Special UP meal

The wine isn't local (it's from the Finger Lakes region of NY, that I found with PaultheNurse and the_bird last year) but we have about 6 "special occasion" meals that we do each year and they generally involve local events or foods along with a special wine.

In this meal, it's a garden salad from our own yard with homemade dressing, and crappies from a local lake. The potato pancakes feature local farm eggs, parsley from our garden, and chives. The wine has been mentioned, but it's a dry riesling that I found last summer and loved it. The potato pancakes and the fish were both fried in tallow that I hand rendered from local grass-fed beef. It's not part of my normal "paleo/primal" lifestyle, but oh, it was goooood!

Wow, those are big crappie fillets!

AZ_IPA said:

Wow, those are big crappie fillets!

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They aren't the biggest, that's for sure! Crappies can get pretty big. These are 11-12" crappies so they are medium-ish.

I just love crappies- it's probably my favorite panfish. We normally only keep enough for a meal or two each spring, so it's a special treat.

When I hear "special UP meal" I immediately think of a homemade pasty or a ring bologna cooked in the sauna.

But yours sounds good too.

i was just looking at those crappies... damn those are mighty big. tasty im sure too! And the finger lakes has some of the best wine ive ever had. dated a girl up that way when she was in college and we'd always stop at Glenora on the way home and get a few bottles of this and that.

Looks like a fantastick locavore meal. I love great Reisling with fish.

Cyclman said:

Looks like a fantastick locavore meal. I love great Reisling with fish.

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That's what's so great about this wine- I normally do not like reisling at all. But I found these wonderful dry reislings in the Finger Lake area. It's dry, crisp, fruity, with a minerally finish. It's just a wonderful wine. And then with fried crappies and salad, it takes it to a whole new level. It was such a wonderful dinner!

Good stuff, Yooper! I'm so jealous - that looks so friggin good. I haven't been to the UP in about 20 years; we used to go to Crystal Falls regularly. I now desperately want some fresh crappie, perch, walleye and pike...and to find my old Da Yoopers tapes.

Quadrupled said:

Good stuff, Yooper! I'm so jealous - that looks so friggin good. I haven't been to the UP in about 20 years; we used to go to Crystal Falls regularly. I now desperately want some fresh crappie, perch, walleye and pike...and to find my old Da Yoopers tapes.

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You can always watch Da Yoopers on Youtube.

We had a big bluegill fry the other day, with some really nice big bluegills we got from our "Secret Lake". I don't eat pike very often, except for pickled pike that I eat like crazy. We had a few really nice perch the other day, and that was a nice dinner as well.

You would be surprised at how nothing really has changed in the last 20 years around here. Except this year the mosquitoes are bigger and badder than ever!

Yooper said:

You can always watch Da Yoopers on Youtube.

We had a big bluegill fry the other day, with some really nice big bluegills we got from our "Secret Lake".

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It's not a secret, we all saw the pictures of Bob fishing them out of your ornamental "Secret Lake" a couple of weeks ago.

I'm still jealous.

Quadrupled said:

It's not a secret, we all saw the pictures of Bob fishing them out of your ornamental "Secret Lake" a couple of weeks ago.

I'm still jealous.

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Bob laughed and laughed when I told him you said that! Good one!

He said, "Well, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do."

Yooper said:

Bob laughed and laughed when I told him you said that! Good one!

He said, "Well, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do."

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Yoop that's a lovely meal!

Dr. Frank's Dry Riesling is one of my favorites.