Old Ironmaker

I don't follow the NHL since they went to a 44 team league. All I have to is read this thread for info and even better comic relief. You guys can be brutal with one another. Fun to read though, thanks all.

No way Dave. I hope you are feeling better soon. We bust our Corleones off for 30 plus years in that place, get out in one or two pieces and then we get old. I didn't take a single pill when I took my pension, now I have a box full. Not fair.

Or a stupid man. Not you Steve me. 35 years ago I decided it would be fun doing the Polar Bear Swim on New Years day in Lake Ontario. It was neither fun nor smart. If I went through today I wouldn't have to worry about drowning, I would be dead from the heart attack well before I drowned. Please guys I know you die hard ice fisherguys are chomping at the bit to get out on the ice. Be careful, this is the time of the year you hear about lives being lost on the lakes, especially on machines.

I did.

Actually I want to share with you guys that's not food related but what I shared with Ketchenany. I encourage you all to watch this documentary. Ozzie Giacomelli is a gentleman I worked with when I was a kid Foreman and he became an Uncle to me. He is featured in the piece. https://www.nfb.ca/film/barbed_wire_mandolins/ Not food related other than some of the recipes here are from Ozzie so it is really.

Don't fret all, soon there will be threads about all the fish caught thru the ice. I may send a few posts about all the fish I catch on the Gulf Of Florida, what a jinx. I can even send pics from the fish market now that I kyboshed myself.

When the movie Rocky came out he drank a half dozen raw eggs before he ran. So of course if Rocky did I would. I puked it all up not 100 feet from the house. First and last time. That's food related, no?

Look for a PM. I'm trying to figure out the new message thing.

I call our crew the usual suspects, we are up to 16 now. Trying to get them all in the same room at the same time is tougher than a peace treaty between the Israeli and Palestinian's. She won't come if he's coming, I won't come if she's coming. Come or don't come, don't say we didn't invite you. They will regret it in the years to follow. Wowza!!!

I know between the 2 of us we could write a book, then turn it into a screenplay and I picture us standing and accepting our Academy Award Oscar for best screenplay and then the producers accepting for Best Movie. Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. Bobby DeNirro will play me in my older years, maybe Danny DeVito. Who will play you Albert, Tomaso Carusa? Woodbridge eh. I once read there were more Italians born in Italy that lived in T.O. at one time than Italians that live in Rome. Woodbridge, the only small community with it's own Italian language newspaper. True Kettchenany? And yes Loblaws sucked everyone in, including Shoppers Drug Mart, where my wife works, NFL. Not for long. Cooking thread, sorry all. Go cook something.

I know Albert but the grocery store out here, Food Land, sells Kraft cheese in a cardboard tube and call it Parmesan. please! Italian bread is Wonder bread in a brown bag. When I was growing up Fortino's was a small neighbourhood grocery store. I remember their Mom behind the butcher counter yelling at everyone." Ifa you no buy you go homa boy. Nexta." She scared me. If I'm not mistaken they started with a butcher shop on Ottawa St. sawdust on the floor to soak up the blood. We would kick it into piles then get a slap on the back of the head, not necessarily by your parent. Those were the days when you called anyone 2 feet taller than yourself Sir or Mame. Any friends of my parents that were Italian including neighbours were Zia and Zio, aunt and uncle. My friends at school thought I had 150 aunts and uncles. Even the guy that delivered the daily bread, I thought the prayer was about Ottavio the bread guy. The coppa or end was missing before my Mom got it, we just put the eaten end in the bottom of the bag. We thought she never knew who it was. Fun times, and simple times. Tough times as well. Our parents survived the Great Depression and then the War. My father tells of hiding in the mountains in dead of winter from the Nazi's during their retreat from the Allies. if you were caught they gave you a German uniform and a weapon and called you a Nazi. That's 15 tough years for a kid, I can't imagine it.

Go ahead Dug, you fill up on the inards and leave the meat to me. The only guts I will eat is chicken gizzards. I do not like any liver except chicky liver. I know you are going to say it wasn't cooked right, wrong, I don't use the word hate often but the taste of any liver comes close. There was a cook at the main office cafeteria at the plant. A Macedonian gentleman, Mr. Kircos, who lived up the street from us since I was a kid at home. He did it somehow that I would eat it but that was once or twice. No" liver and Fave beans with a nice Chianti" for this lad. That's a quote from the movie, Silence Of The Lambs. In the book it was with a nice "Amorone". Everyone knows Chiante, not many Amorone (sic I think) help please Albert. It is a red wine made from the outer layer of grapes on the south facing vines, hand picked. A 750ml bottle goes for 80 bucks and up.

No way, fake news? Come on Man! And a lunker to boot. 16 pounds 3 ozs. Come on man. I know they weren't in Newfoundland with them thar accents. Wowza. It sure looks real. I'm dumbfounded.

Talking about Perch I was at Fortino's in Hamilton today and stopped at the fish counter to see if they had any Lake Erie Perch. Yep only $23.99 a freekin pound!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Alaskan King Crab was 15 bucks a pound. I know there is a lot of shell you are paying for but 24 bananas a pound is almost what it costs to take the boat out and catch, oh probably less but that not the point of fishing now is it? Don't forget never toss the shells of crab, lobster or shrimp. Put in a pot of boiling water and make a fantastic fish stock. Crack all the shell of the lobster to get to meat most toss.

Bring it on. I have decided that rather than to fight the winter I am going to embrace it like when I skied, you can't win that battle anyway. Besides I plan on spending the better part of the new year in Florida. Today was a perfect day for winter frolics especially skiing. Exactly 0 C, bluebird skies and bright Sunshine. days that you dream of skiing. I went outside today and waited in the beautiful weather for the guy to plow the driveway. I don't want to push it and pick up a shovel. When I was a young relief Foreman it seemed all the Dock Foremen took the winters off and the Blast Furnace Foreman took the summers off. When we worked on the Blast Furnaces it was brutally hot, but 10 minutes in AC, a cold pop on the back of the neck and some cold water and one can cool off, if I got cold first thing in the morning I was cold well after a hot shower at the end of 12 hours and could ever get warm. What a day to get on the ice or in a Sled. I hope some of you guys did.

Does Skugog have any invasive species like Goby and Zebra Mussels? I haven't fished there in over 30 years but at one time it was one of our go to spots for day trips from Hamilton and took much fishing pressure. Close and easy to get to, then not now with that horrendous 401 gridlock.

I have seen wood stoves and inserts in the States that have a NG burner in the unit to light the wood. I have never come across a unit like that here. Does anyone have 1?

We were gifted another 6" of white stuff last night, now about 10" deep. More snow on the ground now than we had as a total for the last 2 years here. Used the shovel once in the last 2 years, I used the broom once last year and the guy that cleans our laneway didn't make any money from us for the last 2 years. Good for us bad for him. When the Sun came up this morning it looked like a postcard here on the lakeshore. There was ice forming on the lake out about 500 yards. Almost gone by 09:00 now. It is going to plus temps Sunday to Tuesday but if this type of weather keeps up we might have icefishing on Long Point Bay for the first time in over 14 years. Good news for Fish Farmer and a few others including moi.

Dave, yesterday after we got our 8", -15C and then the south winds off the lake started drifting it I said and I quote "I will embrace the winter this year rather than fight it." Probably because we are flying to Florida at the end of the month and I have an open ticket until March 1st. Tich has 2 weeks off and then flying back. I don't plan on staying too long because I want to open the front door when I return before the locks are changed. Me no stupida. It would be great to get on the lake, it's been years since we had ice here. Buddy built a 5 star ice hotel a few years ago to leave on the ice at St. Williams. Complete with wood stove, solar panels, porta potty, full propane kitchen, bunk bed, 40" HDTV and HD aerial, no ice since he built it!! It's still snowing right now and the Lakeshore Rd. here is a mess. I'm trying to stay positive, I'm positive I'm not going out.

Spiel, stop it, stop it right now! M2B2, yes Crappie is close but I never mentioned it because they are so rare around here and no store I know of sells it. My wife says she has used Cardamom and I don't like it. Brian buy smaller dinner plates you will feel that you ate more, it really does help loose weight. I've lost 40 lbs, in a year. 1st time in my life a Dr. told me to gain 10 pounds. We don't know why I went down so much. Lots of tests. I feel good so who knows. Started losing pounds when I started taking Jardiance last Nov. for Diabetes, new to Canada then, it's one of the side effects.

Here is a pic of the last venture out this year. Most of the Wally's this year were smaller fish, which is just fine, 2 to 4lbs. They are rare here and the tastiest by far. The big fish are not that old and taste fantastic too. A fish as big as our biggies up north are old fish and I would never keep one for the table anyway. That's a big size Coke bottle.

I'm going to post pics of me 15 years ago, muscles and all that are gone now. I should have first. And anyone here is more than welcome to join me here on Erie for a Walleye hunt next year. A recent CV or resume may be required. Also a list of recent medications you are taking for psychological issues. 110% true story I swear on the lives of my parents. I once went out with a guy from a different site I met online, in his boat, 1st mistake. Not 5 minutes into the trip he took out his Bible and started reading me passages trying to convince me to join his team. Absolutely nothing wrong with having Religion but there is a time and place for everything. I was stuck out there because his boat. Then I came up with the idea to tell him I had diarrhea and if I could use his bait bucket and towel for toilet paper. I also took out one of our longtime members here and he fell out of the boat, I'll take responsibility for that one regardless of who fell out of the boat and why, in 52F water to boot. That was about 6 years back, still not long enough ago for him to think it's funny.

You are right jerpears, nothing comes close to the sweetness of fresh Perch, nothing. I have never found anything available that can hold a candle to it unfortunately. I can't recommend anything that comes even close, except maybe Walleye and in winter you know it was previously frozen ,same as Perch here that we can get in Port Dover in the winter. The last time we bought frozen Perch from Dover for a fish fry last winter it was very disappointing. We had some of the frozen Perch we caught and there was a huge difference in taste from the stuff from Dover. It tasted off. The first time we had a fish fry and there was leftovers, never again will I buy frozen in the Winter and if I have to buy Perch and Walleye at 15 bucks or more a pound I'm buying shellfish. I saw ridiculously small fresh Perch in the store in Dunnville this year at 20 bucks a pound!!!! Shag. I have never used Cardimon. How do you and why do you pick out the small seeds? I don't use many different herbs and spices my Mom and Noni didn't use and should. The first time I started using Thyme was only a few years ago and I love it, especially with a tomato sauce. And my buddy always offered me tons of fresh from hid garden, duhhhh. Never too old for learning new stuff.

There was a bit of a time out here Doug. You didn't miss much. With the winter upon us less fishin' and more time to cook I would think. I made a Bambi stew of short ribs on the weekend the same way I do Rabbit. Mmmmmm, good if I say so myself. Dusted the 2" ribs with flower and secret spice mix. Browned them with whole garlic cloves in pot with EVO. Because Deer is so lean I added a few table spoons of Bacon fat, how can you go wrong. Removed ribs and deglazed pan with a good quality wine, Merlot this time Added the Holy Trinity of cooking, onions, carrots and celery softened them, then added some Hungarian Hot Smoked Paprika if just for the 2 of us. Reg Paprika for those non spice folks. Big Buddy brought in some nice sweet and sour meatballs the other day and Little Buddy said it was too spicy for him!!! What spicy? (my wife always asks me if I know anyone with a real name?) Put the ribs back in with a few Bay leaves and the rest of the entire bottle of wine, or more. Enough to cover the stew. A good beer can be used rather than wine. Added 2 table spoons or so of tomato and red pepper paste named "Piros Arany" not sure what country it comes from, if you can find it buy many tubes. Comes both hot and not as hot. Maybe Portuguese or Hungarian. Bring to boil and very slow simmer for a few hours. Or just before meat falls off the bone. Add potatoes, when they are done prepare to go to Heaven. Make sure you have plenty of crusty bread, not that white or whole wheat crap they call bread. My house spice is a secret,. It is named after a large city in with an NHL team in Quebec and is recommended for steak. No salt required, taste before adding any salt, when ever you use the secret spice, it has salt in it. That stew recipe can be made with any meat including Chicken and Pork. If you don't add potatoes it is great over or on the side like mashed Taters, Gnocchi or Spätzle.

I'm not a man of few words. I'm always asked/toldto take a "Shut up pill" By Family, friends and associates. Welcome to OFC, phish porn is greatly appreciated.