Hello, everyone!

To clear up the historical confusion, Shepherd's Pie is not composed of minced shepherds and their boots with gravy and potato mash.

Although it is strongly associated with England, Ireland and Scotland also claim rights to a version of this pie-like stew, made of some form of minced meat topped with browned and sometimes cheesy mashed potatoes. The mince is traditionally lamb (hence the shepherd in the
name) although some people make it with beef and even fish (and other purists call those concoctions cottage pie or fisherman's pie.)

The mince is made by sautéeing chopped meat, usually left over from a Sunday roast, with finely chopped onions and or shallots, garlic, and sometimes carrots and peas with fresh herbs. The meat is then simmered in stock, tomato purée and sometimes wine. Then it's topped with potatoes lightened by whipping with butter or cream and baked until crisp and golden. (The whipped dairy keeps the potatoes from sinking into the simmering meat.)

The key to dating Shepherd's pie is the introduction of potatoes to England. They were first introduced to Europe in 1520 by the Spanish.
Potatoes did not appeal to the British palate until the 18th century, so Shepherd's Pie was probably invented sometime in the 18th Century by frugal peasant housewives looking for creative ways to serve leftover meat to their families. It is generally agreed that it originated in the north of England and Scotland where there are large numbers of sheep. The actual phrase "Shepherd's Pie" dates back to the 1870s, when mincing machines made the shredding of meat easy and popular.

North American versions of this dish often include a layer of ground beef, a layer of corn, sometimes mixed with peas and carrots, and a layer of mash. French Canadians call this pâté chinois. In Vermont, green beans, or wax beans, are often used instead of corn, and frequently a layer of tomato sauce is added to the mashed potatoes.

All of this is important in the context of Chez Sophie only insofar as Paul is looking for something vaguely Irish-like to serve as the Pink Plate Special to celebrate the week leading up to St. Patrick's Day. Last year, we corned beef, and were told that it was the best corned beef any of our customers had ever had. That was a small victory, really. That was the year the guys couldn't get the smoker dug out of the snowbank so they tried to smoke the cured meat in the oven with some applewood and the fire department ensued. (Now we have an indoor smoker.) To be honest, it was actually pastrami.

We hope all Irish-seeking foodies will don their fisherman's sweaters and head to the Chez for Shepherd's Pie. The Pink Plate is a weekly prix fixe special we offer on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. For $30 per person, you get your choice of soup or salad, the featured entree, two selections from our cheese board or one of a couple of featured desserts and coffee, tea or espresso.

Chef Paul is also planning to serve a mixed grill of lamb from Elihu Farm with eggplant caviar. The mixed grill will include loin chops, homemade sausage merguez, and lamb kidneys "although you don't necessarily have to put that in there," Paul said, always afeared that offal will seem awful to someone.

We've called for strawberry grouper to be delivered Friday for a private party, and if they don't order it all we'll have it available for the rest of the diners (with a tropical fruit vinaigrette.)

We have set a menu and chosen wines for our annual Languedoc- Roussillon wine dinners, which this year will be Wednesday, March 28 and Thursday, March 29th.
Paul has decided to start the meal with escargots with eggplant and tomato and Cheryl has chosen the Hautes Terres de Comberousse Roucaillat 2002. The second course will be pheasant terrine, paired with the Côtes du Roussillon from Domaine Sarda-Malet 2005. The next course will be aïgo boulido (garlic soup) scented with mint and thyme and served with Mas Cal Demoura's, "L'Infidele" Coteaux du Languedoc, 2000. The main course, duck à l'agenaise (duck in the style Agen, which is whole duck braised with prunes, Armagnac, orange-scented red wine and herbs) will be served with our star wine, Clos de Truffiers Coteaux du Languedoc 1999. The final course of chestnut tart with apricot purée will be served with Muscat de Rivesaltes, 2005 Domaine de la Coume du Roy.

We'll provide written materials about the wines and wine region and make ourselves available to talk about the wines with those who are so inclined, but make a tremendous effort to not stand at the head of the table and bore people to tears with long lectures. We'd prefer that people have a really special meal and meet a few new friends around the communal table.

Seating each night is limited to 20 people around a single table.
Tickets are $80 per person, plus tax and tip.

Congratulations to one of the family farms we patronize, Meadowbrook Farms of Clarksvillle, for being featured today on CBS National News.
To read the online print version of the story, visit http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/08/earlyshow/main2546861.shtml

Another installment in the endlessly entertaining art of computerized translation; Producer: Malet familyVine growing: Reasoned culture, putting under grass and ploughings. Grape harvest: Manual in small cages. Wine making: Traditional, indigenous yeasts. Maceration 3 week old with pigeages manual and reassemblies daily. Breeding: Out of tank to keep the fruit.

Our Sunday Jazz brunch with pianist Cole Broderick will feature a pan-seared tuna with soba noodle salad ($16); grilled hanger steak with gorgonzola sauce and rosemary roast potatoes ($13); shrimp etoufee ($15); and grilled center cut pork loin chop with caramelized onion and apricot compote and sweet potato gratin ($13).

Two of the instructors who offer free tango lessons at Chez Sophie will be doing a show called "Tango Fusion: Encuetros Intimos" at the Spa Little Theater in Saratoga on March 9 and 10 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, March 11 at 3 p.m. Tango Fusion is a dance company that melds influences from Latin dance, Argentine tango, ballet, jazz, modern dance and theater. Because of our relationship with Tango Fusion, and its creator, Dianne Lachtrupp, we're offering a pre-show special on dinner or brunch at Chez Sophie to ticket holders. On Friday and Saturday night, we will be offering a three-course meal (any starter, entree and dessert and a glass of house wine for $50, a considerable discount from full price. Reservations should be booked before 6 p.m. in order to make the 8 p.m. curtain, and the box office at the Spa Little Theater will be happy to secure a table for you.

Live Piano Jazz
Jazz pianist Cole Broderick plays the baby grand Tuesday through? Friday night, and during Sunday brunch from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
(barring special events that preclude live music.)
Cost: No cover charge

Tasting menus
Chef's Choice seven-course tasting menu available each night. The menus are designed based on the best and most creative dishes Chef Paul K. Parker is serving each evening. We will pair wines for you or you can order from our extensive wine list.
Cost: $75 per person, plus tax and tip. Everyone at the table must? partake in the tasting menu.

Tasting menus arranged in advance will be printed on commemorative vellum scrolls personalized with the name of the host or the reason for the event.
Cost: $50 to $200, depending on the number of courses and the wines selected; available for two to 75 guests. Call Cheryl to make arrangements 518.583.3538

Notes on Nico and Leo We had a late night at the restaurant the other day, so Paul stayed to lock up and Cheryl took the children home. Nico fought valiantly to stay awake until Daddy came home, so Cheryl made a small concession and told him he could camp on a featherbed in the living room so he could see Daddy when he arrived. Cheryl and Leo took positions on the couch, and soon everyone was sleeping soundly, at least an hour before Paul came home. When Cheryl got up the next morning, she noted that Nico had taken a blue Crayola washable marker to bed with him, and while he was buried under the covers trying to stay awake, had written all over his face, neck arms, chest and legs. When he fell asleep, the marker had dropped on the featherbed, leaving a large blue blot. "My little Pict," Cheryl mused, confiscating the marker from the sleeping four year-old, and setting it on his little desk until she could find the cap. Unfortunately, she got distracted and left before she recapped the pen. Paul called her several hours later.