Happy Valentime’s Day!

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.

 

Final Days at Pittsburgh Public Market + New Adventures

Final Days at Pittsburgh Public Market + New Adventures

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!

coffee, ham, jam, brie, breakfast, english muffin

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!

large_20100712-hpicasc-0034

The site of our possible brick and mortar nearly a century ago, via Retrographer

 

 

Resolutions and a New Recipe • Romanesco Broccoli Bowl

Resolutions and a New Recipe • Romanesco Broccoli Bowl

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….

Steve-Pink-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.

fritz-pink

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.

steve-take-out

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-1-2

Romanesco Broccoli Bowl
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
A hearty bowl with bold, bright flavors and an array of great textures.
Author:
Recipe type: Veggie Bowl
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 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
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 500 (broil)
  2. Cube potatoes and boil for 12 minutes
  3. Drain and place in oven for 10 minutes
  4. Chop romanesco into chunks roughly 1" long and roughly the same size.
  5. 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.
  6. Chop radishes
  7. Combine garlic, anchovy, capers, dijon, vinegar, and olive oil and emulsify with immersion blender.
  8. Place cooked potatoes, steamed broccoli, and radishes in a serving bowl. Drizzle with sauce, top with parsley, eggs, additional herbs, salt as desired.

 

 

Smoked Lamb Sandwich with Cherry Onion Jam

Smoked Lamb Sandwich with Cherry Onion Jam

steve's deli, table magazine, lamb sandwich, cherry jam, savory jam, baguette, arugula, fall, food, recipe

A few weeks before our official opening for Steve’s Deli, Table Magazine asked us about our favorite fall sandwich. The issue dropped last week and we’re really excited to be a part of it. See our full recipe below and make sure to grab a copy of the current issue with some killer additions from Thin Man Sandwich Shop and The Vandal.

Ingredients

  • 1 baguette
  • 1/2 cup pitted sour cherries
  • 1/4 cup red onion chopped
  • 2 sprigs thyme
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 3 tablespoon butter
  • 2 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 1 lb boneless butterflied lamb leg
  • 4oz creamy firm cheese (we used Cypress Grove’s Lamb Chopper)
  • 1 bunch sage chopped into ribbons
  • salt and pepper
  • juice of 1/2 lemon
Preparation
For the jam:
  1. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a small sauce pan
  2. Add onions and cook until translucent
  3. Add thyme, cherries, balsamic vinegar, sugar and a pinch of salt, cover and cook on medium low for 15 minutes (until jammy).
  4. Remove from heat and reserve
For the lamb:
  1. Chop lamb into 1 inch chunks and generously season with salt and pepper.
  2. In a medium skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of butter and saute garlic.
  3. After about a minute, add lamb and sear on high until rare (about 3-5 minutes).
  4. Reduce heat and add your choice of cheese, top with a lid to melt.

Assembly

  1. Divide baguette into 4 sections
  2. Layer lamb and cheese, cherry jam
  3. Top with fresh sage and a squeeze of lemon juice
Vegan Chicken Salad Sandwich

Vegan Chicken Salad Sandwich

vegan chicken salad, steve's deli, pittsburgh, vegan, vegetarian, chicken of the woods, tarragon, lemon thyme, sandwich, just mayo, recipe

Over the weekend, Bill from Clarion River Organics sent us home with a pound of Chicken of the Woods. We’ve been really happy with how our Vegan BBQ turned out for Steve’s Deli and were eager to try some similar techniques in a grab and go sandwich.

vegan chicken salad, steve's deli, pittsburgh, vegan, vegetarian, chicken of the woods, tarragon, lemon thyme, sandwich, just mayo, recipe

We browned some chopped leeks and garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil until translucent, and then added the mushrooms, lemon thyme, salt, pepper, and tarragon to the pot with a few hefty pours of white wine. We covered and simmered until the Chicken of the Woods was tender, roughly 10 minutes.

vegan chicken salad, steve's deli, pittsburgh, vegan, vegetarian, chicken of the woods, tarragon, lemon thyme, sandwich, just mayo, recipe

For the rest of the mixture we stayed fairly basic: Just Mayo, lemon juice, grapes, raw leeks, and a few added tarragon leaves. The texture was perfect for the most part. Both sandwiches had a one or two dry bites, not sure if it was the result of not enough liquid or just past the prime for some of the mushrooms. All in all, a solid start. Can’t wait to try more!

vegan chicken salad, steve's deli, pittsburgh, vegan, vegetarian, chicken of the woods, tarragon, lemon thyme, sandwich, just mayo, recipe

Steve’s Deli Update

stevesstamps-1

Since moving into the house nearly three years ago, we’ve been slowly chipping away at home renovations, collecting enough commercial kitchen equipment to make our first floor look like a second hand restaurant supply store, and cooking, cooking, cooking. Making progress on a budget can be frustrating, and sometimes it seems as if there isn’t a light at the end of tunnel.

This past Valentine’s Day, we decided to make a big leap and explore a shared kitchen space in the Pittsburgh Public Market in the Strip District. With the help of the team there, we’ve rolled through a tumultuous six months of workshops, business classes, certifications, logo designs, and convincing people we have any idea what we’re doing. We’re still a bit nervous that we’re forgetting things, but we’re set to have a real live shop up and running by mid July!

DSCF1485

So we’ve collected our notes and we’re finally doing some side by side tests on corned beef, trying to finalize our recipes for opening.  The stack above is corned beef and pastrami cooked sous vide and conventionally in brisket and short ribs.  We’re going with a 80/20 mix of the two, going to use the corned beef at the Strip District and pastrami later on.
reuben-1

That picture looks pretty good.  For a preview of our menu, visit stevesdelipgh.com. See you soon!