July 6, 2025 • 37 mins
A culinary road trip across America reveals the heart and soul behind three of this season's Great American Recipe contestants on PBS, each bringing their unique cultural heritage and personal journeys to the kitchen.
(00:35) From the warm hospitality of Durham, North Carolina, Fran Wescott welcomes us into her Southern kitchen where traditional local ingredients meet global influences. "I am, at heart, a Southern cook, but I've got all these layers on top," she explains, describing how travel and cultural exploration have transformed her approach to cooking. Fran's Summer Vegetable Orzo with White Pesto perfectly demonstrates her layered culinary philosophy while highlighting her belief that meals are as much about gathering around the table as they are about the food itself.
(13:01) The journey continues to Columbus, Ohio, where Filipino-American Rex Alba balances the rich, flavorful traditions of his homeland with his passion for fitness as a former American Ninja Warrior contestant. Rex's Bistek Tagalog recipe offers a window into authentic Filipino cuisine with its tangy soy-calamansi marinade and red onion rings, while his story reveals the personal motivation behind his health journey.
(23:41) Our final destination takes us to Spokane, Washington, where Suwanee Lennon's extraordinary story unfolds. From growing up in a Thai leprosy village to coming to America alone at age 13, Suwanee's resilience shines through in her innovative cooking. Her Thai Basil Pesto brilliantly fuses Eastern and Western culinary traditions, complete with her expert tip to use the often-discarded basil flowers for maximum flavor.
These three home cooks represent the mosaic of American cuisine – where traditional recipes evolve through migration, adaptation, and personal experience. Be sure to follow their culinary journeys and discover more recipes that tell America's diverse food story. Season 4 of The Great American Recipe premiers July 11th, 2025 on local PBS stations and streaming on the PBS app.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Doug (00:01):
Hey Pittsburgh Dish listeners.
We have a special episode thisweek, a sort of summer road trip
.
We're heading out of town toget new recipes from three
amazing home cooks that will allbe featured on this season of
The Great American Recipe on PBS.
You might remember that I spentlast summer competing on the
show and it was a wonderfulexperience.
(00:22):
So when I started seeing thetrailers and announcements for
season four, not only did itbring back a flood of memories,
it got me a little bit nebby towant to learn more about these
newest contestants.
So let's get to it.
First up, we're heading a bitsouth to Durham, north Carolina,
and getting to know FranWescott.
Let's give her a call.
(00:42):
Hey, Doug, this is Fran.
Hey, Fran.
Fran (00:45):
Let's give her a call, hey .
Doug (00:47):
Doug, this is Fran.
Hey, fran, how are you?
Fran (00:50):
I am well.
Thank you for inviting me.
Doug (00:53):
Oh, I am so excited to be talking with you today.
I will say just as a side noteI know you've been following
each other on Instagram for awhile and then when I saw that
you were part of the cast, I'mlike yes, oh, that's so exciting
.
Fran (01:07):
I know it was so much fun.
It was an enormous amount offun to be acquainted with the
show and to talk to people aboutand to go through that whole
process.
So it was.
It was by binge watching.
Great American Recipe, I haveto say, Doug American Recipe, I
have to say Doug, one of myfavorites.
Not to put any pressure on you,I was just so excited to learn
(01:36):
about the show and to learnabout you a little bit too, and
in that thing about that program, that we really get to know
people through their food, don'twe?
Doug (01:41):
That's right.
Well, I am so excited for youbeing part of season four of the
Great American Recipe on PBS.
You're one of the eight homecooks that were chosen from
across the country and we'retalking just before the premiere
on July 11th.
How are you feeling right now?
Fran (02:01):
You know you've been sitting on the Secret and it's
about to be broadcast now youknow you've been sitting on the
Secret and it's about to bebroadcast.
It's so exciting, but you knowwhat's really funny and my
family are sort of having a hardtime wrapping their heads
around this.
I need to see it because I feellike I have no idea how it's
going to turn out.
Did you really?
Yeah, and it's funny because Iwas there.
(02:23):
But then we're concentrating onwhat we're doing and maybe what
our neighbors are doing, andlike there are eight worlds
happening all at once, and so Ican't wait.
It'll give me an opportunity tolearn more about what happened
in the studio with my newfriends.
Doug (02:42):
That's right, I love that.
Happened in the studio with mynew friends, that's right, I
love that.
I remember all of the camerasstaring at me and I only really
knew what went on in my world.
So I hear you, when you watchthis show you're going to be
like, oh, that's what happenedwith neighbors A, b and C and I
honestly don't remember some ofthe dishes.
Until you know, until I saw theshow, you know what everyone
(03:05):
made.
Fran (03:05):
You know we were so fortunate to have, you know, met
one another and gotten to knowone another when the cameras
weren't weren't on, and I knowyou had that experience too.
Um, but it was.
It was beautiful anticipationwhen we finished doing a
challenge and we were, I wasexcited to find out, like you
(03:28):
said, what was happening acrossthe studio and not not just you
know what happened in the moment, which was exciting, get to
hear a little bit about thestory behind it and and that's
just so unique and lovely aboutthis experience and about this
program.
Doug (03:48):
I think it's such a huge part of the show.
I did want to ask you.
I understand you live in Durham, North Carolina.
Is that where you hail from?
Is that where you grew up?
Fran (03:59):
It is, and there aren't too many of them.
But that's a beautiful thingabout Durham is that my dad was
actually born here.
I grew up here, I left for anumber of years for college and
then for, you know, my firstjobs.
But Durham has always attracted, you know, really beautiful,
(04:22):
diverse communities and peopleand industries, and so we are
fortunate to have a gorgeousheritage of a variety of
cultures, you know.
Doug (04:36):
I can imagine that it definitely shaped some of your
cooking.
Did you start cooking at anearly age or, you know, were
folks cooking for you?
What was cooking life like as ayoungster?
Fran (04:47):
As a youngster I chiefly enjoyed eating and boy howdy.
You know, my dad used to getsome grief from some of his
friends because he had threedaughters and his friends would
always say you know, you'relucky, you're not feeding three
boys.
And he'd look at me squarelyand say you have no idea?
(05:11):
Oh my, because I had.
So I loved food.
So when you ask my, my cookinglife, it had as much to do with
sitting around the table andenjoying the food as it did
cooking it, and we were neverdiscouraged from playing in the
kitchen.
But my mom was largely apragmatic cook.
(05:33):
You know she loved culturearound the table, she loved
going out to eat.
We loved to travel as a family,but as far as getting food on
the table, it was not her joy,it was her duty that she happily
fulfilled, because we atebreakfast every morning and we
(05:53):
ate as a family, and even whenwe didn't eat anything more than
like a BLT in the evening, we'dall sit around the table and
catch up and sort of listen inon what the adults had to say,
maybe catch up with what thekids had to offer.
So yeah, it was as much aboutthe table culture as it was
about the cooking of food.
(06:14):
But I fell in love with cookingas a teenager, just loved it.
It was like developing sort ofa set of magic tricks, because
there weren't a lot of teenagerswho were cooking.
So I did have fun with that.
Doug (06:31):
Oh, so great, and tell us a little bit more about your
cooking, like what are somedishes you're known for?
In fact, what I'd love to do isask for a recipe today.
Fran (06:41):
Oh boy, oh boy.
(07:08):
Well, I you know it's funnybecause I think I think the
recipe that I would offer isactually a really good sort of
metaphor for my cooking, becauseif you think about it in terms
of layers and dimensions, thefundamental layer is that I grew
up in the South and the Southhas a and it's not exclusive to
the South, but in the Southerncooking that I grew up with, it
was all about local ingredientsand local food heritage.
But then you add theseadditional layers of lived
experience and travel andinfluences of visiting cultures
and indigenous cultures, and soI am, at heart, a Southern cook,
(07:33):
but I've got all these layerson top, so I think that does a
pretty good job.
Doug (07:38):
I love that.
I think I just saw you and keepme honest, maybe it was your
son.
You were trying to do like agyro shawarma with chicken in
the oven using a cabbage head orsomething.
Is that right?
Fran (07:51):
Yes, you know what, doug?
I just love a good failure, anepic failure.
Doug (07:57):
Well, it looked like fun, it was.
Fran (08:01):
And I think that's another piece of the puzzle for me is
that, if it's not, you know, Ihave often told my family, even
before you know, we startedcooking.
They're young adults Charlie's23 and our daughter, Margie, is
26.
And from the very get go, youknow, and I promised that it
(08:21):
would not be toxic and that theywere not required to clean
their plate, but we would, just,we would give it a go, we would
give it a go.
Doug (08:28):
So that was a fun experiment.
Fran (08:31):
It was so lovely because we did actually get the giggles
a little bit, and what's more isit was non-toxic and it was an
enormous amount of fun, and sowe did eat that night.
Doug (08:44):
Very good yes.
I mean failures are actuallyjust learning experiences,
aren't they?
Fran (08:50):
They are, and they are comedies.
Doug (08:53):
Of course.
All right, Fran, I am going tobring us forward.
I would love it if you wouldshare a recipe with our
Pittsburgh Dish listeners.
Do you have something up yoursleeve?
Fran (09:04):
We do, I do.
You know I mentioned that Ilove drawing on local produce
and local ingredients, but Ilove also a little bit of an
international twist.
And I think in another life,doug, I was Italian, so the
recipe that I have in mind is asummer vegetable orzo with a
(09:25):
white pesto.
So the white pesto is a littlebit lighter.
It still has that verdantquality that a traditional
Genovese pesto does.
But have you ever cooked with awhite pesto?
Doug (09:37):
I am not familiar with a white pesto.
Can you tell me a little bitmore about it?
Fran (09:41):
Sure, it's a base of ricotta pesto, can you tell me a
little bit more about it?
Sure, it's a base of ricotta,and then you can add all
different kinds of, because ofcourse, pesto means roughly
translated and gosh I think oneof your castmates would be able
to correct me, but I think itmeans pounded.
Doug (09:55):
Yes to crush.
To crush is what Marcellataught me.
Fran (09:59):
Marcella.
God bless her.
She's my other favorite.
Doug (10:05):
And I have so many.
Fran (10:06):
So it's you add these pounded, these crushed
ingredients into the ricotta,and the ricotta acts as a sort
of binding agent that then meltsinto whatever pasta you use it
over right.
So, I know right.
So I generally add, like, sincewe're in summer, it would be
both yellow squash and zucchinigrated, and then a really light,
(10:30):
maybe even a sweet onionwhatever kind of onion you know
turns the dial for you and thenin the pesto itself, I'd
probably use the ricotta, andthen maybe some sort of either
reggiano or Parmesan for alittle bit of additional salt,
right, and that kind of nuttyquality, and definitely some
lemon zest.
(10:51):
And then, as far as the greenthat you want to use, I say, go
nuts and see whatever you havein your garden or in your
windowsill if you don't have agarden.
Yes, Right, so what kind ofwhat's your go-to summer herb?
Doug (11:04):
Well, I do have a lot of basil going crazy right now.
Fran (11:07):
Oh yeah, that's a good one .
And dill I love dill, I lovedill.
And dill is pretty good withthis too.
Yeah, and you just do, you justtoss that in the orzo then you
do, and you be sure that yousalt adequately the orzo, any
pasta you use I like orzo, it'salmost like a sort of the
risotto kind of quality, but besure it's well salted water and
(11:31):
then drain it just about maybe alittle less than a minute
before it's actually done done,and then you'll have already
mixed up whatever you'recrushing in with the ricotta and
then you mix the ricotta inwith the orzo as it sort of
finishes cooking.
If you're thinking about it andfeeling fancy, you reserve about
(11:53):
a half a cup of pasta water,some of that salty, starchy
pasta water to kind of help itmelt right, but it's not a big
deal, if it's not melting, it'llstill be warm in the pot and
then serve it either next to aprotein I'm a big believer in
protein because I'm a woman of acertain age and then a nice
(12:14):
grinding of some sort of a saltynutty cheese on top so that it
sort of lifts out those sweetsummer flavors of the zucchini
and the onion.
Doug (12:24):
This sounds terrific and it really puts anybody's summer
garden to good use.
I love a recipe like that, oh.
Fran (12:30):
I'm so glad.
Doug (12:32):
Fran, I want to thank you so much for that recipe as well
as for your time.
I wish you nothing but the beston this season of The Great
American Recipe and everythingelse you have going on in your
food world.
Thanks for talking with ustoday.
Fran (12:47):
Thanks so much, Doug.
I appreciate you and it's beena lot of fun.
Doug (12:51):
You can follow Fran on Instagram at Fran Wescott or
visit her website,franwescottcom.
Up next, a little closer tohome, we're driving over to
Columbus, Ohio, to talk with RexAlba.
Good morning, Doug.
Hey Rex, how are you Very good?
(13:13):
How are you, oh, so good?
Thank you so much for takingsome time and being on The
Pittsburgh Dish.
Thank you so much, it's mypleasure.
Well, hey Rex, I want to justsay congratulations on being one
of the eight new home cooks onthis season of The Great
American Recipe.
I am wondering how you'refeeling right now, right before
the show premieres.
Rex (13:34):
I'm a little nervous and at the same time I just want to
see the fruits of our labor,Because it was hard work and
lots of footages.
We'll see how they bring it uptogether in the final product.
Doug (13:49):
I'd love to know.
I know you reside in Columbus,Ohio now.
Is that where you grew up?
Rex (13:55):
So I grew up in the Philippines.
Okay, we moved here in ColumbusOhio 20 years ago with my wife,
so this is my second home andI'm loving the Buckeye State.
Doug (14:07):
And when you think about what you're bringing on to the
show.
What influences did you carryon with some of your recipes,
some of your heritage or some ofyour regional cuisine?
Rex (14:17):
Yeah, mostly I'll be showing the viewers mostly
Filipino dishes, but of coursein the show we have to also
represent where we live, sothere's going to be a touch of
the Buckeye state too.
Doug (14:30):
Oh, I love that.
When you were in the midst ofthe production, was there
anything that was kind of a bigsurprise to you?
Rex (14:45):
Yes, there's a little change this season compared to
yours, so it's exciting.
There's a couple of changes, soit can be fun Okay.
There's a couple of surprises.
Doug (14:51):
Oh, I love that.
On a personal level, behind thescenes, how did you feel the
camaraderie was with the cast?
The friendship building, howdid that go?
Rex (15:01):
It's amazing and you can't believe it.
Like just after a week and webonded together, we just clicked
and right now we're like family, we still communicate with each
other and we're supporting eachother.
It's not like a competitionwhere you drag down a competitor
.
It's more like we cheer for oneanother and support each other.
Doug (15:20):
I'm so glad to hear that and I knew the feeling.
It was quite similar on seasonthree, so I'm so happy to hear
season four is sort of in thesame way.
Rex (15:30):
I think the way they do casting and all the you know and
how they really cast thecontestants, I think it has
something to do with it, becausethey really brought in really
good people and supportive ones.
So I'm really glad I'm part ofit.
Doug (15:46):
I agree, you know.
I'll tell you.
What I was surprised about inmy season is that we rarely, if
ever, got to taste each other'sfood or see each other's food
and I remember watching lastsummer was really the first time
I got to really see some of mycompetition's dishes up close.
(16:06):
Did you find that to be thecase in your season?
Rex (16:11):
So in the first few episodes, you know we're still
trying to get a feel of how theset is.
If they're, you know they'rereal lenient or they're strict,
because they need to judge rightaway after you cook.
But after a few cookingsessions we were able to grab
some of our dishes and share itwith our contestants backstage.
(16:32):
Oh, that's good In a holdingarea.
Doug (16:34):
yeah, yes, yes, oh, I know that holding area.
Rex (16:37):
A lot of time there.
Doug (16:38):
Rex, I would love it if you could share one of your
dishes with our audience here onthe Pittsburgh Dish.
Would you happen to have arecipe that you could tell us
about?
Rex (16:49):
Yes, I would like to share this recipe, which I wasn't able
to showcase in the show becauseof time constraints.
We call it Bistek Tagalog or wecan just call it beefsteak.
I mainly use beef tenderloin orbeef skirt.
Then you cut it in squares orrectangle, you marinate it for
(17:11):
three hours with our local soysauce.
We have our uh citrus fruit wecall calamansi, but you can use
lemon for it as a substitute.
But I can.
I can get the calamansi inpackets and a little salt, a
little uh, of course, a lot ofgarlic, by the way, and then a
black pepper.
So you marinate for three hours, to at least overnight.
Doug (17:34):
And does that tenderize it ?
I imagine with that acid ithelps to tenderize the meat a
bit.
Rex (17:39):
With the meat we're using.
It's very tender.
The tenderloin is.
So you know you don't need alot of cooking time for that,
that's true.
And also the beef skirt.
And the beef skirt I tried touse like a tenderizing hammer,
but with the tenderloin youdon't need to do that, you just
marinate it.
So after you marinate for acertain amount of hours, take it
(18:02):
out from the marinade.
Then you brown each side with acooking oil and then lightly
brown just then remove it fromthe heat.
And now you saute the garlicand then you saute some onion
rings red onion rings, oh okay.
Once the red onion rings istranslucent, you take it off and
(18:23):
then you put back the marinade,together with the beef the
brown beef, yes and then you letit simmer for a bit, let the
juice come out, and then you canadd a little bit of a red wine,
just to have a contrast, alittle bit of brown sugar, and
(18:43):
if you want a little bit moretangy taste, you can add more
lemon to it or the calamansipackets, and then black pepper,
white pepper, and after that youjust let it simmer.
After maybe about five, 10minutes, you remove it from the
heat, you add your red onionrings and that's ready to serve.
(19:03):
It's really, it's really smellsgood and the taste it's
different, because you reallycan taste the marinade from it.
Doug (19:10):
So it sounds like it's all done on the stovetop, all the
cooking, correct?
Rex (19:14):
Yes, all of it's done on the stovetop.
Doug (19:16):
Okay, and then would you typically serve this over rice,
or how would you plate it up?
Rex (19:22):
So normally we eat it with rice.
Of course we Filipinos we likeour steamed rice.
So yeah, in the Philippines weeat rice three times a day, so
that's served well with rice,white rice and you can.
Always there's a little bit ofsauce, but it doesn't need to be
(19:44):
saucy, because you want thejuice and the oil of the beef to
come out a little bit.
That way, you know, you cantaste its flavor.
Doug (19:49):
I love that.
It sounds delicious, Rex, Thankyou so much.
And easy and easy too.
Thank you so much.
It's easy and easy too.
Oh, very good.
You know, we have a couple ofgreat Filipino chefs and cooks
here in Pittsburgh and I will bealso looking for this dish and
see if it's on any of theirmenus.
Rex (20:05):
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, I was planning onshowcasing it in the show, but
with the limited time I can't dothe marinade, so but this time
at home you can do it.
Doug (20:14):
Yes, I understand that time limit.
Oh my gosh.
I did want to ask anotherquestion.
I noticed something that theyposted on the show about you
sort of being a an Olympiantrack star, or something it's
got me thinking is a fitness andimportant part of your life.
Yes, it is.
Rex (20:33):
I actually competed on a nbc's american ninja warrior and
season nine.
My goodness, yeah and uh, andI'm also.
I also do crossfit at leastthree to five times a week.
And uh because, because my,because my mom, uh, died because
of a heart problem and when Iwas in my 30s I began to feel
(20:58):
some symptoms in my neck and Igained some weight.
Moving from a third worldcountry to the US, you know,
food is so cheap, you justscourge.
But it wasn't really good formy health and I decided to
change my lifestyle and thatreally helped me mentally and
also in everything I've done.
If I didn't change my lifestyle, I wouldn't be able to do this,
(21:20):
because you also gainconfidence from it?
Doug (21:23):
Yes, and I imagine it really did change in your
cooking as well, maybe goingback to some more traditional
dishes or home cooking andhealthier food.
Is that right?
Rex (21:32):
Yes, yes, I mean there's also a dilemma there, because
our Filipino dish, I mean Ican't really tell you that we
eat clean all the time, but Ihave some dish that also
involves a lot of veggies andall those stuff.
So I mean I love to share thosesometimes I love that.
Doug (21:51):
Yeah, I think my friend Rafael Vencio he's a Filipino
chef.
I love that.
Yeah, I think my friend RafaelVencio he's a Filipino chef.
I love here and he loves to frythings.
So I hear you.
Rex (21:59):
It's not all healthy.
No, no, I tried to.
I even got a certificate fromHarvard.
They offer because I'm aphysical therapist, so they
offer culinary medicine, so Ihave that certificate, but it
involves a lot of plant-basedcooking, so it's more like
towards healthy cooking.
It's a dilemma between do youwant to stick with the Filipino
(22:22):
way of cooking or you want tochange your way?
Doug (22:26):
of cooking I think you're tapping into.
It's always about balance,right?
You want to have that good foodand you want to have a good
long life.
Yes, yes, perfect, yep, rex,before I let you go, if folks
want to find and follow you onsocial media or anything else
you're using, could you give usthose handles?
Rex (22:45):
Yeah, so on Facebook I have Rex Alba or Bisdak Chef, so
B-I-S-D-A-K Chef, and that'salso my handle on my Instagram
and also on YouTube.
Doug (22:58):
Perfect.
Rex.
We want to wish you all thebest on season four of the Great
American Recipe on PBS andthank you so much for spending
some time with us on thePittsburgh Dish.
Rex (23:08):
Doug, it's my pleasure to be in your podcast and I wish
you the best, and I reallyadmire your platform.
It's very professional and I'mreally happy that I'm so
ecstatic that you have me herein your podcast, and I wish we
can collaborate sometime here inColumbus or in Pittsburgh.
I would love that.
Thank you so much, doug, and toall you viewers and listeners.
Thank you so much and God bless.
(23:29):
This is Rex Alba from Season 4of the Great American Recipe,
and you're listening to ThePittsburgh Dish.
Doug (23:38):
For our final trip.
We're heading to the PacificNorthwest, in Spokane,
Washington, to talk with SuwaneeLennon.
Suwanee (23:48):
This is Suwanee Doug.
How are you?
I'm great.
How are you?
I'm good, Thank you.
Doug (23:54):
Thank you so much for taking some time to join us on
The Pittsburgh Dish.
Suwanee (23:58):
Oh yes, of course.
Of course.
I'm delighted that you invitedme.
Doug (24:04):
I just want to jump in and say welcome to the Great
American Recipe family andcongratulations on being part of
season four.
How are you feeling right nowas we lead up to the show
premiering?
Suwanee (24:17):
Oh, thank you so much for the invitation into the
family.
I feel so great.
I feel extra nervous as well,but I'm excited.
I think it's you know the twoand two go hand in hand the
nervousness and the excitement.
I'm sure you probably wentthrough all the gamut of
feelings as well, sure you?
Doug (24:34):
probably went through all the gamut of feelings as well.
You've been through it, I knowI'm so like.
I wish I could have likeallowed a phone a friend, you
can come and ask me anythingahead of time, but I know they
don't do that.
Suwanee (24:45):
No, they don't.
I know it's part of surprise,part of the, I think, being
authentic as well, you know.
Doug (24:50):
Right.
Well, Suwanee, I'd love toshare with our listeners a
little bit about yourself.
I know you reside in Spokane,Washington.
Is that where you grew up?
Suwanee (25:17):
13 by myself to Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
I was sponsored by an Americanwoman who met me in my village
as a small leprosy village whichwe can talk about briefly.
Later on, too, Went to schooluniversity, Wisconsin Minnesota
area, met my husband, who wasmilitary for 22 years, and then,
of course, with that we movedall over the world and ended up
being in Spokane as one of oursecond assignments and within
(25:41):
two years we knew that we wantedto settle down here and set
roots deep here, because it wasa great hub for us, a small
enough town to raise family andI was starting to get really
connected with the community.
It just felt like it would be agood place to build a home.
But we eventually had to moveaway with the military.
But we kept our home here andthen we ended up coming back
(26:05):
when he was done and we've beenhere about six years.
Spokane is home now.
Doug (26:08):
Oh, so great.
Suwanee (26:10):
I've never been to Spokane so maybe that'll have to
get on my bucket list now Ithink so.
Doug (26:17):
I think so too, when I'm just thinking about it.
I'm sure it holds true for you.
You've been to so manydifferent places now in your
life.
How has that influenced yourcooking and what you're bringing
to the show?
Suwanee (26:29):
My base, my foundation, is always Thai, and then from
there with different influences,you know, from around the world
.
I bring that into my Thai andalways try to bring a Thai twist
into a certain dish.
Still, I'm still respectful ofeach cuisine's traditional
recipes, but once I learned that, I love to infuse it with my
(26:51):
own touch, my own twist, alittle bit of Thai here and
there, and that's exactly what Idid for the show too.
I had a lot of traditionaldishes, thai dishes, as well as
some of the dishes that are ofmy own twist in there,
especially with the regional,local, local dishes, local
recipes, because in my area, thePacific Northwest, we're just
so full of fresh food and fruitand vegetables, seasonal fruit
(27:15):
and vegetables all the time, soit's pretty incredible to just
infuse all of that into my Thaicooking.
Doug (27:22):
So exciting and in fact I'd love to get a recipe from
you today for our listeners.
But I know you mentionedearlier that sponsorship.
Can you tell me a little bitmore about early life in that
village that you grew up in?
Suwanee (27:36):
Sure, absolutely.
I grew up in a small leprosyvillage.
Leprosy is a disease that brokeout 60, 70 years ago and then
with that the government roundup all those who were infected
into different colonies inThailand, kind of like a lot
like COVID.
When it broke out, you know,everyone was quarantined.
(27:56):
So these colonies or villageswere the quarantine places for
those infected with leprosy.
And so the village that I grewup in, my aunt and uncle, had
leprosy, so I was adopted bythem from infanthood and then I
grew up there and those thathave leprosy the older
generation, the first generationlive within those villages and
(28:17):
they have their own families andchildren and grandchildren.
I'm a result of that.
I'm the second generation ofpeople that grew up in those
villages.
We don't have leprosy, but onlythe first generation, but the
second, third and fourthgeneration, we just continue the
cycle of life within thesevillages.
And so back to how I came to theUS.
A leprosy doctor, who's likeanother mother figure to me,
(28:41):
came to my village to do all herleprosy work, the community
projects and different thingsthat she does for these villages
.
She brought an American woman tomy village with her and then I
met the American woman and wejust connected right away and
she started talking and askingquestions about me through
(29:03):
leprosy doctor and just over thecourse of two and a half years,
she made a decision to bring meto the US for better
opportunities, for better life,also for safety as well, because
within these villages therewere government officials who
were in charge, and a lot ofthem a few of them abused their
(29:25):
powers and would just takeadvantage of young girls and
their parents just didn't havethe power or the ability to take
care or protect them.
And so, yeah, I was in dangerof that, and so the leprosy
doctor told my mom to help ifshe could, and she did, and she
ended up doing all the paperworkand, yeah, did all the hard
(29:47):
things that brought me to the USand instantly, overnight, she
became a single mom and at 13, Iwas living in a new world I
didn't know anything about mygoodness, what an incredible
story.
Doug (29:59):
Suwanee, thank you so much for sharing that.
I'm so glad that you were ableto come to this life in this,
this new place, and it soundslike you've really thrived.
Suwanee (30:08):
You know, meeting your husband and then traveling the
world well, you know you have toadapt, as all of us, as humans,
we can choose to adapt or wecan choose.
You know that sink or.
Well, you know you have toadapt, as all of us, as humans,
we can choose to adapt or we canchoose.
You know that sink or swimsaying you know, I didn't really
have a choice and I had a greatfamily.
My American mom was incredible,super nurturing.
She had a great family, greatcommunity that just wrapped
their arms around me and helpedme.
(30:29):
And, yeah, I couldn't have, Ididn't do it by myself, you know
.
And so, yeah, I've, yeah,definitely a blessed situation
that I was in, I'm in, I'm stillin.
Doug (30:41):
Well, I have to just say you are one of those great
stories that I've heard throughthe Great American Recipe.
I mean, we all come with ourdifferent backgrounds cultural,
situational and whatever andit's just incredible to be able
to bring that forward to othersto help a greater understanding.
So thank you for that.
Suwanee (30:59):
Yes, thank you, Doug.
It wasn't always easy tellingmy story.
You know, of course, as a childI grew up in a village, in a
community where we wereostracized and oppressed and
suppressed, and so we weren'tallowed to have a voice to speak
.
So I carried that with me, notknowing that, you know, have a
voice to speak, so I carriedthat with me, not knowing that,
you know, I was free to speak,as I wasn't taught.
(31:20):
You know, as children weweren't taught to speak up or
anything.
So when I came to the US Ididn't embrace that, I did not
use that until just years andyears later, when you understand
like this is a powerful, uniquestory and the people who didn't
have a voice are the peoplethat I want to stand up for, to
speak up for, and telling mystory is also telling their
stories.
Doug (31:40):
Yes, so well put.
And the other thing that Iappreciate is that all along you
also have kept some of thoseroots to the food and to what
you're cooking today, so you'vereally never lost that identity
of where you come from.
So thank you for carrying thatThai cuisine forward.
Suwanee (31:57):
Yes, of course, and it was out of necessity as well,
doug Thai food versus Americanfood, I mean.
I'm not dissing American foodat all, but you know, coming
from the very flavorful palateand a lot of flavorful and the
change as a child, as a teenager, I'm like I I need my thai food
.
You know I also mentioned onyeah, I mentioned on the show I
(32:19):
hope they show it where I saidif I don't get my thai or asian
flavors within two or three days, I get very tangry.
Doug (32:25):
You know that hangry oh, I love that term well, speaking
of which we should maybe getinto a recipe of yours.
Do you have something that youcould share with our listeners
today?
Suwanee (32:40):
And again, it's my way of infusing Thai and a little
bit American, a little bit ofEurope, Italian in there.
So instead of using Italiansweet basil, I'm using Thai
(33:06):
basil in there with a little bitof white pepper.
So here I go again.
You know, my infusing my ownThai flavor is just to get that
pop in there, because Thai basilhas a stronger, bold, spicy
flavor in it and the whitepepper just adds that nice
little earthy touch to therecipe.
Doug (33:20):
Okay, so are those still kind of the equal amounts you'd
use with the regular Genovesebasil, but you're just swapping
it out for the Thai basil.
Oh, actually.
Suwanee (33:29):
No, I add a little bit more because I also focus on the
flowers of the basil as well,because there's a lot of
concentration of flavors there.
So, yeah, I focus, I don't, Idon't the flowers, you know,
people would normally just snapit and throw it away, do not
throw that away.
That's a goodies, those are allthe goodies.
(33:50):
And you know, we have Thaibasil seeds that we use in
recipes as well, so it justmakes sense to use the flower.
Doug (33:56):
The flower part.
I have to say I've never usedthe flower part, so that is so
fascinating to me.
I've always found that Thaibasil in my palate.
It feels a little stronger in agood way, almost a little more
anise-y or licorice-y.
How do you compare it to?
Suwanee (34:14):
That's exactly it, kind of licorice-ish.
Doug (34:18):
Licorice-ish?
Yes, I think that's it.
Suwanee (34:22):
Yes, exactly so, and a little bit of heat in there as
well, compared to the sweetbasil.
Doug (34:29):
Well, we'll get a recipe from you for this Thai basil
pesto and Suwanee.
How do you like to then serveit?
Are you still mixing it in witha pasta, or is there any other
application you like to use thisfor?
Suwanee (34:42):
This recipe is actually very diverse.
You can use it for so manydifferent things.
I've used it in pasta.
I also have a recipe on my sitewith shrimp pasta to use this
pesto sauce, and of course thatpasta has a little bit of Thai
flavors in there and I love it.
I love food from around theworld and when I infuse my Thai
(35:03):
flavors in there I just love iteven more.
So I can have those recipes.
I'll give you the Thai basilpesto and then I'll link to the
pasta to use the pesto sauce in.
Yeah, thank you.
And then I use the pesto saucein.
Yeah, thank you.
And then I use my pesto saucein rice, like in a rice bowl, a
little bit of grilled shrimp orsmoked salmon.
Use it on bread, on bagels yeah, it's so diverse and you can
(35:28):
just use it in so many differentdishes.
Yeah, it's adaptable.
Doug (35:32):
I love it.
It sounds so good, so good.
Suwanee (35:35):
It's just, yeah, it's adaptable.
It sounds so good, so good,it's pretty safe.
Doug (35:37):
All right, Suwanee.
Well, thank you so much forthat Thai basil pesto recipe.
We will certainly link it toour blog so our listeners can
check it out and have thatadditional link to your site.
And while we're at it, couldyou remind us if folks want to
find and follow you beyond theGreat American Recipe?
What are your social handles orwebsite?
Suwanee (35:58):
You can find me at simplysuwaneecom.
That's my website and my socialare connected with the same
name simplysuwanee on Instagramand simplysuwanee on Facebook
and, yeah, you can find all thegoodies over there and on my
website.
I also have newsletter sign upif people want a weekly update
of the happenings, some of thebehind the scenes of the show
(36:21):
and new recipes and also Thaicooking tips as well.
Doug (36:25):
Ah, so fun.
I have been following you for awhile and there is a lot of
good stuff out on your website.
Thank you, doug.
All right, suwanee, we arewishing you all the best on
season four of the GreatAmerican Recipe on PBS.
I'll be watching for you.
Thank you so much, suwanee.
Thanks so much for your timetoday and for being on the
Pittsburgh Dish.
Suwanee (36:46):
Thank you, doug, you have a great day.
Doug (36:48):
All right, you too, suwani .
Bye-bye.
That was Fran Wescott, Rex Albaand Suwanee Lennon three of the
eight newest home cookscompeting on season four of The
Great American Recipe on PBS.
We'll post their recipes on ourrecipe blog at
wwwpittsburghdishcom.
The new season of the GreatAmerican Recipe premieres Friday
(37:12):
, july 11th on local PBSstations.
For us here in Pittsburgh,that's WQED.
You can also stream the show onthe PBS app.
We're wishing all the best tothese newest home cooks and
we'll be watching.
And that's it for this week.
Thanks so much for tuning in,and we'll be back again with
another fresh episode reallysoon.
Hey Pittsburgh Dish listeners.
We have a special episode thisweek, a sort of summer road trip
.
We're heading out of town toget new recipes from three
amazing home cooks that will allbe featured on this season of
The Great American Recipe on PBS.
You might remember that I spentlast summer competing on the
show and it was a wonderfulexperience.
(00:22):
So when I started seeing thetrailers and announcements for
season four, not only did itbring back a flood of memories,
it got me a little bit nebby towant to learn more about these
newest contestants.
So let's get to it.
First up, we're heading a bitsouth to Durham, north Carolina,
and getting to know FranWescott.
Let's give her a call.
(00:42):
Hey, Doug, this is Fran.
Hey, Fran.
Fran (00:45):
Let's give her a call, hey .
Doug (00:47):
Doug, this is Fran.
Hey, fran, how are you?
Fran (00:50):
I am well.
Thank you for inviting me.
Doug (00:53):
Oh, I am so excited to be talking with you today.
I will say just as a side noteI know you've been following
each other on Instagram for awhile and then when I saw that
you were part of the cast, I'mlike yes, oh, that's so exciting
.
Fran (01:07):
I know it was so much fun.
It was an enormous amount offun to be acquainted with the
show and to talk to people aboutand to go through that whole
process.
So it was.
It was by binge watching.
Great American Recipe, I haveto say, Doug American Recipe, I
have to say Doug, one of myfavorites.
Not to put any pressure on you,I was just so excited to learn
(01:36):
about the show and to learnabout you a little bit too, and
in that thing about that program, that we really get to know
people through their food, don'twe?
Doug (01:41):
That's right.
Well, I am so excited for youbeing part of season four of the
Great American Recipe on PBS.
You're one of the eight homecooks that were chosen from
across the country and we'retalking just before the premiere
on July 11th.
How are you feeling right now?
Fran (02:01):
You know you've been sitting on the Secret and it's
about to be broadcast now youknow you've been sitting on the
Secret and it's about to bebroadcast.
It's so exciting, but you knowwhat's really funny and my
family are sort of having a hardtime wrapping their heads
around this.
I need to see it because I feellike I have no idea how it's
going to turn out.
Did you really?
Yeah, and it's funny because Iwas there.
(02:23):
But then we're concentrating onwhat we're doing and maybe what
our neighbors are doing, andlike there are eight worlds
happening all at once, and so Ican't wait.
It'll give me an opportunity tolearn more about what happened
in the studio with my newfriends.
Doug (02:42):
That's right, I love that.
Happened in the studio with mynew friends, that's right, I
love that.
I remember all of the camerasstaring at me and I only really
knew what went on in my world.
So I hear you, when you watchthis show you're going to be
like, oh, that's what happenedwith neighbors A, b and C and I
honestly don't remember some ofthe dishes.
Until you know, until I saw theshow, you know what everyone
(03:05):
made.
Fran (03:05):
You know we were so fortunate to have, you know, met
one another and gotten to knowone another when the cameras
weren't weren't on, and I knowyou had that experience too.
Um, but it was.
It was beautiful anticipationwhen we finished doing a
challenge and we were, I wasexcited to find out, like you
(03:28):
said, what was happening acrossthe studio and not not just you
know what happened in the moment, which was exciting, get to
hear a little bit about thestory behind it and and that's
just so unique and lovely aboutthis experience and about this
program.
Doug (03:48):
I think it's such a huge part of the show.
I did want to ask you.
I understand you live in Durham, North Carolina.
Is that where you hail from?
Is that where you grew up?
Fran (03:59):
It is, and there aren't too many of them.
But that's a beautiful thingabout Durham is that my dad was
actually born here.
I grew up here, I left for anumber of years for college and
then for, you know, my firstjobs.
But Durham has always attracted, you know, really beautiful,
(04:22):
diverse communities and peopleand industries, and so we are
fortunate to have a gorgeousheritage of a variety of
cultures, you know.
Doug (04:36):
I can imagine that it definitely shaped some of your
cooking.
Did you start cooking at anearly age or, you know, were
folks cooking for you?
What was cooking life like as ayoungster?
Fran (04:47):
As a youngster I chiefly enjoyed eating and boy howdy.
You know, my dad used to getsome grief from some of his
friends because he had threedaughters and his friends would
always say you know, you'relucky, you're not feeding three
boys.
And he'd look at me squarelyand say you have no idea?
(05:11):
Oh my, because I had.
So I loved food.
So when you ask my, my cookinglife, it had as much to do with
sitting around the table andenjoying the food as it did
cooking it, and we were neverdiscouraged from playing in the
kitchen.
But my mom was largely apragmatic cook.
(05:33):
You know she loved culturearound the table, she loved
going out to eat.
We loved to travel as a family,but as far as getting food on
the table, it was not her joy,it was her duty that she happily
fulfilled, because we atebreakfast every morning and we
(05:53):
ate as a family, and even whenwe didn't eat anything more than
like a BLT in the evening, we'dall sit around the table and
catch up and sort of listen inon what the adults had to say,
maybe catch up with what thekids had to offer.
So yeah, it was as much aboutthe table culture as it was
about the cooking of food.
(06:14):
But I fell in love with cookingas a teenager, just loved it.
It was like developing sort ofa set of magic tricks, because
there weren't a lot of teenagerswho were cooking.
So I did have fun with that.
Doug (06:31):
Oh, so great, and tell us a little bit more about your
cooking, like what are somedishes you're known for?
In fact, what I'd love to do isask for a recipe today.
Fran (06:41):
Oh boy, oh boy.
(07:08):
Well, I you know it's funnybecause I think I think the
recipe that I would offer isactually a really good sort of
metaphor for my cooking, becauseif you think about it in terms
of layers and dimensions, thefundamental layer is that I grew
up in the South and the Southhas a and it's not exclusive to
the South, but in the Southerncooking that I grew up with, it
was all about local ingredientsand local food heritage.
But then you add theseadditional layers of lived
experience and travel andinfluences of visiting cultures
and indigenous cultures, and soI am, at heart, a Southern cook,
(07:33):
but I've got all these layerson top, so I think that does a
pretty good job.
Doug (07:38):
I love that.
I think I just saw you and keepme honest, maybe it was your
son.
You were trying to do like agyro shawarma with chicken in
the oven using a cabbage head orsomething.
Is that right?
Fran (07:51):
Yes, you know what, doug?
I just love a good failure, anepic failure.
Doug (07:57):
Well, it looked like fun, it was.
Fran (08:01):
And I think that's another piece of the puzzle for me is
that, if it's not, you know, Ihave often told my family, even
before you know, we startedcooking.
They're young adults Charlie's23 and our daughter, Margie, is
26.
And from the very get go, youknow, and I promised that it
(08:21):
would not be toxic and that theywere not required to clean
their plate, but we would, just,we would give it a go, we would
give it a go.
Doug (08:28):
So that was a fun experiment.
Fran (08:31):
It was so lovely because we did actually get the giggles
a little bit, and what's more isit was non-toxic and it was an
enormous amount of fun, and sowe did eat that night.
Doug (08:44):
Very good yes.
I mean failures are actuallyjust learning experiences,
aren't they?
Fran (08:50):
They are, and they are comedies.
Doug (08:53):
Of course.
All right, Fran, I am going tobring us forward.
I would love it if you wouldshare a recipe with our
Pittsburgh Dish listeners.
Do you have something up yoursleeve?
Fran (09:04):
We do, I do.
You know I mentioned that Ilove drawing on local produce
and local ingredients, but Ilove also a little bit of an
international twist.
And I think in another life,doug, I was Italian, so the
recipe that I have in mind is asummer vegetable orzo with a
(09:25):
white pesto.
So the white pesto is a littlebit lighter.
It still has that verdantquality that a traditional
Genovese pesto does.
But have you ever cooked with awhite pesto?
Doug (09:37):
I am not familiar with a white pesto.
Can you tell me a little bitmore about it?
Fran (09:41):
Sure, it's a base of ricotta pesto, can you tell me a
little bit more about it?
Sure, it's a base of ricotta,and then you can add all
different kinds of, because ofcourse, pesto means roughly
translated and gosh I think oneof your castmates would be able
to correct me, but I think itmeans pounded.
Doug (09:55):
Yes to crush.
To crush is what Marcellataught me.
Fran (09:59):
Marcella.
God bless her.
She's my other favorite.
Doug (10:05):
And I have so many.
Fran (10:06):
So it's you add these pounded, these crushed
ingredients into the ricotta,and the ricotta acts as a sort
of binding agent that then meltsinto whatever pasta you use it
over right.
So, I know right.
So I generally add, like, sincewe're in summer, it would be
both yellow squash and zucchinigrated, and then a really light,
(10:30):
maybe even a sweet onionwhatever kind of onion you know
turns the dial for you and thenin the pesto itself, I'd
probably use the ricotta, andthen maybe some sort of either
reggiano or Parmesan for alittle bit of additional salt,
right, and that kind of nuttyquality, and definitely some
lemon zest.
(10:51):
And then, as far as the greenthat you want to use, I say, go
nuts and see whatever you havein your garden or in your
windowsill if you don't have agarden.
Yes, Right, so what kind ofwhat's your go-to summer herb?
Doug (11:04):
Well, I do have a lot of basil going crazy right now.
Fran (11:07):
Oh yeah, that's a good one .
And dill I love dill, I lovedill.
And dill is pretty good withthis too.
Yeah, and you just do, you justtoss that in the orzo then you
do, and you be sure that yousalt adequately the orzo, any
pasta you use I like orzo, it'salmost like a sort of the
risotto kind of quality, but besure it's well salted water and
(11:31):
then drain it just about maybe alittle less than a minute
before it's actually done done,and then you'll have already
mixed up whatever you'recrushing in with the ricotta and
then you mix the ricotta inwith the orzo as it sort of
finishes cooking.
If you're thinking about it andfeeling fancy, you reserve about
(11:53):
a half a cup of pasta water,some of that salty, starchy
pasta water to kind of help itmelt right, but it's not a big
deal, if it's not melting, it'llstill be warm in the pot and
then serve it either next to aprotein I'm a big believer in
protein because I'm a woman of acertain age and then a nice
(12:14):
grinding of some sort of a saltynutty cheese on top so that it
sort of lifts out those sweetsummer flavors of the zucchini
and the onion.
Doug (12:24):
This sounds terrific and it really puts anybody's summer
garden to good use.
I love a recipe like that, oh.
Fran (12:30):
I'm so glad.
Doug (12:32):
Fran, I want to thank you so much for that recipe as well
as for your time.
I wish you nothing but the beston this season of The Great
American Recipe and everythingelse you have going on in your
food world.
Thanks for talking with ustoday.
Fran (12:47):
Thanks so much, Doug.
I appreciate you and it's beena lot of fun.
Doug (12:51):
You can follow Fran on Instagram at Fran Wescott or
visit her website,franwescottcom.
Up next, a little closer tohome, we're driving over to
Columbus, Ohio, to talk with RexAlba.
Good morning, Doug.
Hey Rex, how are you Very good?
(13:13):
How are you, oh, so good?
Thank you so much for takingsome time and being on The
Pittsburgh Dish.
Thank you so much, it's mypleasure.
Well, hey Rex, I want to justsay congratulations on being one
of the eight new home cooks onthis season of The Great
American Recipe.
I am wondering how you'refeeling right now, right before
the show premieres.
Rex (13:34):
I'm a little nervous and at the same time I just want to
see the fruits of our labor,Because it was hard work and
lots of footages.
We'll see how they bring it uptogether in the final product.
Doug (13:49):
I'd love to know.
I know you reside in Columbus,Ohio now.
Is that where you grew up?
Rex (13:55):
So I grew up in the Philippines.
Okay, we moved here in ColumbusOhio 20 years ago with my wife,
so this is my second home andI'm loving the Buckeye State.
Doug (14:07):
And when you think about what you're bringing on to the
show.
What influences did you carryon with some of your recipes,
some of your heritage or some ofyour regional cuisine?
Rex (14:17):
Yeah, mostly I'll be showing the viewers mostly
Filipino dishes, but of coursein the show we have to also
represent where we live, sothere's going to be a touch of
the Buckeye state too.
Doug (14:30):
Oh, I love that.
When you were in the midst ofthe production, was there
anything that was kind of a bigsurprise to you?
Rex (14:45):
Yes, there's a little change this season compared to
yours, so it's exciting.
There's a couple of changes, soit can be fun Okay.
There's a couple of surprises.
Doug (14:51):
Oh, I love that.
On a personal level, behind thescenes, how did you feel the
camaraderie was with the cast?
The friendship building, howdid that go?
Rex (15:01):
It's amazing and you can't believe it.
Like just after a week and webonded together, we just clicked
and right now we're like family, we still communicate with each
other and we're supporting eachother.
It's not like a competitionwhere you drag down a competitor
.
It's more like we cheer for oneanother and support each other.
Doug (15:20):
I'm so glad to hear that and I knew the feeling.
It was quite similar on seasonthree, so I'm so happy to hear
season four is sort of in thesame way.
Rex (15:30):
I think the way they do casting and all the you know and
how they really cast thecontestants, I think it has
something to do with it, becausethey really brought in really
good people and supportive ones.
So I'm really glad I'm part ofit.
Doug (15:46):
I agree, you know.
I'll tell you.
What I was surprised about inmy season is that we rarely, if
ever, got to taste each other'sfood or see each other's food
and I remember watching lastsummer was really the first time
I got to really see some of mycompetition's dishes up close.
(16:06):
Did you find that to be thecase in your season?
Rex (16:11):
So in the first few episodes, you know we're still
trying to get a feel of how theset is.
If they're, you know they'rereal lenient or they're strict,
because they need to judge rightaway after you cook.
But after a few cookingsessions we were able to grab
some of our dishes and share itwith our contestants backstage.
(16:32):
Oh, that's good In a holdingarea.
Doug (16:34):
yeah, yes, yes, oh, I know that holding area.
Rex (16:37):
A lot of time there.
Doug (16:38):
Rex, I would love it if you could share one of your
dishes with our audience here onthe Pittsburgh Dish.
Would you happen to have arecipe that you could tell us
about?
Rex (16:49):
Yes, I would like to share this recipe, which I wasn't able
to showcase in the show becauseof time constraints.
We call it Bistek Tagalog or wecan just call it beefsteak.
I mainly use beef tenderloin orbeef skirt.
Then you cut it in squares orrectangle, you marinate it for
(17:11):
three hours with our local soysauce.
We have our uh citrus fruit wecall calamansi, but you can use
lemon for it as a substitute.
But I can.
I can get the calamansi inpackets and a little salt, a
little uh, of course, a lot ofgarlic, by the way, and then a
black pepper.
So you marinate for three hours, to at least overnight.
Doug (17:34):
And does that tenderize it ?
I imagine with that acid ithelps to tenderize the meat a
bit.
Rex (17:39):
With the meat we're using.
It's very tender.
The tenderloin is.
So you know you don't need alot of cooking time for that,
that's true.
And also the beef skirt.
And the beef skirt I tried touse like a tenderizing hammer,
but with the tenderloin youdon't need to do that, you just
marinate it.
So after you marinate for acertain amount of hours, take it
(18:02):
out from the marinade.
Then you brown each side with acooking oil and then lightly
brown just then remove it fromthe heat.
And now you saute the garlicand then you saute some onion
rings red onion rings, oh okay.
Once the red onion rings istranslucent, you take it off and
(18:23):
then you put back the marinade,together with the beef the
brown beef, yes and then you letit simmer for a bit, let the
juice come out, and then you canadd a little bit of a red wine,
just to have a contrast, alittle bit of brown sugar, and
(18:43):
if you want a little bit moretangy taste, you can add more
lemon to it or the calamansipackets, and then black pepper,
white pepper, and after that youjust let it simmer.
After maybe about five, 10minutes, you remove it from the
heat, you add your red onionrings and that's ready to serve.
(19:03):
It's really, it's really smellsgood and the taste it's
different, because you reallycan taste the marinade from it.
Doug (19:10):
So it sounds like it's all done on the stovetop, all the
cooking, correct?
Rex (19:14):
Yes, all of it's done on the stovetop.
Doug (19:16):
Okay, and then would you typically serve this over rice,
or how would you plate it up?
Rex (19:22):
So normally we eat it with rice.
Of course we Filipinos we likeour steamed rice.
So yeah, in the Philippines weeat rice three times a day, so
that's served well with rice,white rice and you can.
Always there's a little bit ofsauce, but it doesn't need to be
(19:44):
saucy, because you want thejuice and the oil of the beef to
come out a little bit.
That way, you know, you cantaste its flavor.
Doug (19:49):
I love that.
It sounds delicious, Rex, Thankyou so much.
And easy and easy too.
Thank you so much.
It's easy and easy too.
Oh, very good.
You know, we have a couple ofgreat Filipino chefs and cooks
here in Pittsburgh and I will bealso looking for this dish and
see if it's on any of theirmenus.
Rex (20:05):
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, I was planning onshowcasing it in the show, but
with the limited time I can't dothe marinade, so but this time
at home you can do it.
Doug (20:14):
Yes, I understand that time limit.
Oh my gosh.
I did want to ask anotherquestion.
I noticed something that theyposted on the show about you
sort of being a an Olympiantrack star, or something it's
got me thinking is a fitness andimportant part of your life.
Yes, it is.
Rex (20:33):
I actually competed on a nbc's american ninja warrior and
season nine.
My goodness, yeah and uh, andI'm also.
I also do crossfit at leastthree to five times a week.
And uh because, because my,because my mom, uh, died because
of a heart problem and when Iwas in my 30s I began to feel
(20:58):
some symptoms in my neck and Igained some weight.
Moving from a third worldcountry to the US, you know,
food is so cheap, you justscourge.
But it wasn't really good formy health and I decided to
change my lifestyle and thatreally helped me mentally and
also in everything I've done.
If I didn't change my lifestyle, I wouldn't be able to do this,
(21:20):
because you also gainconfidence from it?
Doug (21:23):
Yes, and I imagine it really did change in your
cooking as well, maybe goingback to some more traditional
dishes or home cooking andhealthier food.
Is that right?
Rex (21:32):
Yes, yes, I mean there's also a dilemma there, because
our Filipino dish, I mean Ican't really tell you that we
eat clean all the time, but Ihave some dish that also
involves a lot of veggies andall those stuff.
So I mean I love to share thosesometimes I love that.
Doug (21:51):
Yeah, I think my friend Rafael Vencio he's a Filipino
chef.
I love that.
Yeah, I think my friend RafaelVencio he's a Filipino chef.
I love here and he loves to frythings.
So I hear you.
Rex (21:59):
It's not all healthy.
No, no, I tried to.
I even got a certificate fromHarvard.
They offer because I'm aphysical therapist, so they
offer culinary medicine, so Ihave that certificate, but it
involves a lot of plant-basedcooking, so it's more like
towards healthy cooking.
It's a dilemma between do youwant to stick with the Filipino
(22:22):
way of cooking or you want tochange your way?
Doug (22:26):
of cooking I think you're tapping into.
It's always about balance,right?
You want to have that good foodand you want to have a good
long life.
Yes, yes, perfect, yep, rex,before I let you go, if folks
want to find and follow you onsocial media or anything else
you're using, could you give usthose handles?
Rex (22:45):
Yeah, so on Facebook I have Rex Alba or Bisdak Chef, so
B-I-S-D-A-K Chef, and that'salso my handle on my Instagram
and also on YouTube.
Doug (22:58):
Perfect.
Rex.
We want to wish you all thebest on season four of the Great
American Recipe on PBS andthank you so much for spending
some time with us on thePittsburgh Dish.
Rex (23:08):
Doug, it's my pleasure to be in your podcast and I wish
you the best, and I reallyadmire your platform.
It's very professional and I'mreally happy that I'm so
ecstatic that you have me herein your podcast, and I wish we
can collaborate sometime here inColumbus or in Pittsburgh.
I would love that.
Thank you so much, doug, and toall you viewers and listeners.
Thank you so much and God bless.
(23:29):
This is Rex Alba from Season 4of the Great American Recipe,
and you're listening to ThePittsburgh Dish.
Doug (23:38):
For our final trip.
We're heading to the PacificNorthwest, in Spokane,
Washington, to talk with SuwaneeLennon.
Suwanee (23:48):
This is Suwanee Doug.
How are you?
I'm great.
How are you?
I'm good, Thank you.
Doug (23:54):
Thank you so much for taking some time to join us on
The Pittsburgh Dish.
Suwanee (23:58):
Oh yes, of course.
Of course.
I'm delighted that you invitedme.
Doug (24:04):
I just want to jump in and say welcome to the Great
American Recipe family andcongratulations on being part of
season four.
How are you feeling right nowas we lead up to the show
premiering?
Suwanee (24:17):
Oh, thank you so much for the invitation into the
family.
I feel so great.
I feel extra nervous as well,but I'm excited.
I think it's you know the twoand two go hand in hand the
nervousness and the excitement.
I'm sure you probably wentthrough all the gamut of
feelings as well, sure you?
Doug (24:34):
probably went through all the gamut of feelings as well.
You've been through it, I knowI'm so like.
I wish I could have likeallowed a phone a friend, you
can come and ask me anythingahead of time, but I know they
don't do that.
Suwanee (24:45):
No, they don't.
I know it's part of surprise,part of the, I think, being
authentic as well, you know.
Doug (24:50):
Right.
Well, Suwanee, I'd love toshare with our listeners a
little bit about yourself.
I know you reside in Spokane,Washington.
Is that where you grew up?
Suwanee (25:17):
13 by myself to Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
I was sponsored by an Americanwoman who met me in my village
as a small leprosy village whichwe can talk about briefly.
Later on, too, Went to schooluniversity, Wisconsin Minnesota
area, met my husband, who wasmilitary for 22 years, and then,
of course, with that we movedall over the world and ended up
being in Spokane as one of oursecond assignments and within
(25:41):
two years we knew that we wantedto settle down here and set
roots deep here, because it wasa great hub for us, a small
enough town to raise family andI was starting to get really
connected with the community.
It just felt like it would be agood place to build a home.
But we eventually had to moveaway with the military.
But we kept our home here andthen we ended up coming back
(26:05):
when he was done and we've beenhere about six years.
Spokane is home now.
Doug (26:08):
Oh, so great.
Suwanee (26:10):
I've never been to Spokane so maybe that'll have to
get on my bucket list now Ithink so.
Doug (26:17):
I think so too, when I'm just thinking about it.
I'm sure it holds true for you.
You've been to so manydifferent places now in your
life.
How has that influenced yourcooking and what you're bringing
to the show?
Suwanee (26:29):
My base, my foundation, is always Thai, and then from
there with different influences,you know, from around the world
.
I bring that into my Thai andalways try to bring a Thai twist
into a certain dish.
Still, I'm still respectful ofeach cuisine's traditional
recipes, but once I learned that, I love to infuse it with my
(26:51):
own touch, my own twist, alittle bit of Thai here and
there, and that's exactly what Idid for the show too.
I had a lot of traditionaldishes, thai dishes, as well as
some of the dishes that are ofmy own twist in there,
especially with the regional,local, local dishes, local
recipes, because in my area, thePacific Northwest, we're just
so full of fresh food and fruitand vegetables, seasonal fruit
(27:15):
and vegetables all the time, soit's pretty incredible to just
infuse all of that into my Thaicooking.
Doug (27:22):
So exciting and in fact I'd love to get a recipe from
you today for our listeners.
But I know you mentionedearlier that sponsorship.
Can you tell me a little bitmore about early life in that
village that you grew up in?
Suwanee (27:36):
Sure, absolutely.
I grew up in a small leprosyvillage.
Leprosy is a disease that brokeout 60, 70 years ago and then
with that the government roundup all those who were infected
into different colonies inThailand, kind of like a lot
like COVID.
When it broke out, you know,everyone was quarantined.
(27:56):
So these colonies or villageswere the quarantine places for
those infected with leprosy.
And so the village that I grewup in, my aunt and uncle, had
leprosy, so I was adopted bythem from infanthood and then I
grew up there and those thathave leprosy the older
generation, the first generationlive within those villages and
(28:17):
they have their own families andchildren and grandchildren.
I'm a result of that.
I'm the second generation ofpeople that grew up in those
villages.
We don't have leprosy, but onlythe first generation, but the
second, third and fourthgeneration, we just continue the
cycle of life within thesevillages.
And so back to how I came to theUS.
A leprosy doctor, who's likeanother mother figure to me,
(28:41):
came to my village to do all herleprosy work, the community
projects and different thingsthat she does for these villages
.
She brought an American woman tomy village with her and then I
met the American woman and wejust connected right away and
she started talking and askingquestions about me through
(29:03):
leprosy doctor and just over thecourse of two and a half years,
she made a decision to bring meto the US for better
opportunities, for better life,also for safety as well, because
within these villages therewere government officials who
were in charge, and a lot ofthem a few of them abused their
(29:25):
powers and would just takeadvantage of young girls and
their parents just didn't havethe power or the ability to take
care or protect them.
And so, yeah, I was in dangerof that, and so the leprosy
doctor told my mom to help ifshe could, and she did, and she
ended up doing all the paperworkand, yeah, did all the hard
(29:47):
things that brought me to the USand instantly, overnight, she
became a single mom and at 13, Iwas living in a new world I
didn't know anything about mygoodness, what an incredible
story.
Doug (29:59):
Suwanee, thank you so much for sharing that.
I'm so glad that you were ableto come to this life in this,
this new place, and it soundslike you've really thrived.
Suwanee (30:08):
You know, meeting your husband and then traveling the
world well, you know you have toadapt, as all of us, as humans,
we can choose to adapt or wecan choose.
You know that sink or.
Well, you know you have toadapt, as all of us, as humans,
we can choose to adapt or we canchoose.
You know that sink or swimsaying you know, I didn't really
have a choice and I had a greatfamily.
My American mom was incredible,super nurturing.
She had a great family, greatcommunity that just wrapped
their arms around me and helpedme.
(30:29):
And, yeah, I couldn't have, Ididn't do it by myself, you know
.
And so, yeah, I've, yeah,definitely a blessed situation
that I was in, I'm in, I'm stillin.
Doug (30:41):
Well, I have to just say you are one of those great
stories that I've heard throughthe Great American Recipe.
I mean, we all come with ourdifferent backgrounds cultural,
situational and whatever andit's just incredible to be able
to bring that forward to othersto help a greater understanding.
So thank you for that.
Suwanee (30:59):
Yes, thank you, Doug.
It wasn't always easy tellingmy story.
You know, of course, as a childI grew up in a village, in a
community where we wereostracized and oppressed and
suppressed, and so we weren'tallowed to have a voice to speak
.
So I carried that with me, notknowing that, you know, have a
voice to speak, so I carriedthat with me, not knowing that,
you know, I was free to speak,as I wasn't taught.
(31:20):
You know, as children weweren't taught to speak up or
anything.
So when I came to the US Ididn't embrace that, I did not
use that until just years andyears later, when you understand
like this is a powerful, uniquestory and the people who didn't
have a voice are the peoplethat I want to stand up for, to
speak up for, and telling mystory is also telling their
stories.
Doug (31:40):
Yes, so well put.
And the other thing that Iappreciate is that all along you
also have kept some of thoseroots to the food and to what
you're cooking today, so you'vereally never lost that identity
of where you come from.
So thank you for carrying thatThai cuisine forward.
Suwanee (31:57):
Yes, of course, and it was out of necessity as well,
doug Thai food versus Americanfood, I mean.
I'm not dissing American foodat all, but you know, coming
from the very flavorful palateand a lot of flavorful and the
change as a child, as a teenager, I'm like I I need my thai food
.
You know I also mentioned onyeah, I mentioned on the show I
(32:19):
hope they show it where I saidif I don't get my thai or asian
flavors within two or three days, I get very tangry.
Doug (32:25):
You know that hangry oh, I love that term well, speaking
of which we should maybe getinto a recipe of yours.
Do you have something that youcould share with our listeners
today?
Suwanee (32:40):
And again, it's my way of infusing Thai and a little
bit American, a little bit ofEurope, Italian in there.
So instead of using Italiansweet basil, I'm using Thai
(33:06):
basil in there with a little bitof white pepper.
So here I go again.
You know, my infusing my ownThai flavor is just to get that
pop in there, because Thai basilhas a stronger, bold, spicy
flavor in it and the whitepepper just adds that nice
little earthy touch to therecipe.
Doug (33:20):
Okay, so are those still kind of the equal amounts you'd
use with the regular Genovesebasil, but you're just swapping
it out for the Thai basil.
Oh, actually.
Suwanee (33:29):
No, I add a little bit more because I also focus on the
flowers of the basil as well,because there's a lot of
concentration of flavors there.
So, yeah, I focus, I don't, Idon't the flowers, you know,
people would normally just snapit and throw it away, do not
throw that away.
That's a goodies, those are allthe goodies.
(33:50):
And you know, we have Thaibasil seeds that we use in
recipes as well, so it justmakes sense to use the flower.
Doug (33:56):
The flower part.
I have to say I've never usedthe flower part, so that is so
fascinating to me.
I've always found that Thaibasil in my palate.
It feels a little stronger in agood way, almost a little more
anise-y or licorice-y.
How do you compare it to?
Suwanee (34:14):
That's exactly it, kind of licorice-ish.
Doug (34:18):
Licorice-ish?
Yes, I think that's it.
Suwanee (34:22):
Yes, exactly so, and a little bit of heat in there as
well, compared to the sweetbasil.
Doug (34:29):
Well, we'll get a recipe from you for this Thai basil
pesto and Suwanee.
How do you like to then serveit?
Are you still mixing it in witha pasta, or is there any other
application you like to use thisfor?
Suwanee (34:42):
This recipe is actually very diverse.
You can use it for so manydifferent things.
I've used it in pasta.
I also have a recipe on my sitewith shrimp pasta to use this
pesto sauce, and of course thatpasta has a little bit of Thai
flavors in there and I love it.
I love food from around theworld and when I infuse my Thai
(35:03):
flavors in there I just love iteven more.
So I can have those recipes.
I'll give you the Thai basilpesto and then I'll link to the
pasta to use the pesto sauce in.
Yeah, thank you.
And then I use the pesto saucein.
Yeah, thank you.
And then I use my pesto saucein rice, like in a rice bowl, a
little bit of grilled shrimp orsmoked salmon.
Use it on bread, on bagels yeah, it's so diverse and you can
(35:28):
just use it in so many differentdishes.
Yeah, it's adaptable.
Doug (35:32):
I love it.
It sounds so good, so good.
Suwanee (35:35):
It's just, yeah, it's adaptable.
It sounds so good, so good,it's pretty safe.
Doug (35:37):
All right, Suwanee.
Well, thank you so much forthat Thai basil pesto recipe.
We will certainly link it toour blog so our listeners can
check it out and have thatadditional link to your site.
And while we're at it, couldyou remind us if folks want to
find and follow you beyond theGreat American Recipe?
What are your social handles orwebsite?
Suwanee (35:58):
You can find me at simplysuwaneecom.
That's my website and my socialare connected with the same
name simplysuwanee on Instagramand simplysuwanee on Facebook
and, yeah, you can find all thegoodies over there and on my
website.
I also have newsletter sign upif people want a weekly update
of the happenings, some of thebehind the scenes of the show
(36:21):
and new recipes and also Thaicooking tips as well.
Doug (36:25):
Ah, so fun.
I have been following you for awhile and there is a lot of
good stuff out on your website.
Thank you, doug.
All right, suwanee, we arewishing you all the best on
season four of the GreatAmerican Recipe on PBS.
I'll be watching for you.
Thank you so much, suwanee.
Thanks so much for your timetoday and for being on the
Pittsburgh Dish.
Suwanee (36:46):
Thank you, doug, you have a great day.
Doug (36:48):
All right, you too, suwani .
Bye-bye.
That was Fran Wescott, Rex Albaand Suwanee Lennon three of the
eight newest home cookscompeting on season four of The
Great American Recipe on PBS.
We'll post their recipes on ourrecipe blog at
wwwpittsburghdishcom.
The new season of the GreatAmerican Recipe premieres Friday
(37:12):
, july 11th on local PBSstations.
For us here in Pittsburgh,that's WQED.
You can also stream the show onthe PBS app.
We're wishing all the best tothese newest home cooks and
we'll be watching.
And that's it for this week.
Thanks so much for tuning in,and we'll be back again with
another fresh episode reallysoon.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.