Rick's Red Snapper, Veracruz Style with Roudon-Smith Duet

This book explores a tragedy resulting from a teacher being falsely accused. Rick Podowski, the head grievance representative for the teacher’s union enters the science lab and finds the body of the teacher hanging by a braided rope from the metal frame of the overhead florescent light fixture.

As Rick and his friends investigate, they find Dan Longreen's secret. He has been charged with sexual misconduct concerning three young girls in his Las Vegas classroom. Even though proven innocent, a small group of parents forced his resignation. He accepts a job in San Jose, California, and is creating a new life. Suddenly, he starts to receive threatening emails and there are questions about his death.

Did someone stage the suicide? Was the principal putting extreme pressure on Dan to resign to protect his forthcoming promotion or was the suicide related to Longreen's fiancée? 

Roudon-Smith Winery

While working at Silicon Valley's Amdahl plant, Bob and Annamaria Roudon and Jim and June Smith began to plan the establishment of a small winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains. In the spring of 1972 the two engineers purchased vineyard land high up in the mountains.

Winemaker Bob Roudon learned how to make wine in Europe during a tour of duty with the U.S. Army in Germany. Later, he discovered French wines and winemaking techniques, which have influenced the style of Roudon-Smith wines since. By 1978, again designed and built by engineers Roudon and Smith, a newly expanded winery that would accommodate the 10,000 case goal was completed near Scotts Valley. In the 1990s production did reach 10,000 cases, but has been scaled back and the winery currently produces 4,500 cases.

After Roudon and Smith semi retired in 2006, Annette and David Hunt joined Al and Diane Drewke in a partnership that allowed two engineering families to take the reins at Roudon-Smith once again.

Al Drewke gained controlling interest in the winery and in 2011 he moved the entire operation to Watsonville.

Their wines include Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot Rose, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Claret, and Duet. Rick really likes dropping a frozen strawberry into a glass of their Merlot Rose.

Rick's Red Snapper, Veracruz Style with Roudon-Smith Duet

Rick has made only one trip to Veracruz and he remembers this dish because it captures the flavors of this distinct part of Mexico, The snapper is covered with a tomato sauce and the capers, and jalapeño peppers provide an extra bite. Serve this dish with white rice. Rick modified this recipe from one he found in Bon Appetit.

Serves 6

1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice, well drained, juices reserved
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped white onion
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
3 small bay leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 cup chopped pitted green olives
2 tablespoons raisins
2 tablespoons drained capers
6 4- to 5-ounce red snapper fillets

Place drained tomatoes in medium bowl and crush them to a coarse puree. Drain again, reserving juices.

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and stir 30 seconds. Add garlic and stir 30 seconds. Add tomato puree and cook 1 minute. Add bay leaves, parsley, oregano, garlic and 1/4 cup reserved tomato juices. Simmer until sauce thickens, about 3 minutes. Add olives, raisins, capers, and all remaining reserved tomato juices. Simmer until sauce thickens again, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 425°F. Spread 3 tablespoons sauce in bottom of 15x10x2-inch glass baking dish. Arrange fish atop sauce. Sprinkle fish lightly with salt and pepper. Spoon remaining sauce over. Bake uncovered until fish is just opaque in the center, about 18 minutes.

Using long spatula, transfer fish with sauce to plates. Serve with rice, salad, sourdough bread and a glass of Duet.

Free Winning Certificate And Chicken Cacciatore

As part of the Read an E-Book Week promotion you can obtain a free copy of   The Winning Certificate at Smashwords from March 2-8.  This book won the 2011 Global eBook award in the amateur sleuth category.

In The Winning Certificate, Sylvia Medina, a student at Central High joins a teenage gang after her adopted mother's death and is trapped in a life style of violence and hopelessness. Can the school's Literary Club and an image on the computer of her birth mother provide the hope necessary for Sylvia to survive? Antonio Medina, after his wife's death from cancer tries everything to get Sylvia back on track. However, nothing helps until Rick Podowski and Leti Rios, advisors to the high school Literary Club, get Sylvia involved. Sylvia reluctantly shares some of her poems. Then, as Sylvia becomes more committed, she begins to change and becomes in touch with her feelings. As Sylvia develops her ties to the Literary Club, she gets more intrigued by the picture of her birth mother and tries to find her. She learns that her mother lives in New York and when members of the Literary Club go to Columbia University to attend a conference and receive an award for their magazine, Sylvia goes along. Instead of going to the conference, she visits her mother. She finds out that her mother married a very rich man, and she has two stepsons. The stepfather is dead, and the two sons along with her lawyer are trying to get her farm and include it as part of a land trust being used as a means to launder money for the mob. Murder, kidnapping, money laundering, and mob activities are included in this novel. Included in the book are seven delicious recipes paired with Santa Cruz Mountain wines.  One favorite is Elaine's Chicken Cacciatore with a Copper-Garrod Cabernet Franc Review by: Sara Marie Hogg on Aug. 04, 2011: This reader loves Mr. Miller's series of school campus who-done-its, solved by Rick Podowski and the Hefty Trio. The way he weaves the recipes and wine into the stories is sheer genius. Rick and the Hefty Trio love to chow down and one gets hungry while reading about their delicious snacks--so nice to actually have the real and time-honored, tested recipes contributed by "Rick" and "his friends." This book was particularly poignant and I shed a few real tears toward the end of the story--Sara Marie Hogg, author of Blade Chatter and Catho Darlington.

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