by Maggie and Ed | Feb 17, 2016 | Uncategorized
Hey happy valentines day! I didn’t have too much time to get presents this year so I bought us some tulips, salted dark chocolate caramels, and Olive & Sinclair’s Benton’s chocolate brittle. It tastes like chocolate ham. We were going to have crab legs and steak for dinner.
Maggie was off on Sunday, so she decided to outdo my whole foods run and surprise me with a nicer version of everything from 4121 Main. She went there to get some chocolate for us to re-make the chefsteps chocolate souffles that we made last year, and apparently couldn’t leave without buying one of everything. Not that I blame her, their store looks crazy great all the time.
That nathan miller buttermilk chocolate is really something. Really into that. The chocolate moderne ones were a little less exciting than they looked, but I think some on the edges didn’t have enough smoky salt- though next to the benton’s ham-chocolate we might have blown out our smoke and salt detectors.
We dragged up the steamer we bought for the deli and never used after it kept blowing circuits and steamed some crab legs. We were smart enough to eat that first and then go for a second course on the ribeye. We were both pretty full and concentrated on some old crow, bubbles and chocolate instead. 
Fritz is a poultry cat. No interest in crab. Just wanted to smell the flowers. He’s sitting on a piece we gave him.
And steak the next day. Blue goat cheese that we got from Family Farm Creameries and a sorta gross looking potato. 
by Maggie and Ed | Feb 14, 2016 | Food, Sandwiches, steve's deli
Last Valentine’s Day we spent the afternoon sharing notes with the management at the Pittsburgh Public Market and taking the first major steps to make Steve’s Deli a reality. This year, we’re wrapping up our final few weeks of our stint there, but the lights are still on at the Public Market (for now) and we’re still kicking. Helping you make your decision of which sandwich to splurge on for you and that special someone, we’re sharing the love and giving 20% off a pair of sandwiches to share.
If you’re still searching for a no fail dinner recipe, check out our super simple duck recipe from last year’s Valentine’s Day.
For more info on where you can find the rest of the crew of the Pittsburgh Public Market after February 28th, read more on Good Food Pittsburgh.
by Maggie and Ed | Feb 3, 2016 | Breakfast, Home Renovation, steve's deli
This past week, the Pittsburgh Public Market collectively decided that the final day of operations will be February 28th. We feel incredibly fortunate for our involvement in such a collaborative environment that has helped us cultivate relationships with local folks pulling off some really great projects. We’ll be going strong until the end of the month and adding drip and iced coffee from Caffe d’Amore. Hope to see some of your faces as we wrap up this chapter of Steve’s Deli!
Caffe d’Amore drip coffee with our Brie, Jam, and Country Ham breakfast sandwich
Right now, the future of the deli is still hazy. We’ve starting making the first steps of establishing a permanent location in the first floor of our home in Bloomfield. This has always been our longterm goal for Steve’s Deli, and while our timeline isn’t exactly as we planned, we’re excited to take the plunge. We will try to remain as transparent as possible with our progress as we navigate this transition, and if all goes well hope to reopen mid-Summer of this year. Keep an ear out for pop-up events and catering availability!
The site of our possible brick and mortar nearly a century ago, via Retrographer
by Maggie and Ed | Jan 7, 2016 | Entrée, Food, Recipes, steve's deli, Vegetarian
We spent the first day of the new year catching up on some much needed sleep, cracking open new notebooks, and gathering our thoughts so that could dive into 2016 with new energy. The last few months have been uncertain and tumultuous, so it’s always nice to take a step back and assess the goals that remain a constant and enjoy the progress we’ve made so far.
The Pittsburgh Public Market that Steve’s Deli occupies announced its search for a new home. While we’re excited to see what the move brings for our future as well as the PPM’s, it also brought on a wave of uncertainty that stifled a lot of our creative juices. Which brought us to resolution 1….
1. Focus on staying energized and pushing forward in areas we have complete control.
Sometimes it is hard to avoid feeling burnt out, especially with the prospect of finding a new home for the deli on the horizon.
Instead of focusing on questions we don’t have answers to, we’re resolving to focus on maintaining a schedule that helps us stay creative while building our brand and our skill set. Tweaking menu items, streamlining our business practices, and planning content in advance will help us map out our immediate goals. We plan to make an effort to post continually on our progress, helping us reflect on our achievements rather than our uncertainties.
2. Create better rituals.
We’re both diligent to leave the kitchen and the office outside of our home cleaned up and in perfect order before we leave work for the day. It is always nice to start the day off with a clean slate and we need to focus more on implementing those ideas at home. Putting away the last few dishes rather than sinking into a vegged out netflix-coma makes it easier to feel energized in the morning.
3. Waste less.
I try to keep this is as my constant resolution, but sometimes old habits die hard. Waste less time, waste less money, waste less materials. Waining produce from the deli isn’t always the easiest thing to see as showcase dinner staple, but we’ve been focusing on incorporating overstock items into our home cooking before they’re due to hit the compost bin. This has helped us scour our pantry and become more inventive while limiting trips to the store.
Romanesco Broccoli Bowl
Author: Disturbing the Peas
Recipe type: Veggie Bowl
- 4 hard boiled eggs
- 1 head of romanesco broccoli
- 2 lbs medium red potatoes
- 1 large china rose radish
- 1 bunch parsley
- 3 garlic cloves, smashed to a paste with a little salt
- 1 tablespoon chopped anchovy
- 1 tablespoon chopped capers
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Herbs to taste
- Preheat oven to 500 (broil)
- Cube potatoes and boil for 12 minutes
- Drain and place in oven for 10 minutes
- Chop romanesco into chunks roughly 1" long and roughly the same size.
- Place romanesco broccoli in microwave safe bowl with one tablespoon of water. Cover with saran wrap and microwave for 1 minute 40 seconds, or until tender. Watch the steam when you take it out.
- Chop radishes
- Combine garlic, anchovy, capers, dijon, vinegar, and olive oil and emulsify with immersion blender.
- Place cooked potatoes, steamed broccoli, and radishes in a serving bowl. Drizzle with sauce, top with parsley, eggs, additional herbs, salt as desired.
3.2.2929
by Maggie and Ed | Nov 12, 2015 | Uncategorized
I found a pair of Johannes Andersen chairs in the trash more than 10 years ago. One of two was damaged beyond repair and went back to the curb. The other has traveled with me through half a dozen other apartments since then.
Shortly after getting the chair, I stripped off several layers of bad reupholstery jobs (a stained and nubby mauve, a plastic floral) until I came to this citrus-y pleather. It was 2005 and it seemed charming at the time, so I let it slide. As we’ve arduously repainted room after room of noxious yellow in the new house, I decided it was time the chair finally got a facelift.
We found a role of salvaged naugahyde recently that fit the bill. With all of the chaos of the deli lately, it was refreshing to have an afternoon project that we could tear through within the hour.
Meanwhile, Fritz got started on our next upholstery project — a tufted bench.
