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.
- 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.