Joe Nolan came to class with a big bag of chewy coconut macaroons and 19 loaves of different breads. I brought sweet butter, but he brought better butters, one from Vermont and a very yellow butter from Ireland.
Forty of us crowded around the desk, our eyes big as saucers, grabbing for what pleased us, slathering butter on the slices and spreading some with Nancy Hanst's glorious, homemade jam, ruby-red and lumpy with strawberries. It was a feast -- with leftovers. Joe brought bags in which class members carried bread away.
Nancy and I have agreed never to do an Academy for Lifelong Learning series without Nolan. This class was the third of four for the AAL at Carnegie Mellon University. Our subject was "How to Give a Party."
This was a party. Working in restaurants, Nolan learned what foods make people happy. From culinary school, he went to work at the restaurant Simply French on the South Side. When it changed hands and became Cafe Allegro, he stayed on.
"I was bought with the building," he says.
He is now a partner with the Cardamone family in a business that also includes Club Cafe, a live music venue, at 56 S. 12th St. on the South Side.
Allegro Hearth Bakery, part of the empire, is at 2034 Murray Ave. at Hobart Street. He was talked out of naming it "Crusty Joe's."
"I believe in crusts," he says. "Good bread should have a crust."
Tasting what he produces, who could argue? On his bread roster are baguette, French boule (round bread), traditional rye, Allegro Levain (sourdough), multigrain, kalamata olive, Italian stretch and challah. He made 1,000 extra loaves of challah at Rosh Hashana.
"It makes great French toast," a student in the class called out.
What's a bakery without desserts? Nolan makes a few choice ones. I'm especially fond of the cheesecake sold by the slice, one piece generous enough to serve two and, if you're satisfied with skinny slices, four.
A man of many skills and enviable energy, he also coaches a Little League baseball team. In making a reference to this, Nolan posed a question. "Why do people go to pro games when the excitement is where the kids are?"
I sometimes see his wife in the bakery. Janet and Joe have three children, two boys, 6 and 8, and a 10-year-old daughter, Laura, who, he thinks, inherited her grandmother's hands. "She's a natural-born bread maker," says her dad, a man who sees making bread as therapeutic.
"She wasn't taught, she knew instinctively how to cut dough, shape it and throw it in the pan. I hire professionals who haven't Laura's skill. "
Was it his grandmother or his mother who taught him how to cook?
He considers the question.
"You see," he says, cautiously, "my mother was hoping for a girl. When she had four sons, one of them had to fill the role of daughter. When she saw I liked to cook, she let me."
Nolan also makes wine. It is an art he learned from Luigi Spinabelli, an Italian winemaker of consummate skill who learned his craft, as he says, "in the old country." Spinabelli, who owns Parma Sausage in the Strip District, appreciates serious students such as Joe, willing to work hard and quick to catch on.
These same qualities helped Nolan establish himself as a caterer, a business about which he feels confident enough to offer suggestions.
If you have no ideas about what kind of party to give, Nolan has some. He'll do a cooking class for guests if you like. Generous by nature, he likes to share what he knows. He might start out by cautioning the guests about the three "bad" words never used in his kitchen: "roux," "cornstarch" and "microwave."
To keep a group engaged, a cooking-school teacher must be part entertainer. Nolan is a lively conversationalist and has enough opinions to keep guests both involved and amused.
If you are planning a large party at home, the best place for the caterer, says Nolan, is in the garage which, with rented equipment (and he mentioned Chujko Bros. of McKees Rocks and South Hills), can be fitted out to serve as a kitchen.
In most cases, Nolan feels it's better to rent than to borrow. At a recent party that was a success, the unsuccessful part was a lost sterling silver fork, borrowed from a neighbor. "It meant going through all the garbage, which was very unpleasant -- and futile since we never found the fork."
For outdoor parties, the caterer wants to know: "What is your rain plan?"
Do any of your guests have food allergies? If the caterer knows, he can come prepared with options.
About returning phone calls: "I'm not a procrastinator, I prioritize," he says. "Count on it. I'll get back to you."
Joe Nolan, Allegro Hearth Bakery, 2034 Murray Ave., 412-422-5623. Breads are also available at Benkovitz Seafoods.
Old-Fashioned Bread Pudding
- 10 center slices of white bread, such as Levain
- 1/4 pound soft butter
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 3 cups whole milk
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 11-by-7-by-1 1/2-inch baking dish. Trim crusts from bread and spread slices with a generous coating of butter. Cut each slice in quarters, and arrange half the quarters on the bottom of baking dish. Sprinkle with raisins and half the cinnamon. Cover with remaining bread quarters, and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon.
Heat milk until a film shines over top. Remove from heat and stir in sugar until dissolved. Beat eggs thoroughly in a separate bowl. Gradually dribble hot milk over eggs, beating vigorously all the time. Stir in vanilla, pour over bread. Set baking dish in pan of hot water, and bake 40 to 50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out dry. Makes 8 servings.
Marilyn McDevitt Rubin can be reached at mrubin@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1749.
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