Dave McCracken
Moderator In Memoriam
Hey,come on in. Great to see you. Let's put the coats on the bed and move into the living room. The kids can play video games while we catch up on what's happened since we last met.
It's always good to see family and friends, especially this time of year.
Good and cold today, huh? At least the rain stopped.
Note the two pitchers of egg nog. That one's for the kids, this one has an added ingredient, brought from West Virginia in a mason jar. Yup, White Lightning made the old fashioned way. It'll warm you right up and you don't have to drive for a few hours.
We have a few minutes before dinner. It's an old family recipe and tradition, this time of year we serve it to those we care about.
Mom made it when I was small, but the recipe had come down from Pop's side. I'm a Chesapeake-American, though the folks were both from PA. One of Pop's Grandmas was PA Dutch, and I think it started there. It does have a Germanic feel to it,with the caraway seeds on the dumplings.
It's Goose Soup, though it's really a stew. Most of the ingredients came from nearby. It helps to know some farmers, both New Age organic types and those who have polished the steel seats on Ford and John Deere tractors for decades.
The primary ingredient came from a farm up near Clarksville. We hunkered down under netting in a fence row while Jerry spoke fluent Goose into his old Olt. As they swung into the wind on final approach they passed over us at maybe 25 yards. Frankenstein, a LM choke and Hevi 2s did the job.We had our 2 bird limits each in a few frantic seconds.
Each skinned goose was breasted, and the breast cooked like a beef roast for dinner the other day. The pan drippings and leftovers were conserved. With 5 of us here, there weren't many leftovers.
One carcass at a time was simmered in Wonderful Wife's new stock pot. First one, then the same broth used for the other and the veggies added. The carrots were slightly braised to caramelize them and that pan deglazed.
The veggies were mostly local, though MD has few potatoes and less onions. The peas, corn, celery,shallots,carrots and so on were sliced and added today, after the broth cooled overnight in the pot outside on the deck. The fat rose to the top and was skimmed off. Those leftovers and drippings went in last with the meat from the carcasses. Then the dumplings cooked on top.
Seasonings include a bay leaf, salt and pepper,a touch of soy sauce, some Kitchen Bouquet,rosemary, a hint of garlic,an oz or two of decent red wine, and some caraway seeds on the dumplings.. WW did take the recipe and polish it a mite, but then she watches the cooking shows in TV and spots the mistakes.
More egg nog? Here you go...
It looks like we're ready to eat. Pull up a chair. We serve this in bowls with big spoons. The dumplings were made by hand from scratch, though Mom used Bisquick.
It smells really good in here.
I see you like it. Good food for a cold night, and full of memories. That's a spoonful of my heritage there, and more in these bowls. I've hunted geese for 50 years, and shared them just as long.
And it occurred to me in that fence row as it had often before. My life has been blessed with many happy moments. Some of the best have been with an shotgun in my hands and game nearby. It's not the killing that thrills me to the core, it's the hunting.
Good food, gathered by us and made with love and shared with those we care about. The best kind of dinner.
Leave some room for dessert.
The best to each of you this Holiday Season....
It's always good to see family and friends, especially this time of year.
Good and cold today, huh? At least the rain stopped.
Note the two pitchers of egg nog. That one's for the kids, this one has an added ingredient, brought from West Virginia in a mason jar. Yup, White Lightning made the old fashioned way. It'll warm you right up and you don't have to drive for a few hours.
We have a few minutes before dinner. It's an old family recipe and tradition, this time of year we serve it to those we care about.
Mom made it when I was small, but the recipe had come down from Pop's side. I'm a Chesapeake-American, though the folks were both from PA. One of Pop's Grandmas was PA Dutch, and I think it started there. It does have a Germanic feel to it,with the caraway seeds on the dumplings.
It's Goose Soup, though it's really a stew. Most of the ingredients came from nearby. It helps to know some farmers, both New Age organic types and those who have polished the steel seats on Ford and John Deere tractors for decades.
The primary ingredient came from a farm up near Clarksville. We hunkered down under netting in a fence row while Jerry spoke fluent Goose into his old Olt. As they swung into the wind on final approach they passed over us at maybe 25 yards. Frankenstein, a LM choke and Hevi 2s did the job.We had our 2 bird limits each in a few frantic seconds.
Each skinned goose was breasted, and the breast cooked like a beef roast for dinner the other day. The pan drippings and leftovers were conserved. With 5 of us here, there weren't many leftovers.
One carcass at a time was simmered in Wonderful Wife's new stock pot. First one, then the same broth used for the other and the veggies added. The carrots were slightly braised to caramelize them and that pan deglazed.
The veggies were mostly local, though MD has few potatoes and less onions. The peas, corn, celery,shallots,carrots and so on were sliced and added today, after the broth cooled overnight in the pot outside on the deck. The fat rose to the top and was skimmed off. Those leftovers and drippings went in last with the meat from the carcasses. Then the dumplings cooked on top.
Seasonings include a bay leaf, salt and pepper,a touch of soy sauce, some Kitchen Bouquet,rosemary, a hint of garlic,an oz or two of decent red wine, and some caraway seeds on the dumplings.. WW did take the recipe and polish it a mite, but then she watches the cooking shows in TV and spots the mistakes.
More egg nog? Here you go...
It looks like we're ready to eat. Pull up a chair. We serve this in bowls with big spoons. The dumplings were made by hand from scratch, though Mom used Bisquick.
It smells really good in here.
I see you like it. Good food for a cold night, and full of memories. That's a spoonful of my heritage there, and more in these bowls. I've hunted geese for 50 years, and shared them just as long.
And it occurred to me in that fence row as it had often before. My life has been blessed with many happy moments. Some of the best have been with an shotgun in my hands and game nearby. It's not the killing that thrills me to the core, it's the hunting.
Good food, gathered by us and made with love and shared with those we care about. The best kind of dinner.
Leave some room for dessert.
The best to each of you this Holiday Season....
