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The Pittsburgh Dish
080 Dr. Lori - Collectible Cookbooks & More
Looking for the sweet spot where tradition meets the table? We bring together a master appraiser, a wine guide, and a hometown foodie to show how old-school cookbooks, a just-released French red, and a one-pan dinner can turn a chilly weeknight into a warm celebration.
Dr. Lori kicks things off with a collector’s map to the kitchen shelf: early printings of The Joy of Cooking, The White House Cookbook, and first editions from Julia Child, Ina Garten, and Rachael Ray—and why themed and community cookbooks carry both cultural weight and market value. She shares clear preservation tips you can use today and explains how to spot the difference between “well-loved” and “deal-breaker” condition.
We then uncork the season with Catherine Montest, Your Fairy Wine Mother, for an easy primer on Beaujolais Nouveau. Learn why this Gamay-based, fruit-forward red lands each November, how EU designations protect producers and quality, and why Nouveau’s bright cherry-strawberry profile is a knockout with turkey and a welcoming pour for red-wine skeptics. Think of it as a snapshot of the year’s harvest—festive, fresh, and perfectly timed for your holiday table.
Closing things out, Angie Carducci of Angie Loves PGH shares her weeknight sheet pan blueprint: chunky seasonal veg, a reliable starch, and a simple protein like pressed tofu, all tossed with high-quality Arbequina olive oil and finished with local spice blends from Steel City Salt.
If you love the hunt for a great cookbook, want a crowd-pleasing wine for Thanksgiving, or just need a dinner that practically cooks itself, this one’s for you. Subscribe for more local flavor, share with a foodie friend, and leave a quick review—what cookbook gem, bottle, or sheet pan combo should we try next?
Welcome to The Pittsburgh Dish. I'm your host, Doug Heilman. Are you cooking recipes from a collectible? This week, we talk cookbooks and more with Antiques expert Dr. Lori. Looking for a wine that's fresh on the scene for this Thanksgiving holiday? Catherine Montest points us to Nouveau Beaujolais. And if you want to keep dinner simple yet satisfying, Angie Carducci of Angie Loves Pittsburgh goes for the sheet pan. All that ahead, stay tuned.
Dr. Lori:Hi there. Hi Doug.
Speaker 4:Would you introduce yourself to our listeners, please?
Dr. Lori:Sure. I'm Dr. Lori. I'm the PhD Appraiser, and most people know me from Netflix or the History Channel or KDKA's Pittsburgh Today Live, right?
Speaker 4:That is how we connected. That's right. Thank you so much for spending some time with us on The Pittsburgh Dish.
Dr. Lori:I'm so glad to be on The Pittsburgh Dish. I love Pittsburgh dishes.
Doug:So do I, for sure. Now, interestingly, we had a side conversation about something I had never really considered, and it was vintage cookbooks or cookbooks that are worth something.
Dr. Lori:You know, there's so much in the kitchen arena, right? That's worth something, right? So cookie jars and china and this and that, but cookbooks are among some of the best. I actually just had a bookcase made for the cookbooks in my kitchen.
Doug:Speaking my language.
Dr. Lori:I'm not a good cook at all. I'm a lousy cook at burn things.
Doug:Listen, I've seen your pictures. You know how to cook some things.
Dr. Lori:Something. You do. A couple Italian things that my mother taught us. Um Eggplant Parmigiana is not bad. It's not hard. Um and pasta, I could boil the water. But anyway, um, yeah. So yes, we met as colleagues, of course, here on Pittsburgh Today Live. So it's great. It's terrific to be here.
Doug:When you are looking for vintage things or appraising things, is there a cookbook or two that stands out that has some tremendous value?
Dr. Lori:There are a lot of cookbooks that are valuable for many reasons. They're always valuable for, of course, the recipes, but they're equally valuable in a couple ways. So there are some that stand out. The White House cookbook comes up a lot. I see it a lot, even dating all the way back to the 1890s. So I will see the White House cookbook throughout the years and just see it changing through the 1950s and such. Yeah. Um the Betty Crocker cookbook, a lot of people have the Betty Crocker Cookbook.
Speaker 4:I have one. Yeah, my mother's a 1972 edition.
Dr. Lori:Okay, so um my mother's a little older than your mother was. God rest her soul. But basically, you have um I have those from the 1950s. Yes. And that's a wonderful cookbook. Page 141 is the banana bread key recipe. I recommend it. Okay. I'm telling you, that is the actual you look on 144. 141, that's what it's like. I it's it's odd that I would know that, but I do. Anyway, so um there's there's that cookbook, The Joy of Cooking, of course, the Quintessential
Doug:We're talking about the early editions of reprinted so often.
Dr. Lori:Exactly, of Julia Child's masterpiece, right? That started her PBS show and all of this historically. Um and then cookbooks like The Silver Palette, and of course Ina Garten's cookbooks. Yes, and Ina Garten's um biography actually has some good recipes in it, too.
Doug:I have read that memoir not too long ago. Yeah. But are you telling me that, say, if I got the first rendition of Ina Garten's, I think it was called the Barefoot Contessa cookbook, that that has some elevated value compared to the sale price.
Dr. Lori:That's exactly true. It will have some intrinsic value on the appraised market. Um so that one would be worth a little bit more. And equally so, the first edition of Rachel Ray's 30-minute meals will also be one of those that you see that are more contemporary, that you can get a little bit more easily. But you can find some of these great cookbooks in thrift stores. Right. Right? I talk about this a lot on my YouTube channel, which is Dr. Lori V. Um, you could see them also, of course, um in your grandmother's kitchen. Yeah. Don't be surprised. It doesn't have to be 100 years old to be valuable. It could be a little bit old, it could be 20 years old, it could be 50 years old, but it could also be what you're looking for is you're looking for the quintessential basics, right? Yes. So, or Martha Stewart's from the 19th century.
Doug:I was just thinking, I think I have some early Martha Stewart cookbooks, and so I've seen dollar signs.
Dr. Lori:Martha Stewart entertaining can be valuable. That first one. You know, we've seen, I've seen, I've appraised many different cookbooks, and I tell people when you're looking for books, particularly, I want you to look for cookbooks. I want you to look for cookbooks that have a particular theme, you know, cooking for kids, or you're cooking for those who have particular allergies, or you're cooking with, you know, I don't know, for uh a sporting event kind of thing, right? Yes. Um and you do a lot of this, of course, on the cooking show when you're here at PTL. You give us sort of arthematic, arthematic umbrella. We talk about that in television. But basically those books. So uh first edition of The Joy of Cooking can be as much as $1,500 in good condition, right? So it can't be a mess or it can't be have, of course, you know, a little bit of smoke damage like in my kitchen. My cookbooks have those but basically I want you to think about that. I want you to think also about those that have been, they can be lovingly used a little bit. But those um particular cookbooks that are done by regional museum groups or the junior league, those kinds of or churches and synagogues.
Speaker 4:I love those types of books, those community cookbooks.
Dr. Lori:Those community cookbooks are very desirable, especially in certain places. Pittsburgh is such a warm and and community-minded place that you will see those being very important. For example, the Friday night fish fries, right? During Lent. It's epic here. Epic. Yes. Those cookbooks. Those little brochures. Sometimes they're not even books, sometimes they're little tiny books, little tiny brochures, just paper, just just together.
Speaker 4:You are blowing my mind. And I am thinking now every time I go to thrift stores or yard sales, like a whole new way of because I like vintage cookbooks already. Sure, sure. But you're giving me a whole new perspective, and probably a lot of other folks too. Thank you so much.
Dr. Lori:Oh, it's my pleasure. And I want you to remember a couple of things about preserving them, right? So in the kitchen is fine. We expect cookbooks to be used, to be handled. You don't want to put them in cardboard boxes, you don't want to put them in in, you know, in wood unless it's a bookcase, which we've had the wood would be, of course, stained and sealed. That's fine. But I want you to remember that you don't have to wear gloves the way I always do because I appraise many, many objects. So I do that on purpose to preserve them. But you know, enjoy them, love them, and remember some of them can be valuable.
Doug:I love that. Yeah. Dr. Lori, would you remind our listeners again, if they want to find and follow you, what is your social handle and website? Anything else you'd like to promote?
Dr. Lori:Sure. The website is Dr. Lori. I make this very easy because it's easy for me to remember. The website is drurry v.com, the YouTube channel is Dr. Lori V, and of course all the other socials are Dr. Lori V as well. So you can follow me and you can sign up for my free newsletter on my website, but it's droriv.com. It's D-R-L-O-R-I-V, likeinvaluable.com.
Doug:I love it. And for our local Pittsburgh listeners, you can find Dr. Lori most Tuesdays.
Dr. Lori:Every Tuesday. On Pittsburgh Today Live. That's right, that's right. So play along with what's it worth on PTL.
Doug:All right, Dr. Lori, I have one more question for you.
Dr. Lori:Okay.
Doug:The name of the show is The Pittsburgh Dish.
Dr. Lori:Yes.
Doug:What's the best dish you've had to eat this past week?
Dr. Lori:This past week, the best dish that I ate was. I ate it at my home. That counts. I ate it at my home. I did make it myself. Oh, see. You can cook it. Yeah, it was it you're you're gonna say, oh, Dr. Lori, that doesn't sound that good, but it was really good. It's getting chilly where I am, and uh in north in in near northeastern Pennsylvania. And I made spinach and beans. And spinach and beans was a dish that my mom would make. It's very simple that my mom would make. My I'm of the Italian descent, but it's not particularly Italian. But my mother we used to call her Miss Green Vegetable because she would always make a vegetable dish. So there would be one dish that you would have nice and warm with crusty Italian bread. Yes. And I eat the crusty Italian bread. I'm sorry, I can't stop. I have to have it. And um, it's just spinach and beans, and it has sort of a roux, you know, that you make basically, you know. And um it's very tasty with cannoline beans. They might call them cannellini. Cannellini. Cannellini beans.
Speaker 3:Cannellini beans.
Dr. Lori:Cannellini beans, but um and I had spinach and beans with the crusty Italian bread, which I baked, which was fantastic. So I can eat that every day. I love that.
Doug:Any chicken broth in there or chicken broth I'm sorry, chicken broth.
Dr. Lori:It has a little bit of um red pepper flakes, it has an oil base, it has a garlic base because it's Italian, of course. And then it you can make it with any kind of spinach. Um I usually use fresh spinach, but I chop it. So you're gonna get big pieces of spinach, and then um many people will only use one can of beans. I like beans, so I use two cans. It's easy. It sounds delicious. It's delicious. It's comforting. Oh, and I forgot you have to have a little bit of pasta, but the small pasta like orzo or t or um titolini, or um you could also use pastine, but pastine sort of goes away. But I have to have a little pasta in it. So it's kind of starchy, so it's not your best diet dish, but the spinach is good for you. Sorry and beans. Perfect. Yep, that was my best, and it's just because it's home and it feels like home to me. But you know, in Pittsburgh, there's so many great restaurants, there's so many great food piece dishes, and actually had a chance to um watch what you were making, which looked delicious. And um, you know, everybody, all the Rainia and I have been friends for a long, long time. So I've had the good pleasure of eating some of her lovely dishes too. So but there's so many. Bill Fuller and some of the you have so many great restaurants and you have so many great food dishes options.
Doug:So yeah, it's great. Well, thank you so much. That sounds like a great recipe. I want to try and make it.
Dr. Lori:It's easy. Oh, it's goodness. It has to be easy for me. So, and I don't know if I told you all of it, but what I'll do is I'll send you the complete recipe so I didn't forget like salt and pepper or something. I would love that. Thank you so much. Sure.
Doug:Dr. Lori, thanks, and thanks again for being on the Pittsburgh Dish.
Dr. Lori:Thank you. I'm Dr. Lori, and you're listening to The Pittsburgh Dish.
Doug:Up next, if you're looking for a wine recommendation into the holidays, Catherine Montest gives us an education on Nouveau Beaujolais. Let's have a listen. Hey everybody, we're joined today with Catherine Montest of Your Fairy Wine Mother. Catherine, we are moving into uh the holidays, that fall to winter time. I was wondering if your mind starts to think about some particular wines when we come up on, say, Thanksgiving or Christmas or whatever folks are celebrating.
Catherine:That's a great question, Doug. And uh there's one wine that is really important and really special this time of year. And that's uh Beaujolais Nouveau. Okay. What makes it special is that is the wine made in the Beaujolais area of France. It is the first wine of this year's harvest. Oh, okay. Yeah. So they uh in Beaujolais, they harvest the gamet grapes and they press them and they ferment them. And on November 20th, uh worldwide, uh the Nouveau Beaujolais for this year's vintage will be released.
Doug:Oh, just in time for Thanksgiving.
Catherine:Absolutely. And Beaujolais Nouveau is a fantastic wine for Thanksgiving.
Doug:Okay.
Catherine:It's uh light bodied, it's fruity, you've got flavors of like cherries and strawberries. And because it's so light-bodied and it's really food friendly, even your friends who say, I don't like red wine, you might be able to convert them with this stuff.
Doug:Oh, okay.
Catherine:Yeah, it's a fruity, easy drinking wine, and it goes with a lot of food, and it's particularly good with turkey.
Doug:Okay. And so just to recap for our listeners, and I was thinking this earlier, a beaujolais that I was familiar with is a red grape or red wine.
Catherine:Red wine.
Doug:And even though we hear sometimes that whites go more with poultry or fish, and reds go more with meats that are heavier, you've thrown all those rules out of the window earlier on this podcast. So we're saying bourgeolet and a rich turkey would be great together.
Catherine:Absolutely. How there's a bit of a history as to why Beaujolais Day is in November. And in the European Union, they've got a lot of rules around um, I'm gonna call them agricultural products. Yes. One of the designations is designation of origin. And that states where a product was made and like a lot of the processes under which the product was produced. I've seen this. It's sometimes like DOP. Every country kind of spins it a little bit differently.
Doug:Yes.
Catherine:But it is a designation that is applied for and approved. It's good for the makers, the producers, because not everybody can put uh a designation of origin on their product. They have to be approved for it. And it protects the the reputation of uh the wineries or the producers of other agricultural products or in the um integrity of which they're making their things.
Doug:Right. They do it in a place, in a certain way, that the way they've pretty much always done it. And uh this is sort of guaranteeing you like this great product. It's just like when we hear about cheese from Greece or Cyprus or Italy, they usually have those same types of designations.
Catherine:Exactly. In fact, it's funny that you mentioned Greece. Uh Greece has 114 products that have protected designation. Uh so and that even includes olives, honey, and tomatoes.
Doug:Uh oh. I did not know about the tomatoes. Oh, I did learn about uh a little side note, uh, Cyprus makes uh halloomie. Oh and Cyprus is the only place that makes uh true halloomie because they have that designation.
Catherine:Oh absolutely. So it it it spans across so many different agricultural categories. In 1951, so part of why November is important, I want to get back to that, is on September 8th, 1951, there was a decree that was published in the official journal that stated that wines with the designation of origin could only be sold starting December 15th. Yeah. Well, that's exactly what a lot of the winemakers were saying was like, but our wine's ready. It's the first wine of the season. We want to get it out to people. Yeah. And there was a lot of fuss and a lot of bother. Why would I wait an extra month? Exactly. So on November 13th of 1951, so the same year, um, they uh kind of did a revision of that and specified under what conditions that certain wines could be marketed immediately without waiting for November for December 15th. And that was the uh event that basically created the Beaujolis Nouveau uh appellation.
Dr. Lori:So yeah.
Doug:And was Beaujolais like probably one of the first ones then to come out?
Catherine:Uh the Beaujolais region is where the Gamay grape is super prolific. It's over 90% of the grapes that are grown in that area. So Beaujolais is almost 100% synonymous with Gamay.
Doug:Uh-huh.
Catherine:And the Gamay grape is just it's bright and it's fruity and it's got soft tannins and just enough acid that it's really a balance, beautifully balanced wine.
Doug:Approachable for whatever you're eating, it sounds like.
Catherine:It's it's pretty universal. You can you could drink this all day long.
Doug:But this really comes out around Thanksgiving. So a perfect wine for Thanksgiving.
Catherine:It is. And fun fact, Beaujolais Nouveau was one of my very first favorite wines. Oh, I discovered it when I was in my twenties and scurrying around the liquor store, and there was this beautiful bottle with this phenomenal label on it, bright and colorful, and it looked like a celebration. I brought it home and I drank it. I was like, wow, this is really great. And again, I was in my 20s and it's an easy drinking wine. So it was a perfect wine for me at the time. And it was one of the wines that helped me kind of uh pique my curiosity about what else is this wine world all about?
Doug:It helped work your way into the wine world. It really did. Now, Catherine, I do have a question. We're talking about Beaujolais Nouveau. Is there just Bouger? Yes. Okay. So specifically, if folks are going into the state store, the the wine store, the one we're talking about today is new, so to speak.
Catherine:All right. And it can be kind of an indicator as to how did this harvest go this year? Yeah. So it's it's kind of an important wine in that respect.
Doug:All right. So I guess we'll be picking up a Beaujolais Nouveau for Thanksgiving. Indeed. Thanks so much, Catherine. It's been my pleasure, Doug. You can find out more about Catherine and her services on her website, your fairywinemother.com. If you're looking for a cozy weeknight meal, but want something that comes together quick and easy, our friend Angie Carducci of Angie Loves Pittsburgh goes for the sheet pan. Hey everybody, we're joined today with Angie Carducci of Angie Loves PGH. Angie, when you were on the show earlier this year, you were talking about all of the restaurants you go to. You happen to be vegetarian, but during our conversation, you mentioned about doing sheet pan meals at home. And I think when we're in these like colder fall to winter months, it's great to kick on the oven and do a whole meal that cooks on one sheet pan. Could you give us a recipe or a sample of one that you do and what you do to zhuzh it up and make it great?
Angie:Absolutely. So I feel like my sheet pan meals are largely really boring, um, but they become great. So they are um they are largely some vegetable, and usually it's whatever is seasonal. I mentioned when we talked on the last episode that I subscribed to a CSA. Unfortunately, that is only from about June through October. Okay. Um, so in winter that goes away and you're on your own devices, but really whatever is seasonal.
Doug:It could be squash, it could be potatoes or carrots, right? Exactly.
Angie:So whatever veggies are seasonal at the time. Um, squash is a great one. I love Brussels sprouts on there. So whatever is seasonal makes it onto the sheep pan, can be multiple veggies. There's usually some kind of potato. I love sweet potatoes. Yes. I love um little small and new potatoes um on there. So any kind of potato cut up is great. And then some kind of protein. And for me, it's usually tofu, but you know, it could be salmon, it could be whatever your protein source is going to be.
Doug:I have a couple questions. So are you just cutting the veggies into chunks?
Angie:Yep.
Doug:And the tofu, do you cut the tofu into pieces or do you leave it sort of like in a little, you know, rectangular shape, like a fillet almost?
Angie:I usually cut it into pieces. I I press it out really well.
Doug:Oh, so it's firmer.
Angie:Yes, exactly.
Doug:I like this.
Angie:Yeah.
Doug:Do you start by tossing it in olive oil or like all those things? Yes.
Angie:So I start so I can um definitely mention a couple of my favorite local businesses here because I feel like using very high quality ingredients is the absolute key to this.
Doug:You wouldn't be Angie loves PGH if you didn't mention some local high-quality ingredients.
Angie:My local businesses. So my favorite olive oil, Olive and Marlowe is the name of the business. Um Heather uh runs this business. Um, women-owned. Their olive oil is so, so fabulous. The olive oil I primarily use is called Arbequina, I think is how you say it.
Doug:Yeah, Arbequina.
Angie:Arbequina.
Doug:Arbequina. It's a type of olive, what we're saying. Yes.
Angie:Exactly. And and I think it's a really good, well-rounded olive oil, um, a little more expensive than what you're gonna buy in the grocery store, but so worth it. And I love to use it for cooking. So I toss it in that and always make sure to have a good supply of that because I use it for my sheep pans. And um, and then what I think really makes the dinner so good is uh Steel City Salt. If you haven't bought from Steel City Salt, you must go.
Doug:Now they have a shop in Millvale, and he's also often they will vend uh in the strip on the weekends too.
Angie:Yes, they are usually, I believe it's outside of Mon ami chocolates. That's right. Is where they set up. And their stuff is just so, so good. And several of their items are my go-to's, but for the sheet pans, steeltown, garlic, and herb.
Speaker 3:Oh.
Angie:It is the best seasoning on this type of meal: veggies, potatoes, tofu. So, so good. I just put a really ample amount of it all over everything and toss it around. It sounds perfect. Mix the meal. It's so simple.
Doug:What do you throw it in the oven at? Do you think 400, 425?
Angie:Yeah, I think it's I think I usually start it a little lower, um, like 375 or so, and then I crank it up a little bit toward the end.
Doug:And probably what 30 minutes-ish?
Angie:I'm so bad with like I I never really think it through. Yeah, that's it. I just kind of watch it.
Doug:I love that.
Angie:Yeah.
Doug:A little side note, I was out with Rick Sebak somewhere eating, and he pulled out Steel City salt out of his jacket to season. I think it's called the scorpion salt. It has a little heat to it.
Angie:I love this story.
Doug:Yeah, that just happened recently. We're eating somewhere, and he's like, I have my scorpion salt. Hold on. And he puts it on. So you got to get to Steel City salt, and these flavor combinations they have can really light up a dish.
Angie:They absolutely do. You cannot top a recommendation from Rick Sebak. What more do you want? I know.
Doug:Well, Angie, I think I'll be making a sheet pan meal really soon as well. Thank you so much for sharing one of yours.
Angie:And thanks for being on the Pittsburgh Dish. Oh, my pleasure, Doug. Thank you.
Doug:You can follow Angie on Instagram at Angie LovesPGH. Do you have a recipe? Share it with us. Just visit our website at www.pittsburgdish.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 Doug Cooking. 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.
