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IN THE KITCHEN: California dreamin’: From the Delaware Valley to the Napa Valley

Photo courtesy of Alice Wesley Tanner

By PAT TANNER Special Writer
    I have now traveled to California’s Napa Valley twice, and while tasting wines along its famous wine trail is always delightful, my family of four was particularly pleased and surprised on this trip by two wineries in particular — and not just because of their noteworthy wines.
    The folks at well-regarded Robert Sinskey Vineyards, in the Stags Leap district along the famed Silverado Trail, have addressed the oft-heard criticism that tasting wine without food makes little sense, since that is not how wine is consumed in real life. Here, a tasting flight of four of their organic, biodynamically grown wines is accompanied by specially paired “bites” created by professional chefs busily working at a rustic- looking but professionally equipped kitchen at the rear of the tasting room.
    The bites range from dressed olives to fresh-from-the-oven mini- quiches and gougeres and cheese- topped crostini. The gift area includes kitchenware and, strewn among them, free recipe cards. I scooped up at least a dozen, including the one below for braised veal shanks, bay leaves, red wine, and olives, which seems to me very “California” and very autumnal.
    Serving suggestions include buttered noodles and a green salad in warmer weather and thick pappardelle with crusty bread when there’s a chill in the air.
    The stuffed poblano pepper recipe, below, is also very fall-appropriate and Californian (in fact, the original recipe uses the California name for these peppers: pasilla), but in addition it reflects the heritage of the family behind Ceja Vineyards, which was my second real “find.” This is a relatively small winery that uses sustainable techniques to produces 10,000 cases a year (as compared to Sinskey’s 25,000, which is still small compared to the bigger houses in the neighborhood, like Chandon and Acacia). It was founded by four members of a Mexican-American family and those principals and their offspring make the tastings here a highly personal affair.
    Ours was led by Ariel Ceja, the 20-something son of Amelia, one of the founders. She is the first Mexican-American woman to be president of a wine production company in the history of New World wines. (She was also Inc. magazine’s entrepreneur of the year in 2004 and was named Woman of the Year by the California legislature.)
    As delicious aromas wafted from the kitchen where his grandmother was making posole, Ariel Ceja contributed witty, lively chatter to our tasting, along with serious wine info. While pouring the family’s unoaked sauvignon blanc, for example, he proclaimed, “You want oak? You can lick my wood counter here.”
    That wine, plus a new rose and a surprisingly distinctive merlot, was enough to get one member of my family to join the Ceja wine club right then and there.
    As for a wine match for the delicious and easy stuffed peppers, the Ceja family suggests either sauvignon blanc (unoaked!) or pinot noir, preferably their own.
BRAISED VEAL SHANKS
WITH OLIVES AND BAY LEAVES
Robert Sinskey Vineyards, Napa, Calif.
4 to 5 pounds meaty veal shanks
    kosher salt & freshly ground pepper
    1 medium red onion, sliced into thin wedges
    6 large garlic cloves, peeled and trimmed
    1 cup fruity dry red wine
    ½ cup diced tomatoes with juice
    3 bay leaves
    1 cup assorted olives
    Extra virgin olive oil
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Season the veal well with salt and pepper. Heat a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add olive oil to coat the bottom and then add the veal and brown on all sides, in batches if necessary, for about 7 to 10 minutes.
    2. Add the onions and garlic and continue to sauté for about 5 minutes until they begin to color and wilt. Reduce the heat if the bottom of the pan begins to scorch. Add the red wine and simmer for 5 minutes.
    3. Add the tomatoes, bay leaves, and olives and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and braise in the oven for 1½ to 2 hours until tender. Check occasionally. Add more water, 1/ 4-cup at a time, if pan juices become too reduced. Remove the bay leaves and season to taste with salt and pepper.
    Serves 4 to 6.
CHICKEN-STUFFED
POBLANCO PEPPERS
WITH PUMPKIN SEED
AND CILANTRO SAUCE
Ceja Vineyards, Napa, Calif.
1 rotisserie chicken
    6 poblano peppers
    1 cup parmesan cheese, grated
    ¼ cup dried cranberries
    1¼ cup toasted pumpkin seeds
    2 cups arugula
    2 bunches cilantro
    1 8-ounce jar Mexican creme fraiche (crema)
    Salt and pepper to taste
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Pull the white and dark meat off the bone of the rotisserie chicken and tear into bite-size pieces, leaving the skin off. In a bowl mix the chicken, arugula, cranberries (leaving a few for garnish), and parmesan cheese. Slice one side of the poblano peppers and stuff with the chicken mixture. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.
    2. While the peppers are baking prepare the cilantro sauce. In a blender or food processor puree the washed cilantro, toasted pumpkin seeds (leaving a few for garnish), crème fraiche, and salt and pepper. If the sauce is thick, just add a touch of water to thin it out. Keep the sauce at room temperature until the peppers are done.
    3. To serve, pour the sauce onto individual serving plates and place one pepper in the middle. Scatter a few of the reserved cranberries and pumpkin seeds around the plate.
    Serves 6.
Pat Tanner, the restaurant critic for New Jersey Life magazine, writes a biweekly food column for Packet Publications. A former caterer and corporate trainer, Ms. Tanner is a founding member of the Central New Jersey Chapter of Slow Food and is a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, the James Beard Foundation and the Association of Food Journalists.