rps

Scrapple and souse are classic examples of using everything but the squeal. I happen to love rillettes. Most recipes I see call for pork shoulder. The first batch I had was based on pork belly. The second batch was duck scraps. I bet the BH's would love it.

I marked shad, I marked fish, but I don't think a single fish breathed on a lure, much less bit it.

Even though we were Protestant my parents sent me to a Catholic boys school run by the Augustinians from 7th to 12th grade. The belts the priests wear with their habits really sting.

I made a hotdog casserole this afternoon for lunches at school this week. For dinner I did a rib roast with mashed potatoes, sauteed sugar snaps, mushroom gravy for the potatoes and horseradish cream for the beef. I cut the rest of the beef in thick steaks, vacuum sealed them, and froze them. When needed I will thaw them and sear the sides for steaks.

Water temperature 47 from Holiday Island to Eagle Rock. Water clarity good - 3 to 5 feet. After four hours with a Ned 5 to 25 feet deep and a small jigging spoon 25 to 40 feet deep, I cannot tell you how to catch any fish.

Before you commit to a line counter reel, please heed my experience. 1. Line counter reels record spool revolutions. Thus they become inaccurate with spool filling changes. They are only accurate for distance out on a single day, and even then a break off can change things. 2. Lower end line counters are not consistent even at counting revolutions. 3. Line counter reels are bulky. 4. Unless you buy the upper end reels, the drag will not necessarily be smooth or capable of fine adjustment. My solution was to change to 10/2 or 10/4 metered braid and use a regular bait cast reel with a smooth drag. My distance out is precise within the color segment length, even if I suffer a break off trying to unhang a snag. I happen to use a low end Lews, but Abu Garcia, Pfluegar, and Daiwa make very serviceable low end reels with smooth drags as well. Change to the system I suggest will reduce the rod and reel weight, something I think you will appreciate when targeting crappie. Regardless of whether you follow the above advice, if you use braid, be sure you use a soft, moderate action rod. Stiffer rods combined with braid will tear the lure from the fish mouth. Good luck! Randy

Sounds great!

Ahem. 😳

Cassoulet is in the oven.

Rewarmed walleye/shrimp/bay scallop red chowder with sides of asparagus and garlic bread.

Hard to beat wild, line caught walleye! If anyone were ever crazy enough to sell it, it would bring $20+ per pound. Tonight the wife and I will rewarm some red chowder leftover that featured walleye.

Non meat eating elder daughter has gone home so I wanted something red in the middle. I paired lamb chops with a Mediterranean style farro salad.

I wish you had put it in the boat for a picture. From Roaring River up to Holiday Island there are several roll offs to the channel that can produce good fish - walleye and bass. What is better, up on this end, the LM are as likely as the spots. The only thing missing? We see fewer SM.

Good description Gavin. The next step is to remove the keel bone so that it will lay even flatter. Here is an example using a chicken. http://virtualweberbullet.com/butterflychicken.html Be aware the back bone removal on a turkey is NOT as easy as on a chicken. You may need to use tin snipes.

And Merry Christmas to you, and to all!

Daughter's pictures of this evening: Butter poached lobster from the sous vide, lobster risotto, sauteed asparagus, and an arugula/radicchio/fennel/blood orange salad with a sesame citrus dressing.

Well this just veered into a minefield.

Look at those bad boys!

Yesterday I rubbed a pork tenderloin with salt, pepper, and southwestern spices. Then I vacuum bagged it and put it in the refrigerator overnight. Right now it is in a sous vide bath at 130 degrees. When seared it should be a barely pink medium rare. I have blanched green beans and new potatoes. For dinner I will butter saute them together to finish them. I also have made a pico de gallo. At dinner I will serve it in avocado halves and call the dish a deconstructed guacamole salad. Pictures later.

Do you have a sous vide? If so, I can suggest several variations you might love.

When in Tulsa visit the Ri Le restaurant. Started nearly40 years ago in a former Tastee Freeze and now in its 4th location. The Pho and everything else are fantastic.

Spicy shrimp curry.

Here in a bit, I will start a beef and broccoli stir fry. Today I put the legs and thighs of the duck in the sous vide at 155 degrees to confit. They are due out tomorrow at 6:00 PM. They will be Wednesday's dinner when browned. Last night I put the roasted carcass with veg on the stove to make a stock. Today, I ran it through a fine sieve and reduced it. Right now, it is in the refrigerator turning into jelly. When I serve the confit duck, I will reduce the stock to a sauce/gravy. So, the question becomes, what should I do Monday night? EDIT: No pictures, but the beef and broccoli stir fry was wonderful! Here is a lik to what we used as the base recipe. https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019262-beef-and-broccoli