The Ash Creek Papers

This is comfort food with a brogue.  Just a few ingredients, simple to prepare (although it does take time, so forethought to timing is necessary), and oh so delicious!  This dish brings an Irish pub into your home!  And the reflex beverage of choice would be a pint of ale; but I am going to recommend an irreverent “off the beaten path”medium-bodied Lodi Red: Gearbox Sangiovese!!  First, not too common to find Sangiovese coming from California!  Next, for those of us who love the Sangiovese based wines of Tuscany (and I certainly do!), this wine bears a mere nodding glance at its European counterpart.  The Gearbox carries the fruit on a lighter framed chassis. Lighter in hue, fresh and supple on the palate, with a perfectly clean finish.  Soft fruit, dry… and a splendid complement to flavorful dishes like the Coddle. The wine would also work with meatloaf, mashed potatoes and peas.  Or chicken pot pie. Or linguine and red clam sauce.  Or baby back ribs.  Or pulled pork sandwiches.Or fish ‘n’ chips. Or paella.  OR, just by itself! Are you getting the picture?  Gearbox is a liquid chameleon! It adapts to whatever you put it with!  And I recommend serving it slightly chilled.

Gearbox Sangiovese ‘14 (Lodi, CA) 
Sangiovese is the great grape of Tuscany, famous for the Chiantis and the world class Brunello that they make. This wine tastes like a stand-out Tuscan red but with richer fruit, a more friendly supple mouthfeel, still a great food match but with an added silky soft finish. The wine is brimming with red berry fruit, spent a year in neutral oak. The wine is a steal! A great Barbeque red, rich tomato based sauces even great with spicy foods. Dark bing cherries, and raspberries with hints of cinnamon and cloves, and a bit of thyme. Superb fruit on the palate with bright acidity. This wine is an extremely versatile red, the ultimate crowd pleaser.

DUBLIN CODDLE

Ingredients

6 ounces of Tanqueray Gin
½ ounce of Noilly Pratt Dry Vermouth
A goodly amount of ice
1¾ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced ¼” thick
4 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1” pieces
1¼ pounds Irish bangers
2 onions, sliced into ½” thick rings
1 tbsp minced fresh thyme
1¾ cups chicken broth
2 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tbsp minced fresh parsley

Directions

1. Put gin and vermouth into a glass pitcher, fill with ice, stir vigorously while incanting, “You who know all, thank you for providing us juniper and all the other obscure ingredients responsible for creating this sacred liquid!” Strain into a pre-frozen Martini glass of admirable size.  Skewer the olives on one of those tacky cocktail swords, place in glass. Immediately begin consuming.  Now you can begin the food prep, and the cooking!

2. Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 325°. Shingle potato slices in bottom of 13X9 baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and fresh ground pepper; set aside.

3. Cook bacon in 12” skillet over medium heat ‘til crispy, 10 minutes.  Use slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper lined plate.

4. Carefully add sausage to empty skillet and cook until lightly browned on tops and bottoms, about 5 minutes. Transfer to paper lined plate.

5. Our off all but 2 tbsp of fat from skillet and return to medium heat. Add onions, thyme ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper.  Cover and cook ‘til onions are softened, 7 to 9 minutes, stirring occasionally scraping up any browned bits. 

6. Add broth and vinegar, scraping up any browned bits, and bring to a simmer.  Carefully pour onion mixture over potatoes, spreading onions into an even layer.

7. Place bangers, browned side up, on top of onions. Transfer to oven and bake ‘til paring knife inserted into knife meets little resistance, about 1¼ hours. 

8. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.  Sprinkle with parsley and reserved bacon.  Serve.

n.b. I sourced the Irish Bangers from Costco (of course!).  But if you can’t find it locally, bratwurst in the same quantity will work as a substitute.

This is a variation on a dish prepared by my Grandmother Mommie Soph: Lox, onions & eggs.  It was my favorite Sunday morning breakfast, and made with enough butter so you could actually hear your arteries congealing and further… the smell of cooking salmon lasted in the kitchen for a good two days. In the past I have faithfully executed Mommie Soph’s recipe to an aromatic and textural “T”!  However, I was looking for a “brunch” dish that would be both lighter in tone and also take advantage of a surplus of matzo in the house.  Let me quickly say what is obvious to some, and not so obvious to others… matzo loses its appeal 20 minutes after the Seder Dinner has concluded, thereby creating an immediate surplus.  For this dish matzo conveniently provides the necessary foundation to support the dish; and maybe, just maybe… justifies keeping some matzo in the house year ‘round.

I chose to open a bottle of Rosé from Provence.  It’s a perfect wine for brunches and light lunches.  And more to the point, it’s a way for us to mentally “open the door” to Spring!  Other lighter wines that would work: Sancerre, Bordeaux Blanc and Soave Classico.

Château Sainte-Croix Rosé ’14 (Côtes de Provence,France) 
There is a saying in France: Le Rosé, c’est en Provence qu’il est né… “Provence is the ‘birthplace’ of Rosé”. Travel throughout the South of France… go to the cafés & bistros and on every table you’ll find bottles of chilled Rosés being happily consumed.  Regardless of the dishes being served and regardless of personal wealth, as we pivot to warmer days the wine of Europe is Rosé, and the best Rosés come from Provence.  Château Sainte-Croix has been owned by 4 generations of the Pélépol family and they refer to this bottling as “100% Provence” because it represents Provence at its best! The 2014 is a classic blend of 50% Grenache, 30% Cinsault and 20% Syrah. The 2014 has a delicate shell pink hue, light floral and fruit aromas lead to an elegant palate laced with an excellent finishing minerality. Silky texture, clean finish, refreshing from first sip to last… Le printemps est arrivé!!

SMOKED SALMON FRITTATA

Ingredients
6 ounces of Tanqueray Gin
½ ounce of Noilly Pratt Dry Vermouth
A goodly amount of ice
3 olives stuffed with blue cheese
6 jumbo eggs
1½ matzo, broken into small pieces
¼ onion, chopped
3oz. smoked salmon, cut into small squares
¼ cup capers, drained & rinsed
1 tbsp water
¼ tsp fresh ground pepper
1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped

 Directions
1. Put gin and vermouth into a glass pitcher, fill with ice, stir vigorously while incanting, “You who know all, thank you for providing us juniper and all the other obscure ingredients responsible for creating this sacred liquid!” Strain into a pre-frozen Martini glass of admirable size.  Skewer the olives on one of those tacky cocktail swords, place in glass. Immediately begin consuming.  Now you can begin the food prep, and the cooking!

2. In a bowl beat the eggs, add the water & the broken pieces of matzo.  Add fresh ground pepper, mix well and set aside.

3. In a small skillet stir fry onions over medium low heat just ‘til softened (and not browned). About 2 minutes. Take off heat and set aside.

4. In a large non-stick skillet coated with a healthy amount of the “butter” spray of your choice, bring heat up to high and add the egg-matzo mixture.  Spread the matzo pieces evenly across the eggs, letting the mixture “set” without scrambling. About 3 minutes.  Place the onions, salmon & capers evenly on the eggs.  Top with fresh chopped dill, cover and take off heat.  After a minute or so, slide the fritatta onto a cutting board and slice with a pizza cutter!

n.b.  Matzo foreign to you? Use Carr’s water crackers as a perfect substitute. For those who feel that it is necessary, Nova Lox is excellent in place of smoked salmon. I don’t know what Mommie Soph would think about Pam spray, or other“ butter” sprays, as a replacement for a stick of butter.  Be that as it may… I use spray.  Theoretically this dish is meant to serve 4.  But my Grandmother didn’t put too much confidence into theories, and neither do I.