In Murder Before the Bell, Rick Podowski and the Hefty
Trio fight to save their friend accused of murdering the school principal. The
story begins when Rick arrives at Central High School and sees the
administration building engulfed in flames. Later, the police discover the charred
body of the principal and as the police start to gather evidence to frame the
acting principal, Rick and the Hefty Trio start their own inquiry.
They discover that their friend and the principal are both
involved in illegal activities with a South Vietnamese Colonel who runs a
language school on the campus every Sunday. The community loves the Colonel and
is unaware that he owns a house of prostitution in the neighborhood and employs
a local Mexican gang for security. A rival gang wants part of the action and
the excitement begins.
River Run Vintners
During the 1970s J.P. Pawloski was a professional river guide and was attracted to a bottle of River Run Zinfandel. In 1982 he purchased the defunct River Run Winery and now produces between 1,000 to 3,000 cases of Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Carignane, Malbec, Syrah, and Zinfandel per year.
Pawloski works part time as a respiratory therapist in the
hospital and runs a one-man show in terms of the winery. He doesn't have a
degree in viniculture and he doesn't have a staff.
His central belief is that you must start with good fruit to
make a great wine. So, when it comes time to buy grapes, he hops into his truck
to pick up the grapes from the growers' premises—not from a loading dock. For
28 years, he's been going right out into the fields and actually points to the
precise grapes he wants picked. His wine making process is bigger on fruit than
oak and he manipulates the fermentation and pressing processes to bring the
fruit flavors to the senses.
Seven of his wines won silver medals at the 2009 Santa Cruz
Mountains Commercial Wine Competition. They were: Rapid Red (Carignane,
Grenache, Zinfandel and Cabernet), Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot,
Negrette, Cote D'Aromas, and Viognier.
Erin's Irish Leek and Swiss Pie with River Run Vintners Cote D' Aromas
Rick ordered two pieces of this delicious pie when he met
with Candy at the Café du San Jose. The unique part of this dish is the taste
of the creamy leek and cheese custard. At the bottom of the pie is the salty
deviled ham. The flavors in the pie blend and are accented by the Cote D'
Aromas which is a Rhone Blend. In this wine, the bold fleshy Syrah
counterpoints the sweet tones of Grenache as the wine opens.
Rick only made one pie. Since he loves leeks, he added the whole envelope of the leek soup and cut all of the other ingredients in half.
Serves 12
2 uncooked pie crusts, room temperature
1 envelope leek soup mix
3 cups milk
1 cup light cream
6 slightly beaten eggs
12 ounces Swiss cheese, shredded
2 teaspoons dry mustard
dash pepper
2 4.5 ounce cans deviled ham
12 teaspoons of sour cream (optional)
fresh parsley sprigs (optional)
Preheat the oven to 425F. Pierce crust bottom all over with
a fork and bake until golden, about 10 minutes. Set aside. Reduce oven to 400F.
In a saucepan, combine soup mix and milk; cook and stir
until mixture boils. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Stir in cream. Combine
eggs, cheese, mustard, and pepper. Gradually add to the soup mixture, stirring
until well blended.
Spread one can of the deviled ham in the bottom of each pie
shell. Carefully pour soup mixture into each shell. Bake at 400F for 20 to 30
minutes, until center is firm.
Let stand about 10 minutes. Rick likes to take this dish to
parties. He cuts each pie into six servings, puts a dab of sour cream on each
piece and then puts a fresh parsley sprig on each dab of sour cream.
