Italian Amercians In Pittsburg & Olive Oil Cake

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launderess

launderess

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Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage
Here's me watching Lydia's kitchen (looking to get my zuppa de pesce on) and today's show has her in Pittsburg where apparently there is (or was) a large Italian-American community centered around something called "The Strip". Who knew?

Anywho one of persons visited (Mercante) had a nice cake made from olive oil. Never heard of such a thing.

There was also an odd sandwich of french fries, cabbage and some type of meat from Primanti Brother's.
 
Well, I am fairly familiar with Pittsburgh's Strip District, I go there for bulk and specialty shopping. I always hit the Restaurant Depot on 32nd street as well as the Penn Macaroni Factory where I get pastas as well as italian cold cuts such as my beloved suprasetta over on Penn Avenue and there is a fab Polish deli there as well. I just recently was informed that Lidia has a restaurant there. 

Oh and Primanti Brothers sandwiches are the utmost all of the Primanti sandwiches are served on thick sliced italian bread along with your meat, french fries and an oil and vinegar dressed cole slaw all piled on top. They have several different meat selections such as roast beef, corned beef, and kielbassa, te Roast Beef is m favorite. When I worked down town I used to eat there at least 2 times a week, but now I only get it when I hit the strip to go shopping.

The strip is full of specialty ethnic stores, wholesalers, fish markets such as Wholeys and places like Whole Foods, The Heinz Center is also located there as well as the gorgeous St. Stanislaus Church
 
olive oil cake

OK...... Olive oil is good fat for you, I use it instead of butter or other oils.... and I love it.  I have had olive oil ice cream.. how do you make olive oil cake?
 
Hahahahah! Ask Popeye :)

Actually if you want them I can post you a couple of delightful cake recipes that use extra virgin olive oil instead of butter. One is a classic jam tart "crostata" and the other is an apple-walnut cake.
 
Chocolate Marble Cake

I posted a recipe sometime back for a choclate marble cake using olive oil.  The batter is divided and cocoa hydrated in boiling water and cinnamon and black pepper is mixed in.  The dark is poured over the light and they screw themselves up in the oven.  It is a terrific cake, super moist and a bit oily.  It gets better each day.
 
Primanti's...

...in the Strip, was always the place to go before going home after a late night out. The cheese-steak, with the fries and cole slaw piled high was, and still is, my favorite. One of my fond memories of the twenty years that I spent, living in a suburb of Pittsburgh.

Joe
 
I make a carrot cake using olive oil.

I make them at work, I'd average one a week for the last 10 years or so, they sell well and get good comments.

In Kenwood Chef mixer bowl - break 6 eggs. Whisk on high for a couple of minutes, till thickened a bit.
Add 2 cups of olive oil. Whisk on high for another couple of minutes. (It will be a bit like mayonnaise consistency.)

In a small plastic bucket, thoroughly combine the following:
2 cups of self raising flour
2 cups of soft brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1 teaspoon nutmeg powder
quarter teaspoon allspice powder

sift the above mix into the egg/oil in the Kenwood mixer bowl. Whisk 2 more minutes on high.

In the (now empty) plastic bucket combine 6 cups of grated carrot and 2 cups of chopped walnuts (or macadamias)

add the carrot/nuts to the cake batter. If the bucket is bigger than the mixer bowl, add the batter to the carrot/nuts - the whole lot JUST fits in a Kenwood chef bowl.

Line the base of a 28cm round cake pan. grease the sides. Add the cake batter to the cake pan.
Bake at about 160 to 180 degrees C . for 1 to 1.5 hours.
Test with a skewer - shove a skewer into cake, if it comes out clean it is done.
It it comes out sticky, cook longer.

When cool, ice the cake with lemon cream cheese frosting. Use real butter not that artificial junk.
(or dust it with icing sugar if you can't be bothered with frosting.)

The above uses Aussie measures -
A cup is 250 ml
a teaspoon is 5 ml.
self raising flour = self rising flour
dunno what you call soft brown sugar - maybe soft brown sugar?
icing sugar = powdered sugar

Olive oil - you can use light or extra virgin - your choice.
 

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