Pine Ridge Resort News & Views

Many of you have seen Dan Krone on various outdoor TV programs talking about the rusty crayfish that has invaded many of Minnesota’s lakes.  Dan has done a lot to help eliminate as many as possible and our guests here at Pine Ridge Resort want to do their part.  So we eat as many as we can.

Dan was here last night and boiled up over 30 pounds of cray fish for us and not one was left at the end of the night.  Three weeks ago another group also cleaned up a cooler full and one of those guests took 50 pounds home with him to share with the folks there.

So I thought I would post some pictures of our crayfish eaters.  It’s a pot luck and everyone contributes a salad or a dessert and Donna and I bring the sweet corn that gets cooked right in the same pot as the cray fish.

The family in the yellow shirts are the Pittelkos.  They are celebrating their seventh year here at the resort.  The Willmer family has been coming for nine years.  Both the Hoffman’s and the Bouma’s have been coming for at least seven years.  It is a great week and we really enjoy having them all stay with us.  Here are the pictures.

Luke, Austin and Will love to play with their food before they eat it.

 

 

Sherry Muir put together this recipe for a fish fry several guests organized and it was really a hit.  I have never been a cooked cabbage lover but I had seconds of this.

Hello All:

Here is the cabbage recipe Terry wanted. I hope you like it.
Sherry

Fried Cabbage
1 head green or red cabbage, sliced
2 - 3 apples (past their prime is perfect)
1 - 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
½ lb of bacon
Cajun Seasoning
½ cup vinegar and ¼ - ½ cup sugar (or sweetner), mix to dissolve

Cut the bacon into small pieces and fry until done, but not crispy. Quarter cabbage, onions and apples, remove hearts/core and slice, but not too thin.

Add all of this to the bacon, sprinkle with Cajun seasoning, cook over medium heat, covered and stir frequently. It will begin to brown and caramelize (you may need to add more bacon grease or cooking oil). Continue to add Cajun seasoning to the spice level you like. When the mix is a nice caramel color, and the vegetables are done, but not mushy, add the vinegar and sugar mixture. Stir fully, cover and let simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Please understand that I don’t really use a recipe, so all of the amounts listed are just my best guess. Feel free to adjust as you see fit and add most any fruit or vegetable that is past its prime.

So now let’s see some more recipes.  We have one for baked fish that we like a lot and I’ll get that posted soon.  I still want to get Paul Davis’s BBQ’ed ribs recipe.

And tonight, weather permitting, we’re doing a cray fish boil.  Dan should be here in a couple of hours to start the cooking.  I’ll get some pics on my next post.

That question has two answers.  First, where has the time gone?  It can’t really be August already.  Every Friday our guests look around and wonder how the week went by so quickly.  I can’t figure out where the summer went.

And the second answer is “what’s going on with this wacky weather?”  It just hasn’t been a Minnesota summer.  We have not had one 85* day and only a few over 80*.  It’s been very windy and that is quite unusual.  Once we got past the middle of June, the rain started to fall again.  Everything is spring-like green up here.  Usually, by August, the grass is brown, the trees are drooping and the lake level has dropped so you need a step ladder to get into you boat off the dock.

Not this year.  Lake levels have stayed at their spring time level, everything is green and you need two blankets to keep warm at night.  Everyone is wearing sweat shirts instead of bathing suits.  It seems as soon as the water temps reach 70*, another cold front comes through with 20 MPH winds, stirring up the lake and dropping water temps back to the low 60’s.

Fishing has been erractic. Crappies, bass and northern have been good but we think all the walleye migrated to California where it’s still warm.  Hopefully, they’ll be back for the great fall fishing we’re used to having.

We had a great time last week with one of our annual crayfish boils.  Dan Krone, local guide and “what ever it takes to put bacon on the table” resident, cooked us up a cooler full of Woman Lake rusty crayfish and sweet corn.  Each cabin brought something pot-luck and we sat around in our sweat shirts in July cracking crayfish and eating great food.

It’s always fun to watch 8 year old kids playing with their dinner before it goes in the pot. And it fun to watch those same kids eating crayfish while some of their squeamish elders wrinkle up their noses.  Eating crayfish is not something you do in a hurry.  It takes quite a few of the critters to make a decent meal.  That’s where the great pot-luck comes in handy.

It’s a chance to try some tasty new dishes and some wonderfully familiar ones.  Several people at last weeks boil wanted to try some of the other recipes and asked if I could put up a category on the Blog for sharing recipes.  So I removed a couple of categories that weren’t getting used and added “Favorite Resort Recipes” to the list.  I’m hoping Sherri will add that cabbage recipe we all drooled over.  And a couple of weeks ago, Paul Davis was telling me how he cooked BBQ’ed ribs in a homemade sauce.

So share those recipes and don’t forget to add your name.  If you haven’t already, you will need to register to make a comment to the Blog.  Then, at the bottom of each entry is a “Comment” button.  Click that and add your recipe.  I’ll transfer it to the “Recipe” category where all can read them.
Now if those of you arriving next week can just bring some sunshine and warm weather with you, all will be perfect.

See you on the lake.