Something That Needs To Be Said

Rick Podowski and The Hefty Trio have dedicated their lives to helping young people and they are frightened about the upcoming election.  If the republicans win it will be bad for America.

About The Rick Podowski and The Hefty Trio Series

The five books in this series are different than most murder mysteries. Some basic information will help you, the reader, to understand these excentric characters.

• Rick Podowski, Leti Rios, Erin McGinty, and Teresa Spinelli are English teachers at Central High School in East San Jose.

 

• The four of them have been working together for over twenty-seven years and so far they have solved five mysteries.

• All four of them have put on lots of weight over the years because they like to eat gourmet foods  and drink fine wines from the Santa Cruz Mountains in California.

• They seem to end up in the middle of a murder mystery and by consulting with their students and using logic they are able to solve the crime.

• Each book contains seven ethnic (Polish, Italian, Irish, Mexican) recipes and seven wineries are presented.  A wine is then paired with the recipe. A reader who completes the series will have learned about thirty-five boutique wineries and have thirty-five recipes paired with the appropriate wine.

• Three of the books explore moral issues--good people doing bad things, loyalty to our country and falsely accusing another person.  Two of the books explore the adoption issues related to birth parents and the challenges of foster care.  

Polish Beef Rolls With Dill Pickles And Silver Mountain Winery's Alloy

This recipe can be found in The Winning Certificate.  The mystery won the 2011 Global eBook award in the amateur sleuth category.

.​

As the evenings get cooler, a plate of Polish beef rolls covered with gravy and some mashed potatoes or a potato dumpling on the side become the ultimate in comfort food. The Alloy, a Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot is bold enough to make this meal memorable.

Serves 4

1 1/2 pounds flank steak

6 strips bacon, sliced

3 dill pickles, peeled, cut out lengthwise into sticks

Salt and pepper

21/2 tablespoons flour

11/2 tablespoons bacon drippings 

1/2 cup water

1-cup onions

1/2-cup sour cream

Cut each flank steak into 4 strips widthwise. Pound well. I ended up using the flat side of a hammer.

Arrange the bacon, onions, and the pickles on each piece. Roll and fasten with toothpicks. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and flour.

Brown in the hot drippings.If you don't have any drippings, just cut off some of the fat from the bacon slices.

Transfer to a baking dish, add 11/2 cup water, cover. Bake in a moderate 350 degree oven for 11/2 hours. Remove to a warmed platter. Add the leftover flour to the gravy, and bring to a boil.

Remove from the heat, and add sour cream. Pour over the meat. Serve with rice, mashed potatoes, or potato dumplings

The Wine--Silver Mountain's Alloy

Jerold O'Brien, an Air Force fighter pilot, and a commercial pilot, bought the Silver Mountain property in 1973. He planted ten acres of grape vines and built a barn where he lived for two years. This structure was then converted to the winery, which was bonded in 1979.

That first year he produced 350 cases of Zinfandel from purchased grapes. For the first ten years, wines at Silver Mountain were made primarily from purchased Chardonnay and Zinfandel grapes with some experimentation with Merlot and Pinot Noir.

In 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake, which was centered two miles away, destroyed the original winery and house and all of the stored wine was lost. However, he rebuilt the winery, and his wines have been winning awards.

O'Brien has been working to make his winery green. The winery has been organic since 1980 and in 1991, his vineyard was officially certified as organic. He completed one of the largest solar arrays in the Santa Cruz Mountains, a new 6000 square foot roof, and 46-kilowatt solar array which in addition to generating power provides 120,000 gallons of rainwater runoff per year. Silver Mountain is  entirely energy self-sufficient, and generates extra energy for the power grid.

Baked Apple Pancake

     

     The members of The Hefty Trio were gathered around the donuts during Monday morning's prep period, waiting for Rick to join them.

     "When are we going to work on a girlfriend for Rick?" Leti asked.

     "I still think we should work on that cutie we talked about the other day. She'd be perfect for Rick," Teresa said. "By the way, where is he? He's never been late before. Our prep period is almost over"

     At that moment, Rick walked through the door.

     "Where have you been?" Leti said. "We were worried about you."

      "I'm late because I was busy in the kitchen," Rick said with a big grin on his face. "I made my famous baked apple pancake and sausages, French roasted coffee, and a beautiful patriotic fruit cup filled with blueberries, strawberries and bananas. Did I mention I cooked for two this morning?"

     As one, The Hefty Trio lumbered to their feet. It was Teresa who pushed him down into his favorite chair.

     "Tell us all about it," Erin commanded. "And tell us now."

It was, however, Leti who offered him the bait.

       "Have a doughnut, Rick," she said

       A delightful sense of being exactly where he should be crept over him.

       "Don't mind if I do," he said. "No, I don't mind if I do."
                                            from Murder Before The Bell

Baked Apple Pancake

This is the dish Rick served his new girlfriend.  When it comes from the oven it is absolutely beautiful.

Batter
4 large eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
Pinch of salt
1 cup of milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Fruit
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 large tart apple (no need to peel)

Blend eggs, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in food processor.  With the machine running add vanilla, butter and nutmeg.  Let it stand for thirty minutes.

Slice the apple.

In a 10 inch ovenproof skillet melt the butter and coat the sides of the pan.  Sprinkle 1/4 cup of sugar cinnamon and nutmeg over the butter.  Cover with apple slices and the other 1/4 cup of sugar.  Use medium high heat until the mixture bubbles.

Pour the batter over the apples and place in a pre-heated 425 degree oven for fifteen minutes.  Reduce the heat to 375 and bake for ten minutes more.  Serve immediately

Makes 3-4 servings.

This recipe adapted from Machine Cuisine Cooking Classes

Tikka Masala Indian Meatballs with Wargin Sangiovese and Freisa blend

This blog is about the Polish, Italian, Mexican and Irish foods enjoyed by Rick Podowski and The Hefty Trio.  Rick also loves other types of ethnic foods and one of his favorites comes from India.  Rick is the first to admit that he doesn't have the Indian mojo to make a sauce to knock your pants off, so in this recipe, the main ingredient comes from a jar.  Of course, the second main ingredient comes from a bottle. Pour yourself a glass of the wine and enjoy making this wonderful dish.

Tikka Masala Indian Meatballs with Wargin Sangiovese and Freisa blend

Serves 4

Twenty ounces of ground turkey
1 egg
2 tablespoons minced cilantro
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cumin
      oil for frying
1 container Tikka Masala



4 cups cooked rice

Combine the ground turkey through cumin in a bowl and mix well. Shape into 1 inch meatballs and sauté in a large skillet to brown.

Add one container of Tikka Masala and simmer partially covered on low for 10-15 minutes or until the meatballs are done. Serve over rice with steamed vegetables.

Notes: for a stronger flavored or spicy meatball, increase spices to taste.

This recipe was adapted from one found on tonysmarkets.com

Wargin Wines is a family run winery that specializes in Cal-Italia varietals including: Montepulciano, Sangiovese, Freisa, Barbera, Pinot Gris as well as Chardonnay and collection of Petite Sirahs. They are best known for their signature Big And Beautiful, a California Red blend of Italian varietals. When Rick visited the tasting room, he fell in love with their Sangiovese and Freisa blend.