Meet the baker! Enrico Biscotti’s own Jonathan Polley! A 28-year-old husband and father, Jonathan stumbled upon a job that has become his true passion in life.
Meet Jonathan! “Bread is made from four ingredients- flour, water, yeast and salt. It’s not hard to make when you figure it out.”Jonathan’s mark! Did you know the baker’s mark dates back to the birth of bread making! Jonathan explained that one town square had one oven and the townspeople marked the bread to show ownership! Every baker at Enrico Biscotti marks his own loaves!
Not really sure what he wanted to be when he grew up, but technically an Economics major, Jonathan started his career at Enrico Biscotti as a dish washer.
Under the instruction of the great Larry Lagattuta, Enrico Biscotti’s proprietor, Jonathan has developed a love for mixing dough and found his calling as a baker.
Working at a good pace and being very precise, Jonathan exudes a contagious positive baking environment. The music was on and it didn’t feel like 5am! Time to create something special!
He became immersed in an apprenticeship over the past six years centering on his desire to learn, quest for perfection, and a dedication to see the company grow and flourish. I was and am so impressed by his confidence and knowledge.
My first meeting was at Enrico’s café nestled in a small brick alley lined with white lights next to the bakery’s store front. (How have I never noticed the café? )
Jonathan never skipped a beat while slicing fresh mozzarella and roma tomatoes as I endlessly questioned him about Erico’s history, his boss, his development as a baker, his future goals, and of course his personal life!
The story of how Enrico Biscotti came to be is no fairy tale but a twist of fate for a man who had a love for baking. Jonathan explained how Larry Lagattuta switched from the corporate world to the baking world. It is no wonder that Larry sees the potential in employees like Jonathan and a few others I met like him, Adam and Ryan for sure. Larry teaches them his art, his process. He let’s them mess up and come into their own, to become great.
The second time I caught up with Jonathan it was 5am on a Saturday morning for bread making. Jonathan was in his element, I saw something glowing in him that day.
Whether he listens to the thumping rhythm of the dough hitting the mixer or the moist crackling of the dough, Jonathan walked away and instinctually “felt” the mixing time.
Effortlessly, he mixed the dough, explained the humidity challenges of a baker, rolled out perfect loaves atop a cornmeal lined table, and raved about the brick exposed wood-fired oven. The bread is baked the morning after the oven was used and is still very hot!
The bread is cooked from the heat retained by the wood-fired oven! It takes days to really cool down.Sneak peek inside the oven!! Almost done! Jonathan taps the loaves to check their progress!
As I opened the door to the café, where 1500lbs. of flour is mixed and transformed each week, I smelled and saw the enormous freshly baked scones! Ryan was adding a beautiful finishing drizzle. Enrico’s pastries are gorgeously presented and super huge!!!
The drizzle adds a beautiful finish to the scones!! Look how big!!Even the biscotti are gigantic!
Biscotti translated means “twice baked cookie” and it is the obvious top seller. Jonathan says the macaroons are a close second, but everything is delicious!
Enrico Biscotti offers both first and last Friday dinners and Bread making class with Larry one Sunday per month!
Warm, fresh bread right out of the oven with butter! Heaven!
Using the freshest ingredients, and Larry’s grandmother’s recipe, Enrico Biscotti is built on a biscotti but held together with the love and passion of its people!
I wish Larry, Jonathan and the Enrico Biscotti family the best as the company prepares for its near future production facility expansion. I can’t wait to hear what’s next!
To schedule first/ last Friday dinners or to enroll in a bread class head to www.enricobiscotti.com
2022 Penn Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15222
412-281-2602
Nothing beats grilling outside in the warm air! Yay, it’s that time of year again!! I have been grilling for the past few weeks and trying new Spring side dishes!
This sauté is amazing ! The sunflower seeds add a nutty flavor to the mix!
Have you ever tried cooking with sunflower seeds? Like pine nuts, sunflower seeds have incredible health benefits! They are a great source of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants!
Here is one of my family’s favorites!
Be careful not to overcook the broccoli! Keep the crunch!
Sautéed Broccoli with Sunflower Seeds
Ingredients:
1 lb. broccoli, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 garlic cloves pressed
1 small onion chopped
1/4 cup raw, shelled sunflower seeds
Salt and pepper
Directions:
Warm oil over low/medium heat.
Add garlic and stir. Be careful not to burn! No brown!
I think I use garlic in every recipe!!
Add onions and cook until tender.
Add broccoli and sunflower seed.
Mix well to coat all.
Make sure your heat is at a low/medium temperature! You don’t want to brown the broccoli just heat through and mix the flavors together.
Add sunflower seeds salt and pepper to taste and mix well again.
Let it cook 10 minutes or until broccoli is hot but crisp!
Serve with your favorite grilled entree! Enjoy!
B.C. (Before Children) this day meant big azz margaritas for all at Mad Mex!! Maybe a few tequila shots, too! A.D. (After Developing No Alcohol Tolerance) We still love to go out for this holiday, but on a Monday? Skinnygirl Margarita on the rocks at home for me, thank you.
Skinnygirl Margarita is Bethenny Frankel’s classic cocktail! Open and serve! That’s my kind of drink!
If you are staying in too, because it is a Monday, I have a quick and easy Cinco de Mayo dinner for you!
We love Mexican food!! And it is so easy! Try my chicken or pork crockpot tacos recipes! Just throw it in and cook all day! Shhhhh! They will never know dinner was that easy ; )
Lately, I have been experimenting with spices. My perfect storm right now is cinnamon, with cayenne pepper and cumin.
A little sweet, some spice, and the exotic flavor of cumin adds a jolt to any base, in this case, chili powder!
Orange Pepper Grilled Shrimp Skewers
For Skewers:
2 1/2 cups raw shrimp, thawed and peeled.
1 cup onion cubes
2 cups bell pepper cubes
2 cups orange slices
1 lime sliced or lime juice
Seasoning:
1/4 cup chili powder
2 tbsp. cumin
1 tbsp. garlic salt
1 tbsp. cinnamon
1 tbsp. cayenne pepper
Directions:
Heat your grill to medium heat.
Add peppers, onions, shrimp and oranges to the skewers in any pattern.
Don’t have skewers? Throw everything in a mesh grill pan or on foil! Just make sure you spray the foil with a nonstick spray first.
Sprinkle both sides with seasoning.
Add skewers to the grill.
I was in a wind storm while grilling this evening! My seasoning blew right out of the bowl!!!
Grill 5-8 minutes then flip.
Cook until shrimp are no longer transparent.
Dinner was ready in 30 mins! What an easy, quick, healthy and delicious meal!!
Serve with a squeeze of lime juice! Great idea, Angela!!
I grilled corn on the cob and steamed brown rice. This is so easy and delicious!
Tiny baby green peppers! Awww so cute but I don’t want to find them inside my pepper!
Lately, many peppers I have cut open contain tiny baby peppers growing inside of them! I just throw them away while cleaning out the seeds! Do people eat these little peppers? What are they? Are peppers safe if they have these parasitic twins inside?
Apparently, the scientific term is “internal proliferation.” The way it is formed is called “parthenocarpy” the formation of fruit without fertilization. Botanists have seen these abnormalities since 1891!
Image from “Bite-sized Biology” as this issue was discovered in the 1891 “Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club.”I have seen green and yellow mini peppers inside of red, orange, yellow and green peppers! Even in jalapeños!
As for its safety, nobody really knows! Some say they are perfectly safe to eat and others say they are alien babies placed in peppers to attack our brains…what??????
Plant breeders and USDA researchers consider this abnormal mini pepper undesirable, so I do, too. Throw them out! For now!
My grandma always has cookie sheets of hard bread in her oven. It’s just the way it is and always has been for as long as I can remember at my grandparents’ house. Empty the oven before use or, as grandma says, “Oh my God, Oh my God,” you might smell a little something burning!! Breadcrumbs are never on the grocery list.
Why do we buy breadcrumbs? If you are lucky, your store bought plain jane breadcrumbs contain less than 30 ingredients. 30??? Hmmmmm, basic bread contains flour, yeast, salt and sugar…ok that’s 4?
What a great habit to start!! I like knowing exactly what I’m eating even down to the crumbs.The store shelves are lined with such a big variety!Progresso plain breadcrumbs ingredients list…high fructose corn syrup? Why?
Mary Ann Esposito, creator and star of the best cooking show ever Ciao Italia ( I might be a superfan) posed this exact question on her blog and I had to ask her…what about Panko? See her blog and her response to me in the comments section…
Stale days old or frozen country bread.
Bake in 300 degree oven until hard and brittle.
Roll with a rolling pin.
In a recent New York Times article “Left with the Crumbs? Lucky You,” Melissa Clark discusses the importance of homemade breadcrumbs and her personal method! She uses a food processor to make very fine breadcrumbs. Do the breadcrumbs change the taste of the food? You bet!
I had a BreadWorks baguette from Easter! It sat in my oven and I used my grinder to make homemade breadcrumbs!
For starters, Throw your bread ends in a cloth on your counter or on a cookie sheet in your oven. Have a few ends? Bake them and have fresh breadcrumbs on hand! Experiment with different types of bread at different stages.
Experiment with flavors. Add dried oregano, thyme, basil, garlic powder.
Bread some chicken and taste test!
My favorite tasting breadcrumbs are made from slices of fresh bread baked until hard, and then ground. You lose the stale taste that we have become accustomed to with the preservatives added to processed breadcrumbs. They are more crisp and fresh!
I realize daily how much I have learned from my grandma, and I am so grateful for the time I spent with her throughout my childhood. I wish we lived closer so my kids could have even more of her influence.
2 12oz. Bags dry Slaw Mix
2 tbsp. rice vinegar
1 small onion, chopped
1 8 oz. package of baby Bella mushrooms, chopped
4 tbsp. cumin
2 tbsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. garlic powder
Salt/pepper
1 package (24)thin spring roll shells
Directions:
Add rice vinegar to a deep frying pan.
Mix in onions and cook until softened.
Add slaw mix and mushrooms.
I used a broccoli slaw mix this time!
Add spices and mix well.
Let it cook only until warmed and coated.
I tasted it 2-3 times and added more cumin and cinnamon! What a great flavor combo! (I also thought about using ginger? Maybe next time!)
Taste and add more spices as needed.
Remove from heat.
Gently peel off one Spring roll pastry.
Here is an expert! Susan?? Showing us how easy it is to roll the spring rolls!
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3Abqjo5A7rI
Spoon. 2-3 tbsp. of filling in center of square.
I bought the frozen spring roll pastry and let them sit at room temperature to thaw. The woman at the store warned me about buying the dry ready made shells. Apparently, they crumble when rolled. She mentioned I could keep a bowl of water and swipe water across to make them more pliable. However, mine were great ! Very bendy!
Fold in right and left triangles first and then roll.
Secure By tucking in end.
My rolls were not perfect! I will watch the YouTube video next time before I attempt it!
Place rolls on stoneware baking sheet or jelly roll pan.
Brush with vegetable oil.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 mins.
Rotating at 10 mins.
Watch for desired color and crispness.
Yummy! They were all gone in about 15 minutes!! My family loved them!
After hearing the latest Sriracha headlines, “Residents of Irwindale (Sounds totally like Arrendale from Frozen – although opposite problem -is the Southern California city where it is made-Go USA!!) Say The Air Is Too Spicy and Are Fighting to Close Sriracha Plant,” to “America’s Most Popular Condiment” and “Sriracha Shortage Imminent,” I was dying to buy some and try it!!
Photo from 4/23/14 courtesy of Washington Times! Air so spicy your eyes water and itch! I need to try this!
I love sweet and spicy together! The most flavorful taste combo!
So here it is, the family says the best meal I have ever made.
Honey Sriracha Grilled Chicken
Ingredients:
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts 2 1/2 to 3 inches thick
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup Sriracha sauce
Directions:
Mix 1/2 of the honey and half of the Sriracha in a bowl.
It’s one part honey one part Sriracha. Hard to say how much I used! Mix more if needed!
Remove chicken from package and place in a container with an airtight lid.
Brush or spoon to coat raw chicken and marinate.
I didn’t drench the chicken with the sauce…it is pretty strong stuff!
Refrigerate to marinate 1-9 hours ( I did mine at 8am and pulled it out at 4:30 to grill.)
Heat grill on medium high heat to 350 degrees.
Cook chicken on one side for 12-15 minutes.
Coat with another mixture of honey sriracha.
Flip and cook another 8-10 minutes.
Coat with remaining sauce.
I love a little char when I grill. Medium/High heat keeps the chicken moist and you still get the char! The gauge on the grill read 350-370 degrees.
Pineapple Quinoa Salad
Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa uncooked
1 1/2 cup water
1 can pineapple chunks, drained
Baby greens salad
Pint of grape tomatoes
2 tbsp. red pepper flakes
Directions:
Cook quinoa in a saucepan.
Add water bring to a boil.
Simmer for 20 minutes until water is absorbed.
1 cup uncooked quinoa and 1 1/2 cup water- always!
Meanwhile, add lettuce to a serving bowl.
Layer it with tomatoes, quinoa and pineapple.
Sprinkle on red pepper flakes.
No dressing needed! But I’m sure a honey sesame would be awesome! Next time!
Serve together or make your own sides! I think corn on the cob was the only thing missing tonight!
The perfect spring or summer meal!! We loved it! I hope you will, too!!
We woke up in the mood for breakfast muffins! I absolutely love this recipe! It is quick and easy! 5 minutes to mix the ingredients and 20 minutes to bake! Bonus, they are gluten free!!
Makes 9 muffins!!
An explosion of flavor!! Warm chocolate chips and blueberries are the best!
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Bethenny Frankel’s Skinny Blueberry Muffins
(We add chocolate chips, too! And maybe a spoon of chia seeds!)
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups oat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup soy milk
3/4 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup blueberries
(We add 1/4 cup chocolate chips and 1 tbsp. of chia seeds!)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Insert baking cups into muffin tin or spray with nonstick spray.
Mix dry ingredients add wet ingredients and gently stir in blueberries and chocolate chips last.
Throw in some Chia seeds for health and youth!
Fill half of muffin tins with batter.
I love my non -stick muffin tins ! No messing with baking cups!
Bake for 20 mins. Rotate pan half way at 10 minutes.
These muffins are so delicious and Super easy to make!
As we strive to learn the key ingredients in our forever young and healthy life recipe, we are experimenting with superfoods, eating more vegetables, and taking the processed “fake” ingredients out of our diets. A deli worker told my kids that cheese is white and yellow cheese is just white cheese dyed yellow. True statement, BUT they translated that into “fake” cheese. Ever since, I have been on a mission to make dishes with “fake” cheese alternatives. This led to our latest obsessions with Fontina, Manchego and my absolute favorite, Parano.
Always grate your own cheese. The difference in taste, freshness, and basic cooking properties will blow you away.
Gruyere is known to make the best potato casseroles, so I tried it for Easter!! 100% correct! Gruyere did not dissappoint! In fact, I can’t remember what cheddar scalloped potatoes even taste like anymore! Here is my recipe!
Gruyere Scalloped Potatoes
Ingredients:
7 large potatoes scrubbed and sliced into 1/8 inch rounds
1 large onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 lb. freshly grated gruyere cheese
2 tbsp. finely chopped parsley
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Salt/pepper
My little helpers love scrubbing the potatoes! Get the kids get involved! They will eat it because they made it!
Directions:
Warm the cream and garlic in a scauce pot and add 2 cups of Gruyere 1/2 cup at a time continuously stirring.
Gruyere melts beautifully, no chunks. Perfect consistency!
Add sliced potatoes to a deep baking dish.
I sliced them pretty thin to make sure they cook! 1/8 Inch is perfect!
Pour cheese/cream mixture from the saucepan over the potatoes.
Mix well and coat all potato slices.
Top with the remaining Gruyere cheese, the Parmesan, parsley, salt and pepper.
Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes at 350 degrees. It will be creamy and bubbly. Mix well and let stand 10 minutes to thicken and serve hot!
Indescribable flavor burst with only a few ingredients!! You would think there had to be extra ingredients in this dish like sour cream, cream cheese, many different grated cheeses? Nope! Welcome to the power of Gruyere!
