TABLE Magazine contributor Rhonda Schuldt handles a crisis the old fashioned way: by wondering, “What would mom do?” Today’s crisis is that of what to make for dinner. The answer? Time-tested, family style recipes whose healthy leftovers are the beginnings of some inspired “second acts.” Or, otherwise known as Roasted Chicken with Vegetables. This recipe gets you your daily dose of healthy protein with an easily roasted chicken. The addition of potatoes, carrots, and onions gives this dish a home-y feel and will instantly take you back to your days of sitting at the dining table as a child.
1 bunch each, fresh thyme, rosemary, parsley (or other fresh herbs, such as tarragon, chervil or marjoram)
Salt and Pepper
To prep the vegetables:
6–8 medium red or Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered
1 small bag of baby carrots (or 6 large carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces)
1 large onion, peeled and quartered
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Instructions
To prep the chicken:
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Season chicken cavity with salt and pepper then stuff with garlic and the quartered onion; if desired add lemon pieces, celery, and fresh herbs to the cavity.
Place chicken (breast-side up) in a large roasting pan, tuck the wings underneath the bird and tie the legs together with kitchen string.
Brush or rub olive oil over the outside of the chicken and season liberally with salt and pepper.
To prep the vegetables:
Place potatoes, carrots and onion in a large bowl, add olive oil, salt and pepper; toss to coat.
Place the seasoned vegetables in the roasting pan around the chicken.
To assemble and roast:
Place the chicken and vegetables in the 350° preheated oven.
Roast for approximately 20 minutes per pound (1 hour and 40 minutes for a 5-pound bird), or until the inner thigh meat reaches an internal temperature of 165° F.
Once the chicken is at the proper temperature, remove it from the oven and place it on a cutting board.
Lightly tent with aluminum foil and let rest for 10 minutes before carving. Place vegetables in a warmed serving dish.
For the pan sauce (optional):
To make a lovely pan sauce, place the roasting pan on the stove and heat over medium high. Deglaze with ½ cup chicken stock or white wine, scraping up the tasty browned bits.
Cook for 2-3 minutes to slightly reduce then finish by whisking in a tablespoon of butter.
Carve the chicken and serve with the roasted vegetables. Drizzle with pan sauce if desired.
Whenever you’re tired after work and don’t feel up to making a dinner from scratch, preparing chili ahead of time can come in handy. Chili of any kind makes for all sorts of delicious leftover recipes to satisfy your hunger throughout the week. TABLE Magazine contributor Rhonda Schuldt suggests four mouth-watering dishes that make the most of leftovers from her Mom’s Basic Chili. Start off with Loaded Baked Potatoes that pour over with chili on top. Then, prepare a Taco Salad for lunch with all your favorite ingredients. Or, go more classic with a Chili Mac or Chili Joes that feel like home as a leftover chili recipe.
Whether feeding a crowd or making ahead and freezing for a variety of future meals, beef brisket is Rhonda Schuldt’s mother’s go-to meat. She shares two of her favorite versions, both them absolutely delicious and slow-cooked! One takes advantage of a packet of onion soup mix for a rich flavor profile while the other is more of a traditional recipe.
What Can I Do With Beef Brisket Leftovers?
Either way you decide to make your brisket, the leftovers inspire some delicious “second act” recipes, which Rhonda shares here. Try her French Onion Dip Sandwich, Vegetable Beef Soup, and Open-Faced Beef and Mashed Potatoes Sandwich.
*If you don’t have prepared chili sauce available, you can use these pantry staples to make your own (double for this recipe):
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp white or cider vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar
½ tsp chili powder (any variety)
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground allspice
Instructions
Place brisket in a slow cooker. Mix together remaining ingredients and pour over the brisket. Cover and cook 8-10 hours on low, until the brisket is fork-tender. Remove from the slow cooker and let rest 10 minutes before serving.
Slice against the grain and serve with the resulting sauce from cooking.
For chili sauce:
Mix together all ingredients.
Chili sauce can be made in advance (recommended) and stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
This recipe is from the Hays House, an historic restaurant & tavern in Council Groves, Kansas – “serving townsfolk & travelers on the Santa Fe Train since 1857”. It was a favorite stop of Rhonda’s parents when visiting relatives.
Ingredients
Scale
5-lb beef brisket (or larger, the marinade can accommodate up to a 10-lb)
1 cup liquid smoke
1 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup celery seeds
1/3 cup black pepper
1/3 Worcestershire sauce
2 ½ tbsp granulated garlic or garlic powder
2 ½ tbsp onion salt
Instructions
Place the brisket, fat side up, in a roasting pan lined with a large sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil (enough to wrap the brisket).
Mix together remaining ingredients and pour over the brisket. Fold foil up and seal. Place in refrigerator overnight (do not open).
Place the pan in a 300-degree preheated oven and roast for approximately 6 hours, or until fork-tender.
After removing from the oven, let the brisket rest before slicing.
To serve, slice against the grain.
Notes
Tougher cuts of meat need time to cook to break down the connective tissues.
An important rule of thumb is “low and slow” when roasting brisket or other tougher cuts of beef (flank steak, etc.). For brisket, this means at temperature no higher than 300 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes per pound…or until it can easily be pulled apart with a fork. So, be patient, you will be rewarded!!
Tired of eating the plain old leftover beef brisket on a plate? Instead, transform your leftover brisket into masterpiece recipes that taste like cooking dinner fresh all over again. Rhonda Schuldt dreams up a collection of creative and delicious recipes that will give your leftover beef brisket a new lease on life. Devour her savory French Onion Dip Sandwich, hearty Vegetable Beef Soup, and Open-Faced Beef Sandwich. Each recipes is sure to impress your taste buds and make you fall in love with leftovers all over again.
While you’re here, shake up a relaxing Chamomile Lavender Spritz to treat yourself during all that extra time you’ll save using leftover brisket.
Thick toasted bread topped with creamy mashed potatoes, warm brisket slices, and rich homemade gravy.
Ingredients
Scale
Thick-cut bread, toasted
Mashed potatoes
Sliced warmed brisket
For brisket gravy:
2 tbsp cornstarch
½ cup cold water
Pan juices from roast brisket*
If no pan juices:
4 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour (regular or gluten-free)
2–3 cups beef stock
½ packet onion soup mix
Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
For gravy with pan juices:
Mix cornstarch with cold water, stir into pan juices, bring to a boil, and cook until thickened.
For gravy without pan juices:
Melt butter in a saucepan, stir in flour, and cook until golden. Whisk in beef stock and onion soup mix, bring to a boil, then add cornstarch mixture. Season to taste.
To assemble:
Place toasted bread on a plate, top with mashed potatoes, brisket slices, and pour gravy over the top.
Barry Young of Pennsylvania Pure Distilleries was listening to his taste buds in the development of recipes for his BLY 105 and Boyd & Blair Professional Proof 151 spirits. The vodka concoctions are recipes were easy, of course, but the 105 proof rum was new. It wanted something special as a complement. Enter an ingredient Barry enjoys cooking with in the kitchen at home: ancho chile peppers.
About This Ancho Chile Old Fashioned Recipe
“I love cooking with spices and had some at home. It worked very well the first time I tested it. My first restaurant test got an awesome response…and the rest is history,” he recalls. His Ancho Chile Liqueur went on to win a Gold Medal at the American Distilling Institute’s Judging of Craft Spirits Awards.
Barry suggests trying out the unique flavor with a spin on the classic old fashioned: “The peppers provide a great smoky flavor that mimics a whiskey so the blend of the ancho with orange and bitters really makes a delightful combination.”
In a cocktail shaker add BLY Ancho Chili Liqueur and orange wedge. Muddle orange wedge. Add ice and bitters.
Shake well and double strain into rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with orange peel.
*For the Demerara syrup:
Bring 1 cup of Demerara sugar & 1 cup of water to a boil in saucepan. Reduce heat & simmer stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves. Cool to room temperature before use.
If dessert for breakfast is so wrong, then why does it taste so right?
I discovered the glorious pairing of cake and coffee a few years ago. It was an accident, of course. A leftover piece of cake too tempting to make it past 9:00 a.m. But the experience was so sinfully delicious, I began saving all my treats – cookies, brownies, pie – for morning consumption.
After years of indulging in this combination, I can say with complete confidence that I think we’re all doing it wrong. Dessert is actually meant to be eaten in the morning.
Cake Bakeries and Coffee Shops in Pittsburgh
Listen. I’m not suggesting eating dessert for breakfast every morning, but if you’re going to eat dessert, why save it for the evening? Is the appropriate time to binge sugar really right before bed? It disrupts your sleep, and provides no time to burn off the calories. On the contrary, when you eat dessert in the morning, you start your day with a pep in your step, and have the entire day ahead to be active.
Best of all, the pairing is divine. Coffee and cake work in perfect harmony. The bitterness of coffee cuts the sweetness of cake, which in turn mellows any astringent flavors in the coffee.
Yes, there will always be those that scoff at the idea of cake for breakfast, but feel free to remind them that donuts, French toast, cereal, Pop-Tarts, and pancakes are all “acceptable” breakfast foods. Is a slice of cake really all that different? (Dentists, please refrain from answering.)
To fully enjoy, we’ve outlined a few of our favorite local bakers and coffee roasters to help you indulge in style. Enjoy! And could you save me a bite?
Two-time James Beard semifinalist, Casey Renee, has started her own dessert venture and the results are pretty sweet. Prior to founding Confections, Renee was the acclaimed pastry chef at the Ace Hotel Pittsburgh. Through her new business, Renee is offering cakes, cookies, and other treats for custom orders, events, and wholesale.
“When it comes to cakes, I definitely have a nostalgic-ness to what I do because that speaks to everyone,” says Renee. “The things you remember being good as a kid, like confetti cake or Red Velvet.”
Confections from Confections combine whimsical decorations with rich flavors like buttermilk icing and chocolate olive-oil cake. For decoration, “I usually ask for inspiration, even if it’s just a couple of colors,” says Renee. “Then I just go until I love it. My inspiration is the person that the cake is for.”
Sit back and relax with a slice of cake at the Butterwood Bake Consortium. This one-of-a-kind shop in Pittsburgh is inspired by Viennese coffeehouses with lots of velvet, wood, and porcelain detailing.
Butterwood takes custom cake orders, but a quick-fix can be satisfied by just walking into the shop.
“A slice of cake and a pour-over, that’s what most people order,” says owner Ally Slayden.
Butterwood’s cakes are available in a myriad of flavors, from Chocolate Sweet Potato and Blood Orange to Matcha Green Tea and Creme De Violette.“Our cakes are not super sweet, a bit more European, like German Chocolate Cake,” adds Slayden.
For decoration, this shop takes a natural approach. The ingredients are all organic, and that’s 350° Bakery.
Salted Caramel, Raspberry Almond, Lemon Meringue, oh my! These are just some of the cakes offered by 350° Bakery, a fun bakery located on the South Side Slopes. There’s a good chance you’ve already tasted their goodies, as they supply Pittsburgh spots such as Constellation Coffee, Piper’s Pub, and Big Dog Coffee.
350° Bakery prides itself in making classic homemade treats, like pies, layer cakes, fudgy brownies, and cookie sandwiches. (We’re particularly smitten with their Oatmeal Cream pies.) Currently, the bakery is in the process of transforming their production kitchen into a small grab-and-go bakery, but in the meantime, they offer wholesale, personal orders, and event catering.
Mediterra is a Pittsburgh institution, selling their artisanal baked goods at local grocery stores, farmers’ markets, restaurants, and their brand-new Mediterra Café in Sewickley. (Have you been yet? It’s stunning.) While they are known for their breads, they also have a brilliant pastry program that supplies the confections for the cafe, including: lemon tarts, eclairs, homemade toaster pastries, and mini Oreo cheesecakes, all of which happen to taste great with coffee! Mediterra takes custom orders for pastries and cake, styles varying from classic to funky and everything in-between (donuts on a cake, anyone?).
La Prima has been serving Pittsburgh with gourmet, locally roasted coffee for over 30 years. They are a certified organic roast-to-order company, with over 50% of their coffees purchased with fair-trade practices. Find their beans at Market District and Whole Foods, or stop by their cafes in the Strip District and on the Carnegie Mellon campus.
This small, local roaster has a European-style cafe on Smallman Street, serving coffee, cocktails, and small bites. As a roaster, they focus on very small, high-end micro lots, with the goal to excite even the most hardcore coffee connoisseur, and help average coffee drinkers experience something new.
The name KLVN is a nod to 19th century scientist Lord Kelvin and the first law of thermodynamics, which states that “energy is neither created nor destroyed, but transformed from one form to another.” This quote gives a representation of KLVN’s coffee, which provides drinkers with caffeine from sustainably produced, washed specialty arabica beans from around the world.
After attending coffee school in Italy, Ispirare Coffee owners Amber & Michael Rizzo began their Kittanning-based roasters to create inspirational coffees for all of life’s moments. Find them at Labriola’s Aspinwall, Madeleine’s Bakery & Bistro, and Heirloom SuperFood Market.
Story by Madeline Quigley Photography by Sarah Collins
Farm Fresh Fall Recipes are a great way to stay healthy whenever the warm weather starts to fade away. Each recipe below uses produce in a delicious yet nutritious way to keep you energized all fall long. For instance, we spin farm-fresh zucchini into long strands on a spiralizer and sauté quickly as a crisp, healthy pasta replacement. We also stir in a bit of Zucchini Pesto into ours for a pleasureful “zucchini on zucchini” scenario. If these noodles lose their crunch, they make a tender side dish all the same. Just add a little extra cheese. But, if you’re craving something more sweet, cook up the Whiskey Roasted Apple Butter Farm Fresh Fall Recipe to toast, pastries, and more.
Sweet, spiced apple butter slow-cooked with browned butter, whiskey, and vanilla for a smooth, flavorful spread.
Ingredients
Scale
1/2 lb butter
4 lb apples: cored, skin-on (Granny Smith for more tartness, but any medium-size apple will do)
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
Pinch of kosher salt
2 cups Wigle Walkabout Apple
Whiskey
3 cups water
2 vanilla beans, split
Instructions
Place butter in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Allow it to brown before adding apples. Coat the apples with the butter by stirring them gently. Add sugars and salt and stir apples to coat. Allow them to cook until there is slight caramelization.
Once the apples are caramelized, deglaze the pan with the Wigle Apple Whiskey. Lower the heat and allow the alcohol to cook out and reduce in the pan. Once the whiskey is reduced, add the water and split vanilla beans.
Allow the apples to continue to cook over low heat until nearly all the liquid is cooked down. Once this has happened, remove the pan from the heat and while the apples are still warm, remove vanilla pods, and spoon apples into a blender. Puree until thick and smooth, scraping the sides of the blender with a rubber spatula to keep the mixture moving.
Let the mixture fully cool. Use it right away or store it up to 2 weeks in the fridge. For longer storage, freeze in a container or freezer bag.
Light, garlicky zucchini “pasta” tossed with olive oil, parsley, and Parmesan.
Ingredients
Scale
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp dried peperoncino
4 tbsp olive oil
4 large zucchini, spiralized into noodles
2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
Grated Parmigiano cheese
1 tbsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
In a skillet, briefly sauté garlic and pepperoncino flakes in olive oil. Do not let the garlic brown. (If you like anchovies, add rinsed fillets with the garlic.)
Add zucchini noodles and toss them until coated. Stir gently until warm but still firm.
Add parsley and stir at the last second. Transfer contents into a large warm bowl and toss with grated cheese. Adjust seasoning to taste.
The Pie Place owners, Jess Gombar and Julie Accamando, love to work fresh and local ingredients into their menu, often in unique combinations. Their sublime Pumpkin Blondies made their way to TABLE Magazine’s photo studio recently and was a crowd favorite. Not a crumb was left. Nor a drop of icing. Or a molecule of chocolate shavings. Visit them in Upper Saint Clair to pick up a dozen, or make them at home with the recipe they generously share.
Beat all the wet ingredients in a mixer with the paddle attachment. Once the wet ingredients are combined, add in all of the dry ingredients, adding in the chocolate chips last.
Pour into a greased 9×13 baking pan.
Bake at 350º for 25+ minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool and ice with cream cheese frosting (see below) and drizzle with melted chocolate.
For the cream cheese frosting:
Mix cream cheese and the softened butter in a mixer with the paddle attachment until well incorporated. Add in the vanilla.
Slowly add in the powdered sugar, a little at a time, until the desired consistency is reached.
Recipe by The Pie Place Owners, Jess Gombar and Julie Accamando Styling by Ana Kelly Photography by Adam Milliron Plates by Emmanuelle Wambach
Meatless Monday! Does the phrase create joy or provoke skepticism? If it’s the latter, can we suggest a healthy dose of Bridges and Bourbon’s Black Truffle Popcorn? Whip up a batch with the super-simple recipe below. Chomp on a mouthful. Sip a glass of red. Or a bourbon cocktail. That’s just the first course of your Meatless Monday scenario.
Black Popcorn Recipe and Accompaniments
Second course: warm up your favorite tomato soup and scatter Truffled Popcorn over the surface and maybe sprinkle a bit of freshly grated Peccorino cheese overtop, too. Grind a spot of fresh black pepper before your first spoonful. You’ll begin to see Meatless Monday in a new way.
Main course? A grilled three-cheese sandwich.
Two buttered slices of something crusty from Mediterra Cafe. Grated cheddar on the insides of each piece. Thinly sliced Gruyere on one. A smear of goat cheese on the other. Broil them open face first. When they’re melted and lovely, sprinkle some Truffled Popcorn on top.
Put the slices together and toast under the broiler. Flip the sandwich so that the underside gets toasty too.
Serve with a simple, lightly dressed green salad. **Yes: you can put the popcorn on that, too.
At the risk of overdoing it…a scoop of your favorite vanilla ice cream drizzle with butterscotch or caramel. And…you guessed it…a garnish of Truffled Popcorn.
A rich and savory truffled popcorn recipe that adds gourmet flavor to snacks, soups, sandwiches, salads, and even desserts.
Ingredients
Scale
5 oz butter
1 ¼ tsp black truffle oil
7 oz grapeseed oil
¼ lb popping corn
Instructions
Melt the butter over low heat. Add black truffle oil. Let the mixture rest for at least an hour. Skim off milk solids with a spoon. Once ready, in a medium saucepan with tight-fitting lid, heat grapeseed oil over high heat.
Add popcorn. Once the popping begins, reduce heat to medium and cook until the popping slows and stops. You can also use no-butter microwave popcorn.
Once popped, toss in black truffle butter and parsley, salt and pepper to taste.
We’ve all been taught, growing up, that eating dessert first is wrong. It’s akin to keeping your elbows off the table – finish your dinner, my mom would say, then you can have something sweet.
On the Butler County Sweet Tooth Trail, dessert always comes first. In fact, there’s no dinner at all. The self-guided trail takes you through all of the county’s sweet spots with a passport – available for pick up at any participating shop or the Butler County Tourism & Convention Bureau – as your map. Visit all the tour stops and fill up your passport with a special symbol from each location. When full, take it back to the bureau to claim a prize and be entered into the grand prize drawing. It’s the sweetest way to get out and explore the neighborhood. Your taste buds will thank you!
Hit the road and explore the county through its sweets, from ice cream shops and local bakeries to candy stores. The Butler County Sweet Tooth Trail, as they say, will make you “feel like a kid again…” as long as you keep your elbows off the dinner table.
Our advice? Break up the trail with lunch at the Chop Shop on Butler’s Main Street. Fend off the sugar crash with a Reuben or seitan shawarma! We also loved The Harmony Inn on Mercer Street in Harmony, whose sandwiches and diverse beer list are sure to please.
To get you started, here are the spots we visited on a trip down the trail:
Find everything you need (and more!) inside the pastry cases at P&B’s Sweets and Eats, made fresh on the premises every day. The bakery has one goal – make everything taste as good as it looks. We can assure you, it does!
Take a step back in time at Baldinger’s, an old-school candy shop. Stop inside to see their famous, 19th-Century cash register and grab a bag of hard-to-find candies, like anise squares and wax lips.
Bundt cakes are the stars of this Cranberry Township bakery. 10 flavors – red velvet and chocolate chocolate chip are two of the fan favorites – make up their menu of mini Bundtlets and bite-sized Bunitinis, every one finished off with their signature cream cheese icing.
Story by Maggie Weaver Photography by Dave Bryce Styling by Keith Recker
