PGH Dining: Bar Marco

If you're walking in the right direction on the right street in Pittsburgh, you'll be lucky enough to see Bar Marco.  Walk in, sit down, and order a drink, because this is an experience all to itself.

Braddock's Whiskey Contest & The P.G.H.!

One of my favorite restaurants in town, Braddock's American Brasserie, recently hosted a Whiskey Cocktail Contest, asking for entries of the best whiskey cocktails from Pittsburghers. After holing myself up in my kitchen for a few hours with some peaches, whiskey and ginger, I came up with the P.G.H. {Peach Ginger Hit!}.
Drunkenly perhaps, I based my drink on my viewpoint as a new 'Burgher. While some folks think of Pittsburgh as a has-been, I'm of the camp that celebrates PGH as the Comeback Kid. There's so much to offer here, and the sassy Pittsburgh voice has a lot to say.

Fortunately, the judges heard that voice {however drunken it was}.


I won the contest! Although I didn't receive the most votes {read: Facebook "likes"}, I got the Braddock's vote.  My cocktail was chosen "for the great summer-inspired taste." I feel so honored!
I plan to walk into Braddock's as soon as possible to order my cocktail.


What a blissful moment.
So, here's the recipe for you to make your own P.G.H. at home!

Saturday in the Strip!

The last time Husband and I adventured to The Strip District here in Pittsburgh, aka the Strip, it was a mess. Too many people, too much pre-game hype and nowhere to walk but in the street. Saturday, we decided to go back, mainly because we felt we needed xiaoxing wine, and knew we could get it there. {Backstory: We'd recently watched a show on the Cooking Channel called Easy Chinese: San Francisco, and the host, Ching-He Huang, uses this rice wine in most recipes she makes.} After gathering a list of things we needed for the week, we decided to do our grocery shopping there, too. You can get everything in the Strip!

Our first stop was to Wing Fat Hong, at the eastern end of the Strip. 

Bags of rice in the window, stacked high.

We walked in and stared at all they had to offer. Tons and tons of asian ingredients, spices, oils, sauces, vinegars, fresh vegetables, fish, candies, etc. We went crazy! A few of the staff spoke English, and were nice enough to answer our questions.  I felt a little odd trying to take photos inside, so just I snapped a quick one of the fresh persimmons near the checkout counter. 

Someone I know bakes the {BEST} cookies from these beauties.

Husband holding our box of spoils from WFH.

We then ambled down Penn Ave. towards S&D Polish Deli for a pierogi pitstop. On his first visit out here, Husband had tried a 'pierogi' from a chain grocer. His resulting report wasn't good, and I told him we'd have a do-over with a homemade one from a cart or in the Strip. We ordered the potato and cheddar ones, served with buttery onions on top. YUM!

We also ordered  potato pancakes {can you tell we like potatoes?}, and two small candies. 

These pancakes were served with granulated sugar and sour cream. I chose the sour cream and my sweet tooth Husband had a few bites with the sugar.

Hazelnut for him, cherry for me.

Despite his face, he liked the chocolate. Mine was filled with cherry liquor, and I was surprised when I bit into it. Hello, alcohol!

Before leaving S&D, I spied my favorite mustard, and snapped one up. You could find this mustard in Dallas at the European Market on Forest Lane next to Asian Mint. I was thrilled to find this cute barrel of mustard here, too! {Warning, it's a bit too spicy for some.}

We looked around the Pennsylvania Macaroni Company, Wholey's, Stan's Market, Reyna Foods, and other shops before heading home with our haul. Take a look!

Box from Wing Fat.

WFH items laid out nicely. All of this for $30!

Look at the prices!

Husband {HAD} to have candy and Pocky. Also, some MSG.

Stan's Market items, all for less than $6!

Items from the Penn Macaroni Company, including fresh rosemary pasta!

Finally, Husband bought a piece of kitchen equipment from In The Kitchen he's been wanting for what seems like our whole marriage: a food mill. Not a potato ricer, but a food mill. Usually these cost somewhere between $60-$150, depending on quality and size. We scored this one that was used in a demo for $20! It's smaller than those massive restaurant-sized ones, so it's perfect for our two-person family. 

 That night, we had a delicious meal of rosemary pasta dressed with olive oil and parmesan shavings, spinach salad, this go-to garlic herb bread and grilled lemon chicken. All from the Strip! It was a definite win this time around.

I hope you had a great weekend, too! 

P.S. - Don't forget to vote in the poll! Vote for your favorite types of posts before the poll closes on January 31.


P.P.S. - Have you liked {A Dash of Spectacular} on Facebook yet? You can get all the updates on posts and new photos while checking in on your friends & family! I did not say stalking. :)

Baking: Fresh Herb Bread

My second treat I baked earlier this week came in the form of a bread. (On a slight side note, I have a weird love for bread. I even have a pin board dedicated to it's deliciousness.) But, don't be scared at all of yeast breads. Yeast bread is actually easy to make, and really the hardest part is waiting on it to rise. I will caution you, however, to make sure the place where you're letting it rise is at a regular 'room temperature.' Yeast dough will not rise properly in a cold room.

This bread can be made with a variety of herbs, but I usually use rosemary. The pine-y scent really lends itself to this bread. For these particular loaves, I used leftover thyme from our holiday cooking.

{Fresh Herb Bread}

Ingredients:
1 tbsp. yeast
1 tbsp. granulated white sugar
1 c. warm water
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. fresh herbs (such as rosemary or thyme), finely chopped
2 tbsp. butter

Instructions:
Place yeast, sugar and water into a food processor, and allow to sit and become bubbly. This should take a few minutes. Mix in one tablespoon of butter, salt and 2 cups of flour. Add in one tablespoon of the chopped herbs, and knead in the food processor for 3-4 minutes.

It should be well mixed, with no floury edges. Then add in the last half cup of flour and knead for 1 minute in the processor. The dough should come into a ball at this point. If not, press it together by hand. Place the dough into a bowl lightly greased with some regular olive oil, and cover it with a kitchen towel. Let it rise in a 68-80 degree room for one hour.   Punch down the dough and divide it in half with a knife. Let it rest for another 5 minutes, then shape the dough pieces into loaves, and place them on a baking sheet that's been foiled and greased with cooking spray. Sprinkle the tops of the loaves with the remaining tablespoon of chopped herbs, pressing them into the dough. Cover with the kitchen towel and let them rise for 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and bake the loaves for 15-20 minutes.

If you choose, brush with remaining tablespoon of butter as they come out of the oven. 

This bread is great to serve with leftover Fillet of Beef Bourguinon. 

Or, you can slice it and serve it with a nice, steamy cup of coffee for breakfast. 

Enjoy!