes, I've went. I've taken someone with me a couple of times, but mostly I go by myself. When you're back home, do you have a staff of folks like people that you've been?
Doug:working with for a while. I have a total staff of 47.
Roxanne:Okay, I just like shook my head, so not all of them prepare the food, so we have staffing as far as servicing, and the Easley Events staffing has staffing services and bartending. So those are the bartenders included and the staff that works in the kitchen. So the chefs that work in the kitchen there are approximately about seven of us total that rotate in the kitchen to be able to prepare the food for everyone In 2006,.
Doug:Would you ever have said, oh, I'm going to have over 40 employees in my life?
Roxanne:Absolutely not, absolutely not. I started it just trying to make extra money. I didn't realize that it would turn into a passion and a gift that you know I wouldn't have any other way. It's a love that I have now.
Doug:You had those skills of cooking which drew people in and you have something else which just attracts them to come back to you. I do want to now move forward to the reason. You really caught my eye on Instagram. Okay, you put a post on. It was a scene from the 2024 movie, The Deliverance. This is the Lee Daniels movie that was shot here. And I hear you in the background as the folks in the movie are eating at the table and you're like that's my food and I was like wait a minute and a little side note, my husband's in film. He worked on that film but he didn't know you, so it just it lit up for me this whole idea. I know that in the food in Pittsburgh we have a really good food and TV scene and of course, there's craft services, but I had never really thought about on-camera edible food. Can you just tell us a little bit about how you got into the movie scene like that?
Roxanne:Yeah Well, I'll tell you. First of all, I always thought watching movies, that the food wasn't real. I didn't realize that this is real food. Someone is preparing. They're actually eating this food. So what happened was when Fences came to Pittsburgh to film In 2016.
Doug:Yes, Denzel Washington, Viola Davis. Denzel was the director.
Roxanne:Yes, yes, and they filmed it on the Hill District.
Chris:Most of it was filmed, but it was all over.
Roxanne:Pittsburgh. I was given the opportunity to work with the props department. That's what I work with. Okay, so I work hand in hand with props and we provide the food for on film. So we have relationships with different prop company or prop masters. I'll say, and that's how we got into the film industry. And so what happens is they'll call me and they'll say, hey, we need food for this, this scene, this, this, this. They'll call me and they'll say, hey, we need food for this, this thing, this, this, this. And then a lot of times we're in the kitchen at 3 am Because the call time is 6 am or 7 am.
Roxanne:Ridiculous. And then sometimes they'll tell me hey, we need this meal, and by 10 o'clock that night the meal has changed. And so we have to be on our toes. So when we're doing films, we have to be on our toes. So when we're doing films we have to be actively ready for any changes. Yeah, um, but we have had the opportunity. We did Fences, um, we've done the deliverance is our most recent but we've done manhunt, mind hunters. We've done a lot of movies that are on Netflix because they stream yeah so, and we've done commercial films like UPMC.
Roxanne:So there's different things that we do, because we do offer craft services as well, but it's not our number one thing with film. We like to be on the screen.
Doug:I love that so much for you.
Roxanne:Yeah. So when I tell people, yeah, we're in that movie and they're looking for me, I'm like no, it's our food.
Doug:I know, oh my gosh.
Roxanne:Yeah.
Doug:So I know that this is maybe in the rearview mirror a little bit, but when you were cooking on Fences, do you remember what you had to cook, do you?
Roxanne:recall any of the dishes so we made, and a lot of the food that we prepared didn't even make it yeah.
Roxanne:So if they said it, we had prepared it. So Viola said you want to come in here and get some collard greens, baked chicken? And there is a scene where there's a full meal on the table On the table and pound cake. And then there was a scene that she asked them that they want breakfast. So we had to prepare the breakfast. It was bacon and eggs. And there was a scene where they needed okra because one of the actors was on the back porch shucking okra. And it never made the movie, but it made the trailer.
Doug:I was searching around.
Roxanne:Pittsburgh looking for okra, because okra is not a popular thing in our area.
Roxanne:Yeah, because we're northerners.
Roxanne:Yeah, that's a southern, so I literally.
Doug:You can find it in a can. Sometimes, yeah, and that's not what they want.
Roxanne:They want fresh okra because it needed to look like it was being freshly prepared. So you have me running around the city I mean everywhere, every Giant Eagle, every small store, co-op, anything just to find okra for it not to make the scene. And you never know.
Doug:Yes, you just know, you don't know.
Roxanne:It's.
Doug:TV and movies. It is so strange when scenes get cut, but it was in the script so they need it, yeah.
Roxanne:And then there was a time where they called me at six o'clock in the morning and said hey, is there a way you can have eight sweet potato pies here by 10 am? Well, at that time my mother was helping me in the kitchen preparing pies, but that's too soon for me to do that, so I went to a local bakery in the Homewood area where I was raised and it was called Dana's Bakery, and I went to them and I said hey, I'm working on a film, I'm a caterer, I need some sweet potato pies. Their sweet potato pies are in that film and Viola Davis is carrying the pie walking down the street telling them she's going to a bakery for the church.
Doug:I love it.
Roxanne:Yeah, so, and it was very nice I was able to meet her, viola Davis and I heard before I met her that they said she would in between this shooting she was eating the food and was the first time they had actually seen her enjoying and eating the food. Wow.
Doug:Yes, so when?
Roxanne:I met her. Yeah, when I met her she like hugged me and everything. It was so sweet. I loved it.
Doug:Oh my gosh, I love that story.
Roxanne:This is Chef Roxanne Easley and you're listening to The Pittsburgh Dish.
Doug:I think the scene you put up for The Deliverance I believe there was like a white cake or something.
Roxanne:I'm not a baker.
Doug:Me neither.
Roxanne:I can cook anything, but you asked me to bake something. That is like dreadful for me. But they asked me to bake layered cakes, coconut cakes, coconut cake. And then they told me to make and there's a saying where the birthday cake is there because it had to look homemade. Yes, and I had to make a pink birthday cake with pink icing, with a border, and I was like I was so nervous because I'm just not a, I don't bake.
Doug:You know, it's just not my passion. Cooking and baking are totally different skills. Sometimes you have to do a lot of measuring when it comes to baking, I know.
Roxanne:So they tell me they want these cakes, and it's not just one cake, because they have to have many for the saints. So I have to produce like 10 coconut cakes and icing them, layered and dressed, and it's the middle of the night, the first saint that we had to provide that coconut cake. I did it by myself because at the time I had to send the staff home because it was literally 11 o'clock at night and I was up baking those cakes probably till about three o'clock in the morning. They had to be on the set, I think, about six o'clock and I was like, hey guys, I'm asleep here at the kitchen. I didn't sleep there. I eventually went home for about an hour or two, came back, delivered the cakes and you know what? The next day they said we need more. And apparently they said Lee Daniels loved the cake so much that I kept making these cakes. Wow, yes, over and over and over.
Doug:Well, again you're doing something right and you're getting better.
Roxanne:So the dinner scene too. You know they had the chicken there and you know the collard greens and everything. And it was funny because we also did a party scene and in the party scene you'll see them eating Kentucky Fried Chicken. Well, it was my job to go to Kentucky Fried Chicken and get all the buckets, but I fried all the chicken that went in the buckets.
Roxanne:Yeah, and the macaroni and cheese that they put in the Kentucky Fried Chicken containers is my macaroni and cheese, goodness, my goodness. So film is fun. I've done a scene for I think it was Mindhunters and no Manhunt For Manhunt. There's a scene where they're saying he's running and he's hungry, so they show Taco Bell sign. And he's hungry, so they show a Taco Bell sign. Well, our job was to make greasy taco meat so that they can put it in a garbage bag, and he's eating it out the garbage bag and I'm like that's my taco meat and it says Taco Bell, but it's actually Roxanne's Catering.
Roxanne:Oh my gosh, yeah, that's fun.
Doug:I mean, it's just so crazy and I think what you've described is it's fun. It's a little bit glamorous and it's a little bit not when you're baking at three in the morning. Yes, yes. So for anyone out there that's interested in trying it out, you know, I don't know if you're going to get into it Right.
Roxanne:Lots of work, lots of sacrifices.
Doug:Oh, my goodness. Well, thank you so much for sharing that part of your huge culinary adventure. I would like to just take a step back. You mentioned you grew up in Homewood. You've been doing this since 2006, but I'd like to even step back a little bit more and talk about food growing up. Were you cooking at an early age, or were folks cooking for you? What was your food world like?
Roxanne:then, actually, I started working in the food industry as a teenager. So my aunt was a short order cook in a small diner in Homewood and I worked there on Saturdays, so I would work there from 7 am to 7 pm. I was like one of the youngest people working there. I was like my only teenager having a 12-hour shift job. But I did waitressing but I also prepared like short order things. I didn't realize then that it was going to be a passion for it like it is for me now. Then I just needed to make some money. You know, and my family, my grandmother, she was a housewife, so that's all she did was cook and clean, you know, and she had five children and so I stayed with her a lot and I've watched her and I, you know, just watched her cook every day for my grandparents and for, you know, for the household. And you know I love that she cooks. I don't think she loved it so much Of course. That was her. Yeah, that was her.
Roxanne:You know, that was her job to take care of the family and you know this doesn't happen very often now where someone can stay home and take care of the family, but we did have that opportunity. So I was able to grow up seeing that. You know, like how passionate food is and how food brings people together. If you notice, even in death and life, people always gather around food and I just have a passion for the people, the service and and what food does for those moments, because if you're gathering for a wedding, a funeral, a family event, anything, there's always food that is centered around that and I just love that because it just brings people together.
Doug:Absolutely. I couldn't agree more. I think that's probably part of the secret to your success is that you really think about the people, and that community moment that you're building and the food is a way to bring all that. Yes, all right, I'd love to take us forward a little bit. It sounds like you're not busy at all. Of course not, so we're into 2025. Yes, it sounds like you're into 2025. Yes, it sounds like you're busier than ever. Are there any big events, new goals, something coming up ahead here in the next couple months or this year?
Roxanne:Well, I'll tell you a little bit about me. Literally, 2024 was a very hard year. I had breast cancer.
Doug:Oh.
Roxanne:Yeah, so I went through a year where my staff had to take the lead on just about everything. I was there but I wasn't. I worked through the whole entire year but there were a lot of moments where I wasn't able to be there and my staff, they just took over and made sure that Roxanne's Catering stayed Roxanne's Catering and this year, you know, I'm trying to elevate it into where you know we have more opportunities, because when I started the bartending and the staffing company, I started it but then I got diagnosed so I couldn't really push it like I needed to. This year I'm going to refocus, I'm going to push that aspect because we, you know, having Roxanne's Catering, we're serving everywhere.
Roxanne:We have a lot of different venues that we are a part of of and now I want there's a lot of caterers out here that are up and coming that sometimes need assistance or sometimes need a server. They might have the food, they might have everything, but they need the serving aspect of it. So we offer that opportunity to other caterers. We also offer it to private sectors where, if you have a party and you're just looking for someone to plate the food that you prepared, or you're looking for someone to come in and just serve it and clean up it. We offer those services for you.
Doug:I've been to parties that are just like that. They just hire a couple of folks and it elevates a party so much If you want to enjoy your own party.
Roxanne:Yes, and that's our secret. That's it. Yes, like we want you, and that's even with Roxanne's Catering we want you to show up. We just one-stop shop anything you need, from the linens, the decorating, the music, the entertainment, anything you need, we can provide. So now we've added the service Well, we've always had the service but the bartending, cash bars, open bars, all of those things and we're licensed to do so cash bars, open bars, all of those things and we're licensed to do so. So those are the opportunities that now. I want to make sure that when you walk into an event and it says Roxanne's Catering, you see we've done everything. And what I do is I partner with other companies small businesses, small decorating businesses or linen companies or things like that and I put it under one umbrella. Bring us all into the house. I'm the organizer of it.
Roxanne:I'm the planner and we plan it together, and so that one-stop shop.
Doug:I love this year that you are coordinating with those other smaller folks too, because then you're raising everybody's ship at the same time, I tell everyone there's enough money out here for everyone to eat. You know it is about. It's not about competition.
Doug:It's really about just allowing everyone to do their thing and supporting them. We talk about that a lot on this show with other folks in the food business, roxanne. I want to make sure we then give our listeners a moment to know where they can find and follow you. If they've heard all these really cool things and they're interested, could you share with our listeners your website and any of your social handles that folks can find you?
Roxanne:Okay, yes, so our website is www. rsecatering. com. We're on Instagram Roxannes_ Catering. We're on Facebook Roxanne's Catering. We're on Facebook Roxanne's Catering. We are on Twitter, but I can't get back in, so the things that are there are just going to be there. I won't be able to update them, but you can still find us there and you know we do have on our website. There is a contact page. You can just send us a you know and contact information and we'd be happy to service. And you can call us at 412-606-5938.
Doug:All right yes, I think you're the first person that's actually given out their phone number really, oh, I give it to anyone. I love that yes, well, especially with a catering event, I'm sure the contact form is the first thing sometimes, but you always got to talk to somebody. Everybody's party or event is a little bit different.
Roxanne:Absolutely.
Doug:Absolutely All right. Chef Roxanne, it's been such a delight to talk with you and get to know you. I always like to end our conversation with one final question. The name of the show is The Pittsburgh Dish. What's the best dish you've eaten this past week? Oh, wow.
Roxanne:I'll say I just prepared it yesterday. Rasta pasta, rasta pasta it's a Caribbean jerk chicken pasta. It was delicious and it was the first time I prepared it and I might add it to our menu.
Doug:Oh, what a great way to experiment and expand the menu yes yes, tell me a little bit more about what's in it. Is there a sauce? Is there veggies?
Roxanne:You make a cream sauce but you add the jerk sauce to it, and then there's peppers, bell peppers, and I pre-cooked the chicken, actually in a crock pot, okay, just so they make it real tender so it can go all the way through that pasta. So there's not just chunks, but there's chicken every time you have a bite. Yeah, so yeah, it was delicious. It was a little bite to it, but it was delicious. Oh, I'm okay with that.
Doug:What kind of noodle did you use? We used a bow tie pasta. Oh, I think that sounds great, yes, delicious. So Rasta Pasta, best bite this week. Chef Roxanne Easley, thank you so much for being on The Pittsburgh Dish.
Roxanne:Thank you for having me. I'm so honored to be here. Thank you.
Doug:Up next craving some Korean food, especially a kimchi pancake. We talked to another local podcaster for one of her favorite spots Everybody. We're joined today with Shelly Danko-Day of the With Bowl and Spoon podcast. Shelly, I know that you're always talking to folks about their own food evolution.
Shelly:I was just wondering if you have gone anywhere recently that's expanded your own in terms of great restaurant to visit hi Doug, hi. Yeah, uh, actually I have. I have gone to. There's a Korean restaurant on center avenue in is it Shadyside? Yeah, Shadyside Friendship Friendship area there um near the Giant Eagle, but it's called Nak Won Garden Nak Won Garden okay and it's phenomenal Korean it's Korean and they do this kimchi pancake which is amazing and I've been trying to recreate it at home oh which I need more samples you need to go back?
Doug:I need more samples. Did you go to go back? I need more samples. Did you go with your husband, brett, or by yourself?
Shelly:I have been with. I went with a co-worker when I worked for the city a few years ago, and then I finally took my best friend Joy a couple weeks ago. Brett and I went with Chef Raf.
Doug:Oh yeah.
Shelly:Rafael Vencio.
Doug:Uh huh, we both have had him on our shows, and he with Chef Raf. Oh yeah, Rafael Vencio, uh-huh. Yeah, we both have had him on our shows. Yeah, and he's done different things. He was doing farming and then he was doing his pop-ups. So I love him, yes, so you've been there many times.
Shelly:I've been there like three times.
Doug:So, beyond the kimchi pancake, what else did you have, or did others have that kind of stood out?
Shelly:they make really nice soups and they have a beef soup and they come to your table and they actually cut the meat off the bones oh wow, you end up with these two giant bones, which is cool. Um, they do a kimchi soup, which is really nice, and whatever you get, like they have the the bulgogi as well, but whatever you get, they bring out a whole bunch of little bowls of different types of fermented vegetables.
Doug:Yeah, Like garnishes or accompaniments or something it's like a little salad. Oh, love that, it's really amazing.
Shelly:So you just you end up with like this table full of food and a grazing feast, which is just really that's my favorite way to eat.
Doug:Yeah, Did you share? Everybody share things on the table. Love that.
Shelly:Yep, and then it's just like you know you just keep eating until you can't eat anymore.
Doug:I think that sounds perfect. All right, let's say the name again Nak Won Garden. Let's say Shadyside. Let's say Shadyside. I think it's 15232. So that works. There you go, Shelly.
Shelly:Thanks so much, and thanks for being on The Pittsburgh Dish.
Doug:Doug Shelly, thanks so much and thanks for being on The Pittsburgh Dish, Doug. Thank you, Shelly Danko Day is the host and creator of the With Bowl and Spoon podcast. You can find With Bowl and Spoon anywhere you get podcasts and on Instagram or her website at With Bowl and Spoon. Are you teaching a future generation how to cook? Chris Fennimore of WQED certainly is. Let's get a recipe and lesson from him on eggplant rollatini. Hey everybody, we're joined today with our friend Chris Fennimore of QED Cooks from our local station WQED. Chris, I was wondering if you've been doing some new cooking at home or cooking with any of your favorite relatives.
Chris:Well, I think we might have mentioned at some point that my two grandsons two of my grandsons are in Rome with my daughter, Marianne, that's right, and the older one, Tobias, loves to cook. So we've been doing these Thursday afternoon cooking sessions where we time it because they're six hours different. So I'm doing it at noon and he's just got home from school and it's 6 o'clock and they haven't eaten dinner yet and we cook for about a half an hour together online.
Doug:Amazing. Is it like a Zoom-type call or?
Chris:something. Yeah, I forget what it is WhatsApp. Oh yes, Amazing. Is it like a Zoom-type call or something? Yeah, it's, I forget what it is WhatsApp.
Chris:Oh yes, yeah. So we WhatsApp it and I send him the recipe beforehand, and so he's got all the ingredients. Marianne makes sure that it's all there, and one of the things that we made that he was so happy with, and I was really pleased with, was eggplant rollatini. Now you have to understand that people here eat eggplant, but not like they eat it in Rome. There's eggplants everywhere, and when I grew up, we ate eggplant. We thought of it as the other dark meat. My grandmother was always fixing them, and she would make a gabanadina salad out of chopped up eggplant and other vegetables and things, and we would have that in the fridge all the time. She would make eggplant parmigiani with sauce and cheeses and so on, and I thought about this rollatini recipe because it was one that was complicated enough to keep Tobias's interest. Yes, and it had a little mechanics to it with the rolling up of the eggplant.
Doug:You literally are rolling it. So this is different than an eggplant parm, because you are stuffing it and rolling it.
Chris:Well, I mean, the flavors would be very, very similar, okay, and the ingredients would be similar, but the process is a little bit different. Yes, One of the difficulties about eggplant is that it is like a sponge. It's absorbent, and the more oil you put near it, the more it soaks up, and to me it's not all that healthy or good for you to like. Just fried eggplant is going to be like a mouthful of olive oil. Yes, so this recipe takes advantage of a different form of preparation, and that is that you take your eggplant and trim off the top and the bottom and you slice it into maybe quarter inch slices. And I wanted Tobias to learn the knife technique as well and how to do it safely, and so we worked through that, and so now you have from each eggplant, you probably get six slices.
Doug:Long slices. You're slicing from like top to bottom.
Chris:Top to bottom, yes, and that's the safe way to do it, because once you cut the bottom it's flat, and then you hold the eggplant at the top and I had him use a fork and then just slice down the whole way down, all the way down. And so now you have these pieces that are about two, three inches by six inches depending upon the size of the eggplant and you paint them with olive oil.
Doug:Okay, so you're limiting the amount.
Chris:Absolutely, you just use a. I use a pastry brush, yes, and I just brush them and I put them on a sheet, a baking sheet, with parchment paper. Brush one side, turn them over, brush the other side, sprinkle a little bit of salt, just a little bit, and I bake that at 400 degrees until they start to brown. Now I take them out. I make a mixture of ricotta, egg, grated Romano cheese. I use always Pecorino, romano Locatelli.
Doug:Romano Locatelli. Yeah, I do actually, it's the brand.
Chris:Locatelli. It's just because that's what I grew up with. If you like Parmigiano, you know Parmigiano is a cow's milk cheese and it is softer and nuttier. The Locatelli is a sheep's milk cheese, so it's got more bite to it. It's got a little more acidity, or something.
Doug:Yeah, I always say it's sharper and a little saltier to me than Parmigiano. Yes, it should be. Yeah.
Chris:So you could use either, but I use the Romano cheese and some fresh parsley, if you have it. It's like the same mixture that we would put inside of like a manigata.
Doug:Yes.
Chris:So now, and you get mozzarella and you chop it into sticks. Now here's the fun. You put on the small end of the eggplant slice, you put a blob of the regatta, you take a stick of the mozzarella and you put it there and you start rolling it, yes, and you roll it until you get to the end, and then you put it in a pan where it meets on the bottom yes, so that it's a nice round top, yes, okay, now you get some of your sauce, not a lot.
Doug:Yes, just drizzle it over.
Chris:Make sure that everyone has a little sauce on it.
Doug:They're not swimming in sauce.
Chris:No, that's not the way I do it. And then more cheese on top. You can either just use the Romano cheese or you could also sprinkle some mozzarella. But my feeling about mozzarella, once it's out cooked and it's not covered or it gets hard and chewy, it does. Just saying so, I leave the mozzarella to the inside and I just sprinkle it with some grated cheese, gotcha, and that adds a nice top flavor to it. Put it back in the oven at 350 to 375, something like that.
Doug:Yeah, and you'd probably bake it for like 35, 40 minutes to make sure that that's all cooked through, right? But look for the mozzarella stick to start melting. Melting through, yeah, I love it.
Chris:And you can put a thermometer in it if you really want to be safe and just make sure that it's over 160 degrees, and then I mean actually over 135 for egg is safe, yeah, 60 degrees. And then I mean actually over 135 for egg is safe, yeah, um, it's complicated enough that he was just intrigued and he was so proud of the tray that it created and, um, they ate it all up.
Doug:So suddenly they were eating eggplant and they had never eaten it before he's made it something a little bit more complicated than I've ever made with eggplant.
Chris:How old is Tobias? Well, now he just turned 11.
Doug:Oh my goodness, so this was when he was nine at 10.
Doug:Yeah, I love it. Yeah, eggplant rollatini. Chris, thanks so much, you're welcome. You can watch Chris on QED Cooks, usually airing Saturday mornings on our local PBS station, wqed. Do you have a recipe? Share it with us? Just go to our website at www. pittsburghdish. com and look for our Share a Recipe form. If you enjoyed the show, consider buying us a coffee for this episode or supporting the show monthly. You can find links to those options at the bottom of our show description and if you want to follow my own food adventures, you can find me on social media at DougCooking. That's our show for this week. Thanks again to 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.
