Another Look At When Irish Pies Are Smiling

It's almost March and the major event of the month is St Patrick's Day.  In honor of this celebration, we are presenting two Irish pies.  Bake the pies in advance and serve them with some wine and a green salad and you will have the perfect supper.

The pies  are like quiche,and the difference being that if you drink enough of the wine listed in the pairing, you might be able to hear the Leprechauns talking about their pots of gold.


Click on the headings to be redirected to the recipes.

Erin's Irish Leek and Swiss Pie 

This recipe was featured in Murder Before The Bell. 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.

Erin’s Egg, Bacon, and Leek Pie with Clos LaChance Syrah

This recipe was featured in Death In The Science Classroom. The saltiness of the bacon contrasts with the mellow flavors of the eggs and the leeks. Pairing with the pie is a Syrah that has meaty, bacon, and leather aromas. it's a wonderful combination.

Clos LaChance Winery

Clos LaChance Winery takes its name from the small fenced-in area encompassing a vineyard (Clos) and from the maiden name of the co-owner Brenda Murphy. The Murphy's chose the hummingbird as the winery's symbol not only because of the bird's aesthetic beauty, but also because of its ability to keep other birds away from the grapes.


In 1987, co-owners Bill and Brenda Murphy decided to plant a few rows of Chardonnay in their Saratoga backyard, not only for landscaping purposes but to realize their dreams of being vintners. A few years later, the wines produced from this small backyard vineyard were good enough to sell to the public, at which point Clos LaChance was formed into a full-fledged winery. The first commercially released wines were from the 1992 vintage.

In January 2009 Clos LaChance Winery was named a Certified California Sustainable Winegrower. All water used to process wines at Clos LaChance's production facilities is recycled to several on-site reclamation ponds. The vineyard team uses weather stations and soil analyzers in the estate vineyard that monitor the soils at any given time. Also, the winery uses a variety of cover crops, including legumes, barley, and clover to protect and enhance the productivity of the soil and to keep the vines healthy.

Clos LaChance Winery produces affordable wines from 150 acres of Estate Vineyards. They specialize in Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Semillon, Syrah, Zinfandel, Merlot Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Meritage, and several Rhone style blends.

Steak Tampequena Revisited

Sometimes Rick craves meat and Steak Tampequena usually hits the spot.  The peppers, the vegetables, and the cheese provide a nice touch. This is not a spicy dish so place a bottle of hot sauce on the table for those so inclined. Kathryn Kennedy's Lateral goes well with this dish.

This dish can be foun in The Fishy Chips

The chilies, garlic, onions, and tomatoes

 Steak Tampequena

Serves 4
3-4 thin sliced steaks (round, sirloin or whatever)
2 small onions (minced)
4 Roma tomatoes (chopped)
4 cloves of garlic (chopped)
2(4 ounce) cans whole roasted green chili peppers (not chopped)
1 tablespoon olive oil
4-6 slices Monterey jack pepper cheese or white Mexican blend cheese (sliced length wise)

Cooking the chilies, garlic, onions and tomatoes

Heat olive oil in the pan and add onion, garlic, and tomatoes.  Sauté for 3 minutes or until tender.  Set mixture aside.  Preheat oven to broil.  Cut green chilies into long strips and set aside.  Sprinkle seasoning salt on both sides of steak.  Broil steaks for 3-4 minutes on one side

The second side is ready for broiling

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After removing the steaks from the oven, turn them over and place the mixture of tomato, onion, and garlic evenly on the steaks.  Top with 2-3 strips of green chili.  Next, place a slice of cheese on top of each steak covering the mixture and green chili strips.  Broil until steak is done and cheese is melted.  This usually takes about 3 minutes.

The steaks are ready to serve

Serve this dish with some rice, beans and a little salad.  Hot sauce and tortillas should also be available.
     

Kathryn Kennedy Winery

In 1973, after attending viticulture courses at UC Davis, Kathryn Kennedy, purchased eight acres in Saratoga, California on the inland side of the Santa Cruz Mountains where she planted the entire estate with Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.  In 1979, Kennedy made her first wine and then in 1981, her son, Marty Mathis, took the position as winemaker.  Kathryn Kennedy passed away in August of 2009.

 In August 2007 the Kathryn Kennedy Estate Vineyard achieved official Certified Organic Status via the California Certified Organic Farmers, (CCOF) of Santa Cruz, California.  Several practices have been instituted including avoiding pesticides, not using weed killers, growing cover crops to keep the soil healthy, composting, using electric golf carts, using biodiesel fuel for larger equipment, and recycling as much as possible.

Kathryn Kennedy Winery produces around 7,000 cases a year of Cabernet Sauvignon, Lateral, Sauvignon Blanc, and Syrah.

Comfort Food--Irish Shepherd's Pie

Irish Shepherd's Pie, Garden Tomatoes, And Dutch Crunch Bread

January is perhaps the most depressing month of the year with its long periods of darkness and very cold temperatures.  Cheer up with the ultimate comfort food--Irish Shepherd's pie.  This recipe from Death Of A Foster Child was first published on this blog in September of 2014. The dish  pairs well with a Pelican Ranch Cinsault.  

Irish Shepherd's Pie  

2 tablespoons butter

1 medium chopped onion

2 sliced carrots

4 tablespoons flour

1 can of beef stock

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1 tablespoon chopped thyme

1 pound cooked ground beef or ground turkey

1 1/2 pounds mashed potatoes

8 ounces of frozen peas

Irish cheese

Preheat oven to 350° F. Brown the ground beef or ground turkey. Remove from the pan.

Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the chopped onion and sauté it. After adding the carrots, stir in the flour and cook until it is slightly browned then add the stock and herbs.

Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce it a little by cooking for about five minutes. Add the meat and bring it back to a boil. Add the frozen peas.

Place in a pie pan or a deep baking dish and cover with the mashed potatoes. Bake for about 30 minutes. Grate some Irish cheese over the top about 10 minutes before the end of cooking for extra flavor.

Serves 4

Death of a Foster Child explores the guilt felt when the foster placement of a teenage girl in the home of Rick Podowski and his wife failed. To complicate matters, the foster child was brutally murdered and the authorities believe she was selling drugs on the school campus and by implication asserted that the foster parents allowed this behavior. Rick Podowski with the help of Leti Ramos, Erin McGinty and Teresa Spinelli, also know as The Hefty Trio investigate to learn the truth.

In the process of investigating, they discover the world of drug sales on the high school campus, the underlying challenges facing students in a gang infested school, as well as the difficulties faced by special education students. The reader will experience the frustrations of foster parents when faced with a system that is designed to keep the children dependent. Suggestions to improve foster care and move the children towards independence are provided at the end of the book.

 Pelican Ranch Cinsault 

Pelican Ranch Winery is a small family owned and operated winery specializing in Rhone and Burgundy style wines from the best vineyards in California. Established in 1997, production is limited to 100 cases from each vineyard for a total of about 1500 cases. The winery began commercial production in 1997 in a shared space with the Roudon-Smith Winery in Scotts Valley. In 2003, they were one of the first to open a tasting room in the Surf City Winemaker's area of Santa Cruz. February 1, 2011, marked the establishment of their new facility in Capitola.

Phil Crews, the owner and winemaker, is a professor of chemistry at UCSC's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and a noted expert in marine sponges. As part of his curriculum, he also teaches a course titled, Introduction to Wines and Wine Chemistry.

His wines are made using Oregon Oak for all of his reds, which are unfiltered and unfined and French barrels for his Chardonnay. The winery produces Pinot Noir, Cinsault, Mourvedre, Pinotage, Grenache, Syrah Rose, Raspberry Dessert Wine, Chardonnay, and Rousanne.

Meatless Bigos

It's January and it's time to atone for all those calories consumed during the holidays.  Even though Meatless Bigos is served  on Christmas Eve in Poland, it still is a great way to start the new year. This recipe is from the Mike Oborski Memorial Bigos Bar. The dish goes well with pierogi, sour cream and a cabernet like the Coyote Cuvee from Salamandre.

The recipe can be found in The Fishy Chips

Meatless Bigos (Hunter's Stew) Serves 6-8

2 pounds of sauerkraut

1/2 small cabbage, shredded

1/2 pound dried mushrooms

1 large onion chopped

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon of tomato paste

Place dried mushrooms in a bowl and cover with water for a few hours. Drain well and then chop them. 

Wash the sauerkraut in cold water, squeeze and place in a large saucepan. Cover with cold water. Cook for fifteen minutes and drain well. Add cabbage. In a skillet, fry chopped mushrooms with onions in oil. Add to the saucepan. Mix the tomato paste with one cup of water, add to the saucepan and season with salt and pepper. Mix well and simmer on low heat until all is tender.

Salamandre Wine Cellars

http://www.salamandrewine.com

In addition to being a winemaker, Wells Shoemaker is a pediatrician, a poet, and one of the authors of a book on the French paradox (Perdue, Shoemaker, & Marton, The French Paradox and Beyond, Renaissance Press, 1992.). He is also the medical director of the California Association of Medical Groups, a statewide organization whose members care for about 18 million Californians up and down the state. His job focuses on narrowing the variation in performance and helping to respond to the long overdue promise of meaningful healthcare reform. Along with his partner, Dave South, he is the co-owner of Salamandre Wine Cellars, which is located in a redwood canyon two miles from the beaches of Aptos, California. The winery specializes in Pinot Noir, Primitivo, Chardonnay Syrah, and Merlot.

The name and the symbol for the winery were chosen because Aptos is the last refuge of the Santa Cruz Long Toed Salamander. This poem can be found on their website

Cleopatra's servants dutifully fanned her

But she never tasted a red Salamandre

If you're in need of tasteful carousin'

We're ready to pour the wines of 2000

Rick loves the Ménage à Trois, a threesome of Primitivo, Merlot, and Syrah. Another winery is selling a Ménage à Trois so Salamandre's version is no longer in production. He also likes the Coyote Cuvée

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A Polish Themed Christmas Buffet Revisited

People from Poland have two very distinct ways of celebrating Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  Rick  and Elaine combined the two at  an open house where one side of the table featured Christmas Eve dishes and the other side featured dishes from Christmas Day.  The Poles love to have fish, but Rick and his friends aren't big on this food, so the meal contains no fish.

Oplatki  (O-pwaht-kee) are thin wafers that have four beautiful Christmas images stamped into them. The images include the Nativity, the Star of Bethlehem, or the Holy Family. Break off a piece of the wafer and do a blessing. This blessing can simply consist of what you desire for your loved ones in the upcoming year - whether it be good health, success, or happiness. The purpose of this act is primarily to express unconditional love and forgiveness for each member of the family.

The Front Side of the Table--The front side represents Christmas Eve in Poland. No meat is served.

Deviled eggs

Borscht

Instead of being the chunky  style of beet soup that is found in other Eastern European nations, Polish Borscht consists of nothing more than rich vegetable broth and a few cut up beets.  The broth consists of leeks, carrots, celery, beets, parsley and dill.

Bigos

Bigos is the national dish of Poland and is made with sauerkraut, cabbage mushrooms and a mixture of Polish sausage, spareribs, fried pork, cooked ham and pork hocks.  The only time bigos is served without meat is on Christmas Eve.

  Pierogies (Potato and cheese)
and Cherry

Red Cabbage Salad

This delicious salad is made from apples, red cabbage, lemon,  sugar, and garnished with fresh parsley and hard boiled eggs.

The Back Side of the Table--The back side represents Christmas Day in Poland.·     

·    

Cabbage Rolls

The cabbage leaves are stuffed with ground pork, ground beef and rice. They are covered with a tomato and beef broth sauce.   

Ham

It's hard to believe, but there are some 

guests who don't like Polish food. So, 
in keeping with the Polish tradition of 

serving meat on Christmas day, we

 have added ham to the menu along 

with bread rolls, lettuce, tomatoes

 and cheese for those 

sandwich lovers.

Dessert

Poppy Seed Rolls

Polish Nut Rolls

We started at six in the evening  and ate and drank until ten o'clock. What

 a wonderful way to end Christmas Day.

The Christmas Mexican Themed Buffet Revisited

On Christmas Day Rick Podowski invites his friends and relatives to an evening buffet with a theme that reflects one of the cultures of the members of The Hefty Trio.  Over the past three years he has presented buffets with Irish, Italian and Polish themes. So in honor of Leti the theme this year is Mexican.

Since San Jose, California is a mecca for good Mexican food, Rick decided to make this an easy feast by purchasing many of the products.

All events start with lots of libation. He picked some Pinots, a couple of Cabs and some nice Chardonnays. Since the theme is Mexican, he created a margarita bar and of course salsa and chips help people to get started.

Rick went to the farmer's market and purchased the traditional Mexican Christmas dish--tamales.  However, there is a twist. In Oaxaca, a southern Mexican state, they spread the masa on banana leaves and cover  the chicken with mole (chocolate with twenty-seven spices).  For those who want to create their own burrito, the tortillas have been wormed in the steam tray.

Rick purchased pulled chicken from the grocery store and all he needed to do was to heat it in the microwave. He also purchased beef for fajitas and heated the strips in a pan.

Guests have their choice of accompaniments--sour cream, green onions, guacamole, cheese and a salsa.

Refried beans and rice round out the meal. Rick bought the rice from the store and the beans were from a can.

So that you don't think that Rick is totally lazy, he made the bread pudding. the flan and even though it's not Mexican, he added a little Polish Nut Strudel.  

Felice Navidad

Be sure to read the five books in The Rick Podowski and The Hefty Trio Series.