The Rick Podowski and The Hefty Trio Amateur Detective Series

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

Another Look At Bigos

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Today, Sunday September 20, 2015 is the Polish Festival at St Brother Albert's Polish Mission in San Jose, CA.  In honor of the festival, Rick is reprinting this recipe from September 2014.  The dish can be found 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 former 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. The excitement continues as Rick and The Hefty Trio while working to solve the mystery indulge in gourmet Mexican, Irish, Italian and Polish dishes from their ethnic heritages, paired with unique wines from the Santa Cruz Mountains of California.

 Bigos—Hunter's Stew (The Polish national Dish) with Burrell School's Syrah

This recipe comes from the Bigos Bar website first developed by Mike Oborski, the honorary consul of the Republic of Poland in Kidderminister, England. Rick likes this dish with a glass of Burrell School's Syrah because the boldness of the dish is complemented by the boldness of the wine. 

Serves 4 (This recipe can be doubled or tripled)

1 lb. sauerkraut

1/2 lb. ham with bone, pork spareribs pork rib roast, or chicken

1 bay leaves

1/2 ounce. dried mushrooms, chopped

1/2 onion chopped and sautéed in butter

5 black peppercorns

3 allspice berries

1/4-teaspoon salt

4 cups beef broth,

1 lbs. green cabbage, chopped like sauerkraut

1 tablespoons butter or margarine

l pound of Polish Kiełbasa

Rinse sauerkraut with cold water and drain well. In a large stockpot, combine sauerkraut, ham or pork, bay leaves, mushrooms, peppercorns, allspice and salt. Add 2 cups of broth, bouillon, or water. Cook, uncovered, 15 minutes over medium heat. Cover and simmer over low heat 45 minutes. Remove meat and let it cool.

Place cabbage in a large saucepan. Add remaining 2 cups broth, bouillon, or water. Bring to boil. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat, 1 hour or until cabbage is tender. Add to sauerkraut mixture. Bone the cooked meat. Cut cooked meat into 1/2-inch cubes.

Melt butter or margarine in a large skillet. Add cooked meat, smoked sausage, and white sausage. Sauté over medium heat 10 minutes or until browned. Add to sauerkraut mixture. Also, add the onions. Cover and cook over low heat 1 hour or longer. Remove and discard bay leaves. Serve hot.

Bigos, pierogi and salad--delicious!

 The secret of old-time Bigos is that it gets better as it's reheated on successive days, peaking at the 6th or 7th day. In between, store covered in the refrigerator.

Another Look At Irish Poached Salmon with Watercress Sauce

The supermarkets are full of fresh salmon and this seems like the perfect time to revisit this post from September 2014.  This recipe and wine pairing can be found in Murder Before The Bell

Irish Poached Salmon with Watercress Sauce Paired With Pinot Noir

This dish is a favorite of both Rick and Erin. Rick likes to serve it cold with the pinkness of the salmon highlighted by the green watercress sauce. It's the perfect dish to take to a picnic or a potluck. An Armitage Pinot Noir goes well with this dish because it has a light nose and allows for the flavor of the salmon to dominate.

 Serves 4

2 pound piece salmon fillet

4 ounces wine

water

fresh ground black pepper

Put the salmon into a pan, season with pepper and pour the wine over. Add water to cover the salmon. Bring to a boil, cover the pan and turn off the heat.  Leave the pan on the stove until the salmon is at room temperature and it will be perfectly cooked.

If you want your salmon warm, then simmer for 5 minutes or so and allow it to cool enough to handle and then divide into four portions.

Watercress Sauce

1 large bunch of watercress
5 ounces sour cream
ground black pepper
lemon juice to taste

Blend the watercress and cream together. Season with pepper and lemon juice to taste. You could substitute eight ounces blanched spinach to get the same green color. This sauce can be served cold or warm. Don't allow the sauce to boil as the cream will curdle.

Enjoy this dish with a glass of Armitage Pinot Noir.