Tonight I am having about as good a meal as it gets. Steamed Blue Crabs and bacon wrapped dove breast off the grill. Friend brought me two dozen crabs back from Maryland. I'll supply the doves and bacon.

Anything with blue crabs is going to excellent.

Best I could do this week was Canada goose on the grill. With some Golden Oyster mushrooms from out back. Not too shabby either, but not blue crabs.

Grilled striped bass, acorn squash and salad. Fresh figs and duck prosciutto appetizer.

Pheasant [fresh today] picatta on angle hair pasta. Add to it a choice of wine and company of fellow hunters .

Halibut (caught last month in Alaska)

Appetizer- Halibut ceviche
Entree- Blackened halibut over red beans and rice. Homemade pepper sauces and red wine of course

Blackened Halibut by FGP1154, on Flickr

Whitetail roast, carrots, potatoes, fresh baked bread.

Tonight was leftover chicken and rice, but with sliced mild Italian elk sausage. Last night was yellowtail with fresh tangerine wedges, arugula salad with mango dressing, sliced avocado.

The last of the venison, along with pork sirloin and some ground chuck. Right after the chili’s hit the Dutch oven:



Served over rice, with fresh cornbread and a domestic beer:



The basic recipe is from Steve Bodio, and can be found in his book “On the Edge of the Wild”. I put the beans in my chili, instead of on the side, as Steve does, since, I wash the pans at my house.

Best,
Ted

Not sure where Bodio is from, but he may adhere to the S. Texas way of fixing chili. I once got ahold of a recipe from that area which stated that "putting beans in chili is heresy". It also added that the practice began in Mexico with peasants needing filler because they had not enough meat.

Whatever, it seems to have stuck. Almost 100% of the chili made around here has beans in it. Yours looks good, Ted. I like it both ways. We're having a chili cook-off at my church the end of this month in conjunction with the kid's Fall Festival.

SRH

I am not sure where Steve is from originally but the last I knew he was living in Socorro, New Mexico, about an hour below Albuquerque. I once owned a NID 16 gauge of his that accounted for the death of several SD pheasants!!

Belgian Mussels, French Fries, Salad and beer. (French spouse).

I had a real connoisseur's dinner;
Hand Slung Chittlings, Wipporwill Peas, Mustard Greens & Hoe Cakes made from stone ground yellow cornmeal. Had Lizzianne Coffee with Chickory to drink. The hardest part for me to find was the Chickory Coffee. I didn't personally "Harvest" any of this but as I do have a carry permit I "Rode Shotgun" for my Wife to go to the store.

If Y'all ain't tried this Don't Knock it.

I hoped I didn't encounter anyone very Mean as I was only carrying a little 1903 Colt Hammerless in .32 ACP. If I could manage to stick it up a perp's nose I could likely succeed in draining his sinus's really good.

I buy Luzianne coffe by the case. Saves about four dollars a can and I never run out. Amazing how much you can save if you buy in bulk on the internet even after shipping it cost four bucks less than if I can find it local.

When I was a boy and we killed hog on the farm the chittlings just disappeared like smoke. We had no shortage of help for that task. People worked and got lots of meat. The way it still should be. Jobs were divided up and everything got done like clock work.

Stan,
Mine is pretty mild, doubt most fans of Tex-Mex would be real impressed with it. I always use a couple pounds of several kinds of meat, happiest when I get elk or antelope, had moose one time, pork and beef are almost always in the mix.
We like it.

Perry,
Going from memory, Steve is in Magdelana, and has been since he relocated west, save a brief stay in Montana. He was raised in Boston, and lived up and down from there as a young man.
My R10 came from Steve, and I’ve lost count of the birds it has taken since I dragged it back from France with new wood and a sling in it.
Shown with my V19, the V is a 28 gauge, the R10 is a 12:




Best,
Ted

I thought about Magdalena Ted before I said Socorro!! Oh well, practically right next door with highway 60 running through both. Steve is a very pleasant person to talk to.

I retired Friday before last and hit the ground running following Monday at Bill Oyster's bamboo fly rod building course in Blue Ridge, Ga. I built a 7'9" 5 wt. I took up to Blue Ridge 10 lbs of Georgia White Wild Shrimp fresh off the Thunderbolt docks for a lowcountry boil for the participants and staff. I was too busy cooking to take good photos like the rest of y'all did, but here is the pot cooking corn, sausage and potatoes. I cook the shrimp separately which avoids overcooking and greasy skins. Here's about 2 lbs. left over on top of frozen water bottles in the cooler which avoids sogginess. During the six day course, Oct. 1-6, I cooked up the split cane rod below. The plan is to baptize it this weekend with my daughter Julia in the mountain streams of NC, but H. Michael may make other plans for us. Gil

Well done, buddy.

Would it be heresy to use that rod with a Prissy Miss when bream are on the bed next April? Or would an old cheap Shakespeare be more apropos?

SRH

Stan, thanks. It'll do just fine on a bream bed, New, Canoochee, or Ogeechee Rivers' Redbreasts or 'Gills. Gil

.
Root Beer Braised Short Ribs.
Remove the meat
Ditch the root vegetables
Reduce the Au Jus by 50% until the consistency of gravy
Serve over garlic mash potatos with steamed asparagus

Whatever my BW or daughter prepares!

With two top chefs in the house, I only go near the kitchen enroute to the dining room!

I catch or shoot it, they cook it!

Gil, I like the invisible wraps and the reel seat with the Half Wells grip. Did you use silk thread? I usually tip my wraps with another color. I used marine spar varnish with a camel brush for non impregnated rods.
I haven't made a rod in years, but I used to buy the bamboo blanks when they were reasonable. I found it hard to find the best cork to make the grips and can't remember the grade but it might have been A. Still have quite a few components but would need a magnifier to wrap and smooth finger tips for using silk.

David,
The thread I used was white silk which became clear when the coating was applied. I had wrapped rods in the past (glass and graphite) with heavier nylon but never with silk. Despite being thinner it was strong with no breaks. The big advantage of invisible wraps is not just the thread is invisible, but any gaps and overlaps between windings are also invisible. I did my best, avoided gaps and over wraps and also burnished which really wasn't necessary. About half the class opted for the single foot as opposed to the snake guides. Those that chose snakes were grumbling at their choice two hours into the step. Having wrapped rods before I knew what we were up against as it is tedious and precise and we had to get through the task by 4 pm that day so that the wraps could be coated. I've never wrapped a rod completely in one day as I always gave it a break and spread it out over a few days. The true colors of personalities surfaced as the air turned blue with curses, mutters and groans as the frustrations of rod wrapping, especially the snake wrappers and those who chose colors, became apparent, such as pulling the loop without the winding thread, cutting the windings instead of the tag, etc. Gil

I'll post another meal, not from last night but 10 days ago. Pheasant with chestnuts from our Japanese chestnut tree. French - "Faisan aux marrons". with stewed apple and potatoes roasted with the pheasant. Squirrels have made off with most of the chestnuts now. Gene

Chestnut fed squirrels would likely be the bomb-just sayin'.

Best,
Ted

I never had the privilege of eating a Chesnut fed squirrel. I have eaten them fed on hickory nuts, acorns, beechnuts, dogwood berries, poplar mast & I can't really recall what else. A young frying size squirrel was always high on my preference of game to eat though, so there is little doubt in my mind a Chesnut fed one would be delicious.

Gene the food looks amazing! Gil I'm really jealous and want to hear more about the spot oyster has at blue ridge please sir

Genevieve doesn't cook as much as she did - claims she got burned out making diplomatic dinners. But tonight she made Maigret de Canard al orange (duck breast with an orange sauce).

Argo, Could you post a recipe for that? I'll be ducking in the rain tomorrow morning. Who knows, I might even get lucky!

Don't know about Argo's recipe, but the easiest glaze for duck breasts is probably a few spoons of orange marmalade and some chardonnay in a sauce pan, reduce it slowly until it begins to thicken and then throw a big pat of real butter into it. The butter enriches the flavor and gives it a very nice sheen.

My favorite is Smucker's apricot preserves reduced with Jack Daniel's and the big butter pat. Dead nuts simple to execute and it will amaze your friends.

I asked for the recipe but there's something about the French; they'll almost never give you the whole recipe on anything...they'll always leave something out. Her response...."Next time I make it, you can do it and write it down."

Have to bring this back. - Escargot last night. Those giant Snails were dangerous....I debated using 9 shot....couldn't decide whether I needed steel or could use lead...are they water/marsh denizens or upland wood critters....so I used a nerf gun.

The best escargot I ever had was served up at a long closed piano bar in Northeast Minneapolis called, “Evette”. They were the size of prawns, broiled in what seemed like a cup of garlic butter.
My French hosts when I was last in St. Etienne were stunned to be in the presence of an American who didn’t drink Coke with every meal, and decided to attempt to find something I would turn my nose up at, unaware my depression era parents had raised me to be ready and willing to eat anything I could overpower. They tried escargot, in a cream sauce, and decidedly inferior to the plate I had in Northeast, years before, duck liver salad, swimming in hockey puck sized duck livers, the color of massive hematomas, blood sausage, hare in wine (delish) and other odd eats. I considered the trip to be a showcase event of European beers I couldn’t get here in the states, and had beer with every meal.
They admitted they had failed to get the laugh they hoped for. I ate everything they threw at me.
The snails look wonderful, Gene. Best I could do on short notice, a shot of yesterday’s bone in country style pork ribs, after the smoke was gone, and just before hitting the plate. I grille all winter long.



Best,
Ted

That looks delicious Ted. I'm down to using a Haibachi, though my son does grill all winter as well. Hope we continue these postings through Christmas.

Its true that the French eat a lot of things we normally don't - a huge variety rivaled only by the Chinese. But they've figured out how to make it all delicious.

As I said my wife Geneviève periodically goes on cooking strikes and I'm back to roasting chickens, and grilling steaks. She just had to do too many diplomatic dinners on three continents. But occasionally she goes back to her traditions, usually when the boys are in town. Here is a real French fruit tart she made last week when oldest (lives in Portland, Or. and NYC) visited. That cream base on the pastry is almost impossible to do by recipe - you really have to watch what she does (and when) to understand.

You guys are killing me with the food pics! For the last four years, Emily has devoted her life to raising two of our granddaughters who live next door. She gets up at 5:45 every morning and stays over there till 5:00. Then she's too worn out to cook. That was ok when I had a job, but now I've retired its getting old.

Yesterday for lunch I opened a can of sardines in mustard sauce and made a sandwich. I'd have taken a pic for you but it didn't look any better than it tasted. Funny how sardines and viennees taste so much better when you eat them as a hunting lunch or on a boat!...Geo

George, you forgot to include potted meat and spam.

I think I'll go for the canned smoked oysters for lunch today...Geo

I'll feed ya George. Come on over

This is an older picture, but it is the recipe I'll be doing tonight

Pheasant curry

Sorry to see that you have the flu BrentD. But it wasn't necessary to show us a picture of your vomit.

I wonder what snails, vomit, or sardines has to do with double shotguns?

Keith that’s a bit ignorant. If you don’t like the food thread just don’t read it. Several meals have been very interesting and mostly centered on game.

I was thinking along those same lines....

Brent'D needs to send Dave $50 bucks for making us look at that nasty picture.

Just be thankful that hockey hoser hasn’t shown up. I can’t stand that guy.

Geo, that’s why there are diners and delis. Or just go swipe a samich and fruit cup from your grandkids.


__________________________
https://youtu.be/u0tj5plyutk

Joe, my puppy dog, I adore the way you follow me around with your ad hominem attacks.

But today, you gave a HUGE idea, and I am really grateful for it. Every time you post a ad hominem message like this one, that I read, I am going to charge Dave $10. At the end of the year when Dave asks for donations, I'll send him my bill and he can take all the money collects (and probably a lot more) and send it on to me.

What a perfect arrangement.

See BrentD.

See BrentD IGNORE jOe.

IGNORE, IGNORE, IGNORE!

See BrentD show us how stupid it is to respond to someone you are IGNORING.

See BrentD's hunting dog IGNORE BrentD---

Don't go to him spot...he likes dog peckers.

Just like an entitlement-minded Democrat................... always looking for a way to take money someone else has earned and appropriate it for themselves, when they've done nothing to deserve it, and have only freeloaded off the working man. Great example there, BrentD.

SRH

Glad you like it Stan. I figured you would and would be none to slow to chime in.

Don't be deceived, I don't like it, I just recognize it.

SRH

Of course, Stan. Whatever you say.

Gene,
Tell your wife that fruit tart looks wonderful!

Can't hide your attraction to BrentD, eh?

Like'n two sour fwuit pies in the same wimdow...

Frank, you are starting to make Ed look smart now and that is hard to do.

Even Ed is smart enough to not keep responding to someone they claim to IGNORE.

So where does that leave you? Nevermind... we already know.

Thanks Steve, she doesn't make it very often anymore - does the apple tarts sometimes - and I thought it attractive. There's not a bit of sugar in that recipe except for the apricot jam glaze. I'll try to limit what I post here to fish and game. We'll be spending Christmas in Portland and my Daughter-in-law is a fantastic cook as well and will be preparing some game.

French country folk do cook a lot of game. In the Fall in Brussels, in restaurants that serve game we had to watch out for shot still in the meat. By the way Claude Monet painted a French tart (no jokes please): Gene Williams

Christmas Eve in Portland, Oregon and Daughter-in-law, to whom I gave the Gerest Berthon 16 gauge, cooked up an amazing meal.

Fresh Salmon on cheese and biscuits with pink Champagne.



Rabbit in cream sauce with mushrooms - best I've ever had. I don't think she shot the Hare though...



Merry Christmas.

BrentD meet at the down town mission I hear they're cooking up your favorite...

Let me guess- "Sloppy Joe's"?? With due respect to Hemingway's friend, Josie Russell, owner of Sloppy Joe's Bar in Key West- back in the day.

Christmas eve, we have a roast goose with sauerkraut, mashed potatoes and red cabbage-- I like a cold Warsteiner brau with my serving, other may prefer a suitable red wine. I am in a fairly good area of MI for geese, all season long- with a most generous daily bag limit.

Here's my "secret" to a great wild game meal-- Pick a younger bird from the bag, not always size alone- but the wings are one of the clues- if the joints are supple and bend easily. you have a youngster.

Skin out and remove breast bone and dis-joint the legs, saving only the thighs-- Marinate 48 hours in a glass bowl in Vernor's ginger ale--covered in your fridge. We use a Nesco electric roaster, same as you might use for a turkey--place bird sections, lightly peppered, on the rack, over a generous beddding of wet sauerkraut, laced with large apple slices dunked in brown sugar-

The trick to cooking waterfowl is to use high heat for a shorter time, so that when you place a sharp knife into the thickness of the breast meat, the blood barely drips from the blade-- I like to fry good quality bacon as the goose is nearing the end of cooking, and drain on paper towels, then garnish the goose and sauerkraut, prior to serving--

For New Year's I do pheasants on the charcoal grill- dressed out breasts wrapped in good bacon, and with sweet onion slices and apple slices, peppered, and double wrapped in Reynold's wrap-- I use a Weber charcoal grill, and put the wrapped birds on the "off-direct-heat" side of the grill rack- about 45 minutes, turning the packed in foil birds several times-- Baked potatoes with sour cream, and asparagus and a Zindandel or Merlot, caesar salad and rolls- Bon appetite..

Actually BrentD likes dog peckers lightly saute'd and slowly cooked in fresh cow puke....

Brently must'a took the picture down because it was making people sick.

It was bad trust me Fox.

Hmm. Lots of smoke from pecan and hickory chips coming out of the Weber rotisserie on a Christmas afternoon.
Wonder what it could be?



I’ll let you know when it is done.

Best,
Ted

Christmas eve my son and I chowed down on a rather simple meal....freshly shucked oysters followed by seared Ahi Tuna steaks and a Caesar salad. It was his first time with oysters and he loved them. After he scarfed down the seared tuna, he said it was the best fish he'd ever eaten.

Tonight, with a larger crowd, we'll be having at a prime rib with Yorkshire pudding.

Roast Christmas duck, done over charcoal and wood:






Alexandra made a pot of garlic mashed potatoes and steamed some veggies. The wine is some sort of blush she prefers, I had a Papst.

Wish I could tell you it was a fat corn fed mallard harvested yesterday in western Manitoba, but, it isn’t. I got it from the local butcher, he gets a few dozen of them from a local farmer around the holidays. It isn’t even a mallard, but, some sort of domestic duck raised to be good on the table.

Life is good.

Still looks good Ted. I’m so stuffed I can barely type. Best to you all.

I'm jealous argo and Ted! What kind of cooker is that Ted?

Weber “Performa” with the optional rotisserie attachment. Common as empty beer cans, available everywhere.

Mine is 15 years old. Cooked a dump truck full of good, no, great chow on it.

Best,
Ted

Not bad at all Ted, looks like you know your way around that grill.

Craig,
Thanks, but, I’ve always felt the Missus got the short end of that stick. She handles cooking the things that grow in the dirt, and I handle cooking things that give up more reluctantly before becoming food.
Grilling, for me, mostly involves the consumption of adult malted beverages, and watching my timepiece after the smoke tones down. It never seemed difficult, to me.

Best,
Ted

Disagree with Run with the Fox. Give me my fat canvasbacks and redheads roasted low and slow, without any junk inside. After waxing, slit skin with boxcutter around neck, down both sides of backbone, behind legs joining at the belly. Then snip off the head, backbone, synsacrum, entrails, and rear end as a nice clean unit with little odor or blood. Then fold, tie or band legs inside body cavity to prevent drying. Ditto with swans in the biggest Reynolds baking bags.

Where I hunt- area rivers near cornfields and soybeans, ponds and backwaters- I mainly get pass shooting at Canada geese and mallards- no divers- sometimes a few mergansers zip by, they get a "free pass" as do the seagulls, herons, etc.

What is with the wax? I just fillet out the breast meat, save the legs, both items skinned and the "silver skin' removed before they get into the marinade bowl. What pray tell, is "synsacrum"?

Wet bagged sauerkraut keeps the meat moist in the covered roasting pan, I love German style food (and beer) so I eat it, that's why I add the apple slices sprinkled with brown sugar, but you can discard it after the bird(s) are cooked if you wish.

My Wife and Son put me on notice some time ago, that any and all meat belonged in the smoke on the grille, and that is how they prefer it.
I can sneak it in the broiler, if it is raining, hard, otherwise they expect it grilled.
It is my preferred method. I’ve been known to cook all the courses, including dessert, over charcoal. A nice cast iron skillet of cornbread, served with a drizzle of honey, a scoop of ice cream and a miniature dove bar, is heavenly cooked in smoke.

Best,
Ted

Ted, that duck looks far better than the one featured in A Christmas Story served at the Chinese Restaurant. Regards, Gil

Gil,
The duck was most excellent. A quartered lemon went inside, garlic salt and pepper were sprinkled in and out. About 2 hours, with a small recharge of lump charcoal, I started with Sam’s Club briquettes. 1 Cup of damp wood chips about evenly divided between hickory and pecan, at the beginning, not because of any secret taste from that combo, it was simply what I had a cup of.
Might have to check if the sausage guy has anymore of them.

Best,
Ted

. Paella with pheasant and deer sausage

OK Run. I hunt big lakes for divers with rowboat. Seldom field hunt for waterfowl.

Waxing is my preferred way of removing down and pinfeathers after birds are rough plucked and wings and feet removed. use the head for dipping in hot water with melted stripping wax on top. That is how poultry is made so clean for the market. The wax is usually sold as 'turkey stripping wax" and comes in big blocks. When you get it right all the wax comes off in just a few pieces and goes right back into the kettle. I use a big one that will wax a whole swan or goose.

The synsacrum is the plate of fused ribs at the rear of the vertebral column. I twist it off when I clean ducks as described earlier.

I note that canvasbacks sold for ten times the price of mallards in the market hunting days. I'm sort of like you with geese. I cut breasts into finger size pieces, bread, and bake.

Night time. Check. 15 degrees. Check. Nice, Smokey hickory fire in the grille. Check.




A nice chunk of salmon, hanging out in the smoke:





A plate fit for a King. Or, me:



Alexandra’s own mix of wild and medium grain rice, cooked in chicken stock, steamed vegetables, fried plantain (the chick is Colombian, after all) and smoked salmon.
Fish by me. We cook almost all of our meals to order, every night.




Best,
Ted

Never ate a canvasback, neither a redhead. But, have had mallard, gadwall, woodies, teal, etc. Any duck that beats teal or acorn or corn fed woodies has got to go some. Just sayin'.

SRH

Is that wild rice, Ted? One of my favorite vegetables (and it is a veggie, not a grain). My wife makes an amazing wild-rice salad...almost a nutty flavor.

I think wild rice is actually a member of the grass family. This is local stuff, bought in bulk from one of the tribes, guessing the Red Lake Band, since, that is where I got it. It isn’t labeled.
Wild rice is a very labor intensive food to produce. I have friends that harvest it locally, it involves two people in a canoe, and, mosquitoes.

My wife ate medium grain rice almost daily in her previous life. I’ve introduced her to wild rice, potato’s, and grilled food. Probably some other stuff, too, but it escapes me at the moment.

She took to it like a baby duck to water.

Best,
Ted

Ted, I think "wild" rice cultivation has advanced quite a bit. The two-in-a-canoe is probably a thing of the past given it's availability in every grocery store on the planet.

Being from Minnesota, I grew up with it (it was much more expensive then) and acquired the taste. I prefer not to mix it with white rice however.

I think you are right about it being not a rice but something else.

Two in a canoe thing is if you want to do it yourself. You can actually do that here.

Like, hunting. It also requires a license.

My wife didn’t grow up with it (I did) and I like it both ways. But, I like it best when she cooks it, and, she mixes it with white rice.

I pick my battles very carefully.

Best,
Ted

"I pick my battles very carefully."

Ted:

You are a very wise man.

Rem

I have not eaten a lot of different varieties of duck, but of those I have, Woodies & Redheads were my favorites. Never had the opportunity to try a Canvasback though I always heard they were fine eating.

Do not have much experience with geese either. I shot a young Blue once which ate mighty good. Only other geese I have eaten were Canadas. To my taste that Blue was far above the Canadians.

My experience with taste of ducks and geese is that it depends mostly on what the birds are eating---same as milk coming from cows that fed in salt marshes.

Ducks I've had to throw out because they stunk up the house at other times came out of the pan tasting like grouse and pheasants.

I've eaten truly wonderful sea ducks, scoters and eiders, cooked by our fishing-village relatives in wood-stove ovens but couldn't replicate their results.

I sat in their kitchens, notebook in hand, recorded times and temperatures, basting and vegetables, but couldn't make their magic on an electric stove.

No matter how many times I tried.

REALLY enjoyed this thread, fellows--thank you!

That pot of Paella looks to die for. We make it in a big Lodge iron skillet, but, I want a paella pot, and an ounce or two of fresh saffron in my house before I die.

Best,
Ted

Saffron really adds to the paella, IMO.

Sago pondweed (Potamogeton pectinatus)tubers are what give
Canvasbacks their unique nutty flavor. That is why they sold for ten times the price of Mallards in the market hunting days. The plant is also a staple of Tundra Swans, and when they are feeding American Wigeon are usually there to eat the scraps. The tubers are like thin potatoes about 3/4" long and the birds dig them from the bottom soils. Canvasback hunting is almost a thing of the past around here, as the high water levels have destroyed the sago beds. Ditto with wigeongrass (Ruppia), another favorite food of migrant waterfowl.

The best Chicken Biriyani I ever had was in Singapore where I lived for a couple of years 1973-75 is a backwater area on the western end of the Island. There was an old Tamil who always wore a doti, with a stall in a makeshift food court, who made up a huge pot of biriyani every morning. It was amazing...and one secret was saffron in the rice. I ate Biriyani all over the world trying to find that taste - India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kenya, London....nothing tasted like that little food stall by the side of the street. - no doubt Singapore has banned such stalls these days.

My favorite food of all time is Green-wing Teal. I have a pair in the freezer for a special occasion. Jim

I think almost all ducks are good eating, but only if they are FAT. Young local birds usually have not had enough time to fatten up for migration. I do draw the line on Ruddy Ducks and Common Mergansers. Have shot fat Hooded Mergansers and they were good and had been eating vegetative material. Have had little experience with sea ducks.

Spatchcock pheasant in the crockpot:





Per my hunting buddy and foodie Lloyd, the bird was hung 100 hours, then, drawn and plucked. I removed the spine down both sides of the back, and laid him out on a bed of celery, and added enough of a mixture of half and half and chicken stock, mushrooms and pearl onions to mostly hide him. Garlic sea salt and pepper. This was a pretty fat bird. It isn’t a formal recipe, just a combination of things I had on hand that seemed like they would be good. The farmer says they run tough this time of year.
Probably have him with mashed potatoes, dinner rolls, a steamed green veggie, and my last bottle of Brazilian wheat beer.

Best,
Ted

Dinner:





It was wonderful.

Best,
Ted

They way you cooked it Ted had to make it tender. That looks fantastic.

During the winter we like to make sort of one-dish meals...lots of Shepard's pie, cottage pie, curry's of various sorts....that sort of thing. We make a huge pot of beef stew that last for a couple of weeks depending on presence of predators.......visiting sons..... It doesn't look like much but it is actually fantastic on a 3 season day:



Genevieve’s Beef Stew
big stew - can be downsized

6 lbs Angus beef stew meat cubed
1 quart box Nature’s Promise low sodium beef broth
1 14.5 oz can vegetable broth
2 purple onions
1 yellow onion
8 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt/ 2 pinches of fresh ground blackpepper
1 tbs Worchestershire sauce
1 tsp Maggi sauce
1 pinch cumin
1 pinch ground chili pepper
1 pack baby carrots
1 pack yellow corn
1 pack peas
3 russet potatoes
6 tbs of peanut oil

Roast meat (on 7) in peanut oil (about 3 min) - 1/2 at a time; add salt, ground pepper, add more oil as needed, careful not to burn, stir constantly.
Slice onions on a slicer (1/2 rings)
take meat out and cook onions in juice until caramelized (10 min). add oil as needed; scrape up meat residue with onions using a wooden spatula
put meat back in with onions and add the broth, mix
1/4 cup flour in a measuring cup, + 3/4 cup of broth; whisk. Strain into stew.
Add Maggi Sauce, Worchestershire, salt, pepper, cumin, ground chili pepper
add garlic - large chunks
cook for 2 hours - on 7 till bubbling; throttle back to 5, then on 2.

Add whole baby carrots; frozen vegetables & raw potatoes and simmer for another 2-3 hours
Adjust spices

+ 1 tomato and parsley

Gene,
The pheasant was quite tender.

Your lovely wife’s stew looks and sounds remarkably like my Irish Mother’s stew, which, she used a pressure cooker to soften tougher cuts of meat for the stew.

My mother always made a big pot of mashed potatoes, and served the stew over them.
Mom’s would not have had chili pepper in it, otherwise, the recipes would interchange.

Good stuff.

Best,
Ted

Pressure cooker works and is very efficient. Gv, who really would be happy in post WWI Alsace, prefers the Le Creuset cast iron slow cooker...Results are the same in the end. We do use her very old French Pressure Cooker to make a French vegetable soup/potage.

Our cast iron is Lodge. We have a bunch of it. The Le Creuset was above my pay grade when I was buying pots and pans after I got married-it would have interfered with good gun purchases.
We do have a glass on iron Lodge pot that gets used for soups and brazing, but, I don’t believe it is as big as yours.




Best,
Ted

Soft crabs for lunch. Baby back ribs, with an appetizer of Dove breast wrapped in bacon for dinner. Season needs to come soon, I starting to run low on Dove breast. I had 300 plus. Where did they all go? Oh yeah, on the grill wrapped in bacon. Yum, Yum.

Argo44, I think I will copy your recipe and adjust it for my wife. She can not do Gluten anymore. So out with the flour, and in with corn flour or corn starch. The rice flour substitutes are poor for soups and stews.

Jon,
Try masa heraina as a substitute for flour. I’ve used it in chili and stews for decades. No gluten issues, here, but, with a South American wife, we always have it on hand.

Best,
Ted

All the comments about slower cooking had me thinking about using our sous vide gadget on game, and tougher cuts of interesting meats. Last fall, we did some big horn sheep that friends gave us. It turned out moist and tender, but medium rare. Good stuff.

Summer is here. Pork ribs on the Weber, in a bunch of hickory smoke:



Dinner was my happy problem, last night. Momma, not so patiently waiting:



She eats like a pack mule at sunset. How she maintains 115lbs is a mystery to me.

Main event, on the plate. There were some dinner rolls, and a butter lettuce and spinach salad, with walnuts, croutons, dried cranberries, and poppy seed dressing, but, they weren’t on the plate just yet.



Good fare, cooked at home.





Best,
Ted

Well, tonight it is a low country boil. Wonder what the po'folks are having...Geo

No pictures?

You had a quarter pounder with sneeze, at McDonalds.

Prove otherwise.

Best,
Ted

Haven't had it yet because 67galaxie is fixing it for supper...Geo

Garlic Chicken. Not as good as Shorty's Fried Rice in Rota, Spain but pretty good.

Tua esposa esta una Senora muy linda- El Zorro!!

Steve Bodio is a Mass native- of Italian stock-- likes Model 12's, and also the Ithaca NID series. Good writer, also a falconer and an environmentalist. Used to write for GSJ- along with my USMC buddy John Hewitt. He may never have the standing that the late Michael McIntosh has, but he does know shotguns-and is a good writer. RWTF

Chicken Marsala with a side of sautéed eggplant with tomatoes and garlic. Made my wife very happy, which is always a good thing.

Venison chorizo, black beans, rice, red bell peppers, onions, fresh sliced tomatoes and avocado, topped with sour cream and cheese. Leftovers with eggs. Darn but that is good.

My wife makes me Cioppino, an Americanized, Italian fish stew with tomatoes and chicken stock. Also Boulliabaise, French fish stew with fish stock, fennel, and potatoes.

Weight watchers style has 3 not 4 sea items. I don't care for mussels or clams in it, except as a decoration.

They are similar, but different enough to go left or right, and either be good.

Cioppino today.

Seems like everything you say around here you got to provide photographic proof:



Good as you're gonna get in a restaurant, courtesy of 67galaxie at his new steakhouse here "Jack's Chophouse". Only one might have an edge on this is Gil and Billy's camp made low country boil at the farm...geo

Funnin you Geo. Looks yummy.



Dinner became Mommacita’s problem the next night. She makes a soup/stew she calls pasoli, but, it bears little resemblance to the Mexican version by the same name, I suppose because she isn’t Mexican, but, Colombian.The broth is tomatillo based, and she will use either pork or chicken, and a bit of either stock to take the tang down. Beans, hominy,and some other stuff go in, and we serve it with a baguette, and garnish of cilantro and sliced radishes.
Simple fare, perfect for a rainy evening.


Best,
Ted

That looks delicious Ted

Cottontail in wine sauce with mushrooms wild rice and garden asparagus. Might be good. Might not.

George, at hunt camp, hardtack and boiled shoe tongue would be good after hunting all day. But lowcountry boil is mighty good. Which reminds me of a joke another old friend told me close to 50 years ago: A group of men had been hunting in the north woods for decades and tradition was that camp chores were decided by drawing straws. Jeff was anointed camp chef, a grinding chore which was his until someone complained about the food. The complainer became the chef. He was sick of the chore and baked a pie consisting of a moose turd he found near the camp. Rick was chowing down on a slice and his face had a look of disgust. Finally he recognized it for what it was : "Moose turd pie?? But good!"

I guess next you'll be wanting to see a picture of the turd to anal'ize that Mr. Sniffle'beAn...

Ted,
We started eating Pasole when in Santa fe.
It's a favorite here.
I noticed no chili's in your recipe.
We use 1 small can green chili's per pot.
Onion
1 can yellow hominy
1 can white hominy (whatever is on hand)
Pork shoulder, cubed,
Mexican oregano,
Chicken or vegetable stock

Dang that sound delish!!!!!! I love hominy.....the missus can't stand it!

No chili’s because they aren’t in my Wife’s culture. When I was last in Bogota, you had to ask for the salt shaker in a restaurant, and I had to buy a pepper shaker because the restaurants didn’t have pepper. That said, I could feed 4 or 5 people lunch, the big meal of the day, for well under $10. Very fresh, heavy on rice, beans, plaintain, other veggies, but, a bit bland.
Colombia is a big country, and that was the Andies-head to the coast, and you wouldn’t recognize the food, or, the people.

Another example. Carnitas, Colombian version, as opposed to Mexican:




The pork cooks, in her spices, in the crockpot most of the day. Some cilantro, lettuce, tomatoes, bell pepper, sometimes a grated cheese, sour cream, perhaps a side of retried beans, but, not this day. I eat flour tortillas, she likes corn. Alexandra’s homemade guacamole, always. A couple domestic beers, and it is just like heaven.



Best,
Ted

Tough to screw up a bunny. Best meal I had in Lyon, France, was hare.

Best,
Ted

The Colombian food all looks great Ted, except the cilantro. Cilantro tastes like soap to me.....yuk. Can’t decide what brand of soap, but soap. And how do I know what soap tastes like, during my formative years my Mom treated me to a bar in my mouth on several occasions.....blah, barf.

Oh, I don't know about that Ted.
I once shot a cottontail that had been eking out a living on a slag heap.
Par boiled, then stewed, even the gravy was chewy.

It was a little bit overcooked I'm afraid. Still tasty enough, but could have come off the stove a few minutes sooner.

Not the bunnies fault....


Best,
Ted

Nope. Only mine. I do not do many bunnies.

Buzz,
My Dad didn’t like cilantro, either. Alexandra got in the habit of putting it on the side.
I can take it, or leave it. Now, the bread and butter is a whole different thing.

Best,
Ted

Looks darn good Ted! Had goose in black bean sauce for lunch today.

Good to hear from you, Lloyd. The corned goose you guys make is the bomb.

Best,
Ted

Argo, I notice that you do not have any sort of dipping sauce for the mussels. Do you not use any? I like mussels, but I have got to have a tangy cocktail sauce with mine!! No matter though. You have BEER!!!

Summer, the policy of “everything goes on the grille” continues.



A ring of coals around the perimeter, perhaps half a cup of damp hickory chips, 15 minutes or so in the heat and the smoke.

Barbecued pizza.



Best,
Ted

Jugged Hare?? A real French delicacy, Mon Ami-- Bon Appetit!! Le Reynard!!

From Normandy, we went out to restaurants regularly but made a couple of meals at the B&B. Here is the Pont l'Abbey Charcuterie- Bucherie where we bought 6 marinated steaks, 6 marinated pork chops, sausages, home-made pate, etc. Cooked it on the grill and the results were satisfying.



Before cooking....check out that bread in the center of the table....that is a piece of art!!

Here is a dish Genevieve made tonight. Various veggies...Zucchini, onion, tomato, bell pepper stuffed with a secret mixture of pork, deer, beef (beef alone works...pork add juices) mixed with ground veggies - she developed this back when the kids were young to sneak veggies into their diet - the mixture works as a stuffing in cannelloni too. It's usually covered with parts of a catch-all spaghetti/tomato sauce that works for everything from pasta to pizza.



Spaghetti Sauce - 20 min - Gene

1 can of peeled tomatos
1 8oz can of tomato paste

2 onions - chopped
4 garlic cloves - chopped

3 tbs olive oil

1.5 tbs dried Oregano
1 tbs dried Basil
1/2 tps Curry powder
1 tps dried red peppers
1 tps pepper
1 tps salt
1 beef bullion cube
2 tbs sugar
2 tbs parmesan cheese - grated

1/4 cup white wine

In a large pot, put in olive oil, bring to medium heat;
put in onion and cook till clear;
add chopped garlic for 30 seconds (do not burn).
Add the can of peeled tomatoes…- cut each in the center with scissors to let the juices out, add the tomato paste and water (I like 3:1 rather than traditional 2:1 water to paste); then add the spices and white wine.
Let simmer for 15 minutes. Voila.

Good stuff.

I and my family were the guests of the Vang clan for their family picnic. They are one of the larger tribes of Hmong who were settled in this country. The food, which, I neglected to get photos of, is spectacular, heavily influenced by Tai cuisine, since most Hmong spent time in Tai refugee camps.

Everyone is welcome in the Vang family.



From the left, representatives of Liberia, Ethiopia, India, USA, Colombia, Laos, and another American. I convinced the pretty Colombian to marry me, 14 years ago.


Best,
Ted

There are two books on the war in Laos worth reading:

Shadow War by Conroy:

https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-War-CIAs-Secret-Laos/dp/1581605358

And better Undercover Armies by the CIA's historian Jack Ahern. I've read the classified version which will blow you away. The version you can get will have a lot of black marks in it.

https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/6_UNDERCOVER_ARMIES.pdf

I have a deep suspicion of any other version of this history because the historian often has an agenda which effects his scholarship. I knew a lot of guys involved in that war in Laos....Operation "White Star" was 7th SFG involvement there. In the end, about 250 American para-military led 60,000 armed mountaineers in an amazing stand against the regular North Vietnamese Army...talk about force multipliers.

No war today, Gene, just a good time with good food in the company of friends who come from all over the world.
All of these people are my friends, and, I am a much richer man from the experience.
Their American Dream is no different from my own.

Thank you for your service.

Best,
Ted

Tonight....Pork roast....Fennel Gratin...sliced small potatoes with a gravy scrapped from the roast pan. The pork roast was especially delicious.

Gene,
Unusual day here, shared a light lunch with the wife and son, then they left for volunteer duty at church-I wasn’t on the guest list actually. Thus, the bird dog became my date for the informal Anoka car show, where I met my younger brother.

The Missus makes up a mean shrimp cocktail. The ingredients I know are shrimp (duh) ginger, garlic, cilantro, Clamato, Chalupa hot sauce, chopped avocados, salt, pepper, lime, love and some mystery. Her Colombian angle on eats is not to be underestimated.






Uh, how many beers did I have, Louise?




Puppy cones are free at Dairy Queen in Circle Pines.

Summer is good times around here.


Best,
Ted

Wow Ted...that mixture of spices....just wow. And PBR....I worked as a bartender in Tuscaloosa for about 3 months in summer 1971 waiting from my Foreign Service Application to go through in a bar which sold the most PBR in all of Alabama.

I never much was a fan of muscle cars in the 1960's....I was just too poor I guess. I bought a VW Van in 1968 for $800 upon return from VN...no flower on the door...which I drove to the Atlanta Pop...first big spectacle after Woodstock where I saw Jimmi Hendrix play Star Spangled Banner at midnight on the 4th of July. I then turned into a Jeep guy.

Ice cream for a field dog? Are you giving away trade secrets?

She gets about 2 or 3 a year. At 5, due to the daily exercise regimen I have her on, she is 41 pounds of rock solid muscle. I think the exercise is the trade secret. All my dogs have been fed by Purina, and they get meat table scraps.

I’ve owned the Olds about a quarter century, restored it myself, and from what I have seen, it is one of damn few on original 400 power, and original drivetrain. This is a luxury car, pretending it is a muscle car, a/c, PW, PS, PB, tilt, power drivers bucket seat, cruise control, vacuum power trunk, and some other stuff I probably forgot. It will literally cruise all day long at 90mph with the 3:08 gears.

Actual muscle cars get old, fast, when it is in the low 90 degree temps and you are stuck in traffic.

We had pork loin the other day, there is a picture in Stan’s July 4th thread.

I love pork. And shrimp. And I’m lucky I don’t weigh 300 pounds.

The dog helps.

Best,
Ted

No comment on the Fennel? A spicy and tasty veggie very underused...

I thought of fennel after you mentioned it, when Stan brought up his rolled duck breast and sausage. I've never tried it with duck, but fennel and maybe some apple added to sausage in rolled pork is good eating. I'd like to try it on some duck this upcoming season. We use fennel with other odds and ends, too. But, your plates and the trimmings always look great.

If I’ve eaten it, I’m unaware of it. Not native to my wife’s cooking, but, there are some vegetables she brings to the table I never heard of, prior to her-plantain, yucca, some others.
I’ll keep my eye open for it, and a recipe for same.

Best,
Ted

I use fennel bulb in my venison stew along with many other veggies including kohlrabi and Brussel's sprouts. Fennel is like celery with a mild licorice taste.

My wife makes Brussel sprouts by slicing them in half and frying them in bacon. Lots of bacon.

Damn, they are good that way.

Best,
Ted

Got first wild turkey 29 May as the Washington State season ended, a good-sized jake. Had him for dinner June 9th thanks to BJ, former caterer and wife of former colleague. Cooked in a bag, the bird was moist and considerably tastier than the store-bought critter. Shotgun is a Darne R16 in ten gauge. Used 1-1/8 oz of #5 shot.

Regards, Tim

Tim:

What does your 10 Gauge Darne weigh? I have one with 2-7/8 inch chambers that goes 7 pounds 3 ounces. Yours is the only other Darne 10 I’ve ever seen or heard of, although I seem to remember Ted Schefelbein saying he knew of six in the US. Mine is a grade 10.

Rem

Darne 10 bores for sale on Naturaabuy.fr

https://www.naturabuy.fr/DARNE-Calibre-10-item-4898874.html
https://www.naturabuy.fr/Fusil-Francisque-Darne-type-v19-cal-10-70-item-5565778.html

Mr. Carney wrote an article that appeared in The Double Gun Journal, that included three sliding breech guns, including the 10 gauge. Perhaps he can remind us of the issue and year, my collection is not close at hand.

I remember some of the things he went through to get the 10 gauge right, including some sub standard work in France. A pity they couldn’t get it right the first time, and an indication as to why there is no longer an importer to the US.

A 10 gauge Darne is indeed, a rare gun. Fransisque Darne also teased about a version of their gun being available in 10 gauge circa 1936, and I would really love to find one by either maker.

Best,
Ted

The seller refers to the second gun as a Fransisque Darne. It is not. It is an earlier Darne built when the company still used stars for quality marks. Note that it is proofed with powder PS.

Best,
Ted

You're right Ted. I didn't look closely at the two guns in France. But this early Darne looks really nice....the engraving is quite interesting.



PS = pre 1900;
6.5 = chambered in centimeters...i.e. 1889 -1912
6440 = Darne SN or would this be the barrel maker? If Darne, that makes it pretty early - Darne was founded in 1881?.....

Gene,
PS powder could be specified well after 1900, and it is my understanding that guys who specified heavy loads did just that. I don’t have a firm cutoff date, but, I suspect 1915 would be about the end.
The semi smokeless powders in their proof forms were easier to get consistent proof pressures with, at least at the beginning of the smokeless era.

Best,
Ted

Aforementioned Brussels sprouts:




Looks better plated with ribs and salad:




Best,
Ted

That's exactly how the brussel sprouts look when we make them. Cut in half, sauteed, light sea salt, although no fair with the bacon. That could make anything taste good. We had bbq ribs yesterday, but maybe sacrilege, we cut it off the bone and had it sandwich style on fresh baked crusty hard rolls.

Back to basics tonight:

Craig,
Any meal that features two courses of pig and a cold bucket of suds is going to be good.

Seriously, give the ‘sprouts a whirl in a few strips of bacon. You will like it.

Best,
Ted

Vitamin G (Grease) from bacon would make a salad of cigarette butts taste good. Gil

Kudos on everything in the pictures you shared. Your hunting attire, shotgun and how well you cooked the bird is spot on. Argo-I am receiving some wagyu strip loins in today and am going to cook them the same way. Homemade herb butter in a cast iron skillet. Maybe I can lure Geo up here with one

Hungarian Stroganoff made with our chukar partridge is a much requested house favorite! Watch out for a big fat #6 shot!

Have grown and frozen Brussel's sprouts for many years. A single long stalk yields well over a hundred in my rich black loam. Very important to not harvest until after a few frosts. They get yellowish inside and become much sweeter. I see I harvested my last bag in early November.

We usually roast Brussel sprouts rather than pan frying them. Spray a little oil on a sheet pan, sprinkle the pan with salt, pepper and garlic powder, cut the tip off each sprout and then cut the individual sprouts in half, place cut side down, spray with a bit more oil and season again. Roast 20 minutes (more or less) in a 450 degree oven. They brown on the cut side and caramelize beautifully.

Last night's dinner was a meal called "Chicken in the Heather", which I generally make with Cornish hens. Cut the hens in half and place in a baking dish. Mix 1/2 cup of honey, 1/3 cup of whole grain mustard, 1/3 cup of light oil (canola oil works well), 2-4 teaspoons of curry powder and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and pour over the hens. Cover the baking dish and insert into a preheated 375 degree oven for one hour. After the hour, remove the cover, spoon the pan juices over the hens and return to the oven for another 25-30 minutes (until the skin gets a bit crispy). Place hens on a serving platter and pour pan juices into a gravy boat. Serve with something like roasted Brussel sprouts and a baked potato (over which I always pour some of the pan juices). It's really good.

You had me a wagyu...Geo

Okay guys, not complaining at all here, consider putting one piece on the side and searing it with no butter or herbs. If it's decent stuff, maybe no cooking oils of any type, just lightly salted with something decent, half before it hits the heat and the other half while it's resting. Rare only? Gett'in hungry.

Ted and Rem,
The Regis Darne 10 gauge, F Darne fils aime 16 gauge, and Charlin 12 gauge are in The DGJ Vol 26 Issue 1 of 2015.

The 10 gauge weighs 7 lbs 2 oz. after I had Darne put a new stock on it. Darne also submitted the gun to proof at St. Etienne and it has superior proof marks. New barrels were needed after Briley messed up cutting for choke tubes and handsomely paid Kirk Merrington to make new barrels.

I've used the gun for geese, handloading #2 NICE shot in cut down (to 2-7/8 in)Federal primed hulls. Have also used it for upland birds and, of course, recently for turkey!

Regards, Tim

Where do you get your nice shot from?

No pictures yet but spent the last few days in rural Minnesota eating the fruits of the land and water. Fresh caught Walleye, blackbear jerky and corned-goose Rubins were on the menu and a good time was had by all. Swimming, boating and fishing! Lake life at it's finest. The timing of the trip was almost perfect as the weather was close to perfection. Can't beat that.

Bought it, as I recall, from a member of this board.

Regards, Tim

Rubins was a painter- NOT a corned beef and sauerkraut sandwich-- Reuben is the correct spelling. RWTF

Wood duck is going on the grill for me. Home grown potato and garden salad. Not sure what else.

How are you doing the grilled woodie, Brent?

SRH

wood duck are ok...chicken are better...

Chicken is subsistence food. Good for Southern Baptist covered dish dinners, and such.

Woodies, teal, doves, quail ................. that is high cotton.

SRH

my number one son raises a type of chicken that has been created for meat production...these birds reach five pounds, live weight, by age nine months...

their breasts are huge and tender, like those of late fifties blonde bombshell movie stars...thighs and legs are normal size, except they are, as one would expect, somewhat tough...from supporting all that weight...

by the time these birds are ready for slaughter...they can hardly walk...sad, i guess, but they sure are tasty...

Perdue does that a hell of a lot faster. Four to five pounds at seven weeks, ten pounds at 20 weeks. The reason they have large breast is genetics. They cross a very large breasted bird like a Cornish game hen into the breeding line. And it is a myth that they can hardly walk. Hell if you get into turkeys the size becomes staggering, well past 30 pounds.

Amen!

So this damn Yankee has had to look up the meaning of "high Cotton" and "low Cotton", pretty interesting if nothing else.

recently I had to look up what a Brit meant by calling a gun "Marmite"....., which ended up meaning "either you love it or hate it"

Talking food without pictures is like evaluating a SxS without photos. There are some delicious dinners mentioned above. An I-Phone usually is around at such events. Just saying.

If you guys have not looked at the cook books Duck duck goose and Pheasants, Quail and cottontail you are missing out. When in doubt make a gumbo

Chili Lime grilled Salmon
Marinating

Resting

Plated with Brown rice and a green salad base


Delicious and good for you

Nice looking salmon. Last night, I had some Alaskan Chinook that a friend traded to me. Your recipe sounds pretty good.

We eat pretty plainly.
1/3 Venison products, 1/3 fish, 1/3 birds
Mostly plants.

That's a farm raised fish. Great Lakes salmon are coming soon.

Like Ted, the Indoor kitchens are off, if the grilling center can be used, until further notice.

Berries are in right now, so I'm double dosing anti-oxidants these days as well as serving rich fish.

I'll be eating Cullen skink in a couple weeks.
That salmon will go 6 meals.
Probably crumbled into a salad nicoise, if this heat stays around.

Pretty basic this evening - Chicken brochettes (Kabobs)...onion, tomato, green pepper, pineapple..,,,chicken marinated for 24 hours in some sauce wife keeps secret. Basted with butter on the Haibachi....about the only grill I can handle...a couple had some very hot pepper powder sprinkled on the. Green salad and rice were the rest of the meal. Tasty....basic.





I weedled the Marinade out of her:
1) rub salt and pepper into the chicken cubes....really work it in.
2) rub cumin into the chicken....again really work it in.
3) rub in a spicy red pepper powder.....work it in,
4) then add olive oil....don't put the oil first otherwise the spices will not penetrate the meat
5) add several chunks of garlic to the bowl....turn with hands.
Put in refrigerator overnight.

By the way, when salt and peppering steaks for a cast-iron frying pan searing stage, this flake salt is simple the best. Try it. Max heat...two minutes per side. Then finish in oven...or, I prefer to let it rest for 60 seconds, while pan cools down to medium then cook for 3-4 minutes per side depending on thickness...then rest 5 minutes under aluminum foil...

Fresh smelt:



Fairly important, as on a trout, to get this blood line out after you clean the fish. It scrubs right out with the wife’s toothbrush:






Dropped into a Dutch oven full of vegetable oil, out on the deck:



I use a mix of 50/50 masa herena corn flour and regular flour, beer, salt and baking powder for my beer batter. Plated, with garlic mashed potatoes and a garden salad, along with my regular dinner wine-PBR, in the can.

Good stuff.



Best,
Ted

You use her toothbrush Ted? Why not be a gentleman and use your toothbrush instead?? RWTF

I never ate anyhing with my smelt. Only a beer to wash them down.

Smelt looks good. Anything small and fried is usually good. I'm doubtful about whose toothbrush gets used? If true though, you're a braver soul than I...Geo

Cool. I used to be that guy, like 40 years ago. Now, I have a wife that can make mashed potatoes that will bring a tear to my eye, wondering how the poor folk are doing.

The toothbrush comment was a joke. I figured it would go over a head or two, and, it did, one head for sure.

I keep waiting to be surprised at who doesn’t get it, but, that never happens.

Best,
Ted

"Weedled it out of her"?? Wheedle might be the correct term- as Hannibal Lecter said to Clarice Starl ing-- "Old Jackie -boy sent you back for one last "wheedle".. RWTF

I have not the faintest idea what you are babbling about. This is not the first, and will likely not be the last time, either.


Best,
Ted

You miss-spelled the word "Wheedle" not a word found often in today's parlance, I should guess-RWTF

You are right RWTF...not mis-used by mis-spelled. Guess I'll just be moseying along. (Lots of good words no longer much in use).

ORIGIN OF WHEEDLE
First recorded in 1655–65; origin uncertain

I DIDN’T MISS-SPELL ANYTHING! Further, I didn’t miss it. You quoted a fictional character from a 1980s TV show, as if that somehow determines correct usage of the English language.


Is it possible you may have missed a dose of Thorazine or Lithium today?



Best,
Ted

Just another curried pheasant. Lots of golden oyster mushrooms from my timber and maybe a few too many peas, but what the heck. Tasty enough for me.

Tonight was grilled quail with a mustard based BBQ sauce. Simply wonderful and even better because some were shot by my wife, who enjoys shooting quail even more than clays.

FlyChamps, that is great! Did you grill the quail for your wife?

No, The movie "Silence of the Lambs" not a TV show, Theodore- Anthony Hopkins at his best- and used that ancient English phraseology quite well- "One more wheedle"-- you make the common mistake of incorrectly viewing my motive--

Just as a boxer shadow boxes, or as Gene Hill wrote about his friend Kay Oyhe (AA trapshooter) practicing gun mounts and swings in his basement-- I train my eyes for the precision of squirrel and varmint hunting by being as observant of all things I encounter every day-- if a word is miss-spelled, I notice it-- Like in the John Madis book on the M12- where the actress Ann Sothern is miss-spelled as Southern.

No offense meant to you, you MN based gent. After all, I have always been a fan of: Bob Dylan (Zimmerman), Garrison Keilor (sic), and the great cult movie "Fargo"-- Ja, real gut dere Ted.

Yes, I did grill them for her. I'm an OK cook but we're lucky that she's a great cook and does most of the cooking.

If you note a mistake, please be coherent enough to attribute it correctly, thank you.

Again, I didn’t do it.

Best,
Ted

Fox corrects every single spelling error he sees whether it’s a typo or a spellcheck error or someone who just does not know spelling. That’s his signature DoubleGun mark, for whatever that is worth (not much). He corrected my typo recently on proctology. I’m not sure if it was a typo or spell check, but he felt it was his duty to correct me.....but I do know how to spell that word. Whatever, I guess he must have been an English teacher at some point?? Is what it is, but it’s nothing to take great offense over, I’m sure of that.

This appears to be a kerfuffle about the word wheedle.

This is simply store bought pizza dough from giant.....with the sauce mentioned above...sparsely applied....and a couple of cheeses. It's made in an oven, not like Ted on a grill, with the oven cranked up to max temp 550F. But the key is a pizza stone from Sur la Table. What a difference. finished off with 3 minutes of "broil."

In order to settle this spelling controversy, I asked nca225, the Transgender Spelling Bee Champ of Saco, Maine to provide the correct spelling... weedle... or wheedle...???

He/she said it is spelled: "oui-dole"