Ask A Pittsburgh Expert: Best Recipes For Super Bowl Sunday
Mike Barbiaux always likes the traditional food approach that evolves; it's no wonder that his restaurant is called the Evolution Grille. Working together with his wife, Courtney, Mike is the chef and Courtney is the events coordinator and proprietor, making for great teamwork. Mike possesses a dedication to support local businesses and farms, and the diverse menu is prepared with fresh ingredients and delivered in a professional manner with a family tradition in mind.
Michael Barbiaux, Chef/Proprietor
Evolution Grille
1186 Butler Road
Freeport, PA 16229
(724) 294-2088
www.evolutiongrille.com
Mike Barbiaux started in the food business in high school at the Italian Oven and McDonald's, and it didn't take him long to understand the food industry. He graduated from the Pennsylvania Institute of Culinary Arts (PICA) in 1999 and did an internship at Cafe Solei in Reno, Nevada. Evolution Grille came to fruition in 2009 in the Freeport Plaza, and that lead to a new free-standing location in 2014. Michael has come a long way from working at McDonald's at age 15, and his 20 years in the food industry are on display at the Evolution Grille.
Tailgator Pierogi
- Dough: 3 cups of flour, 3 eggs, 2 tablespoons of buttermilk, 1 tablespoon of water
- Filling: 3 potatoes boiled and mashed, 1 lb. of Kielbasa diced (smerdels is the best and right from Etna), 1 cup sauerkraut (canned or bagged, drained and rinsed)
- Cook Kielbasa with butter in saute pan, add in kraut and finish with a splash of Iron City
- Let cool prior to stuffing the pierogi
Directions:
- Mix all the ingredients together lightly in a bowl; knead until smooth.
- Let rest, covered for 30 minutes.
- Using half the dough at a time, roll out to 1/8 inch thickness.
- Cut circles with a biscuit cutter, floured glass or a pierogi press.
- Fill with about a golf ball-size of filling.
- Pinch to seal.
- Boil for 8 minutes, until floating, then freeze or fry in butter until crisp.
Spinach Dip
- 1 small red pepper diced
- 1 tablespoon of minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons of Hidden Valley Ranch packet
- 1 cup of mayo
- 4 cups of sour cream
- 1 cup of Romano cheese
- 1 bag of frozen spinach, drained
- 1 can of water chestnuts diced or quarter depending on preferred crunch
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- In a large bowl, blend all ingredients.
- Refrigerate 1-2 hours prior to serving for the flavors to blend.
- Serve warm or cold.
- Heat microwave for one minute; place in bread bowl.
- Top with mozzarella.
- Set under broiler until the cheese melts and gets bubbly.
Bread Bowl (serves 8-12)
- 2 tablespoons yeast
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 3/4 tablespoon salt
- 2 cups hot water (not boiling)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4-5 cups flour
- Cornmeal (optional)
Directions:
- Using a Bosch or Kitchen Aid mixer, put yeast, sugar, salt, hot water and olive oil in the mixer.
- Gradually add flour until the dough has sufficiently scraped everything off the sides of the mixing bowl.
- Continue to mix on low for 8-10 minutes.
- Remove and cover with plastic wrap; let the dough rise until it doubles in size (about 30 minutes).
- Grease two cookie sheets and sprinkle with cornmeal.
- Punch down the dough and make tennis-ball size dough balls (about 8-12, depending on how large you want the bread bowls).
- Place on cookie sheet with no more than 6 to a cookie sheet (don't let them touch).
- Let them rise for another 30 minutes.
- Bake each cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 18 minutes.
Related: Ask A Pittsburgh Bartender: Your Best Tropical Drink Recipe
Gerry Cernicky is a retired health and physical education teacher with 36 years of experience. He is a former teacher of the year and a sports writer for the Vandergrift News. He delivers podcasts, and maintains a website and blog. He currently resides in Pittsburgh. His work can be found at Examiner.com.
