I have always been fascinated with the anthropology of food … why we eat what we do, and the ingredients that are used depending on culture, time, and geography. Some of my favorite conversations with visitors at the winery is their stories of what their parents or grandparents’ meals were…like most typical Irish families, we always had a Sunday roast. Mom liked to change it up with turkey or ham, but Dad loved his roast beef … which meant the majority Sunday evenings we had roast beef. My mother always served potatoes, salad, French bread and cauliflower with a cheese sauce. I always figured my mother put the cheese sauce on the cauliflower to trick us kids to eat more vegetables. Then my fella bought me an 800-page anthropology book of the history of Irish food for Valentine’s Day (he gets me) … turns out that the cauliflower dish is a common Irish dish to serve with your Sunday roast. Good news, the cheese sauce is extremely easy to make. You can use any cheese … I usually use the Mexican blend or Gruyère cheese … though my mom to appease us kids used American Cheese when we were young. If I am serving it with poultry I add some nutmeg, and with fish I add some lemon pepper. This sauce is also great to put on other boiled veggies you are trying to get children to eat.

Shiitake soup was created for the last barrel-tasting event at the winery. Many folks asked for the recipe, so here it is! Shiitake mushrooms are pretty pricy in markets usually 6.99 to 9.99 a pound. I am really lucky to live in the bay area where Asian markets are plentiful and you can get shiitakes for about $3.99 a pound. The secret ingredient that I used to pair with the young pinots was Chinese Five Spices … depending on what brand you buy it is anywhere from seven to five ingredients. Just like French onion soup in France is onion soup; if you are in an Asian market and can’t find the jar … usually you can find it in bags called 5 spice powder or spice powder. The common ingredients depending on manufacturer are: cinnamon, star anise, fennel seed, cloves, ginger, white pepper, licorice root.