Who Are You?

[Eric Wettschreck]

I don't contribute much to this forum (unless it's cooking rabbit) but I read it a lot, and so does my wife. I'm not much of a cook but I like to stand around the weber with a beer in hand and watch things burn. My missus is a MUCH better cook than I am.

I'm soon to be 45, father of 3, grandfather of 1. I live in a little house on the prairie about 15 miles from Walnut Grove and Plum Creek. Spent 10 years in the Navy right out of high school. Afterwards spent many years doing steam plant work in the ethanol industry (Glad I'm out of that) and have been working for Merck Animal Health since 08 fixing machines, welding stuff, and just doing my thing to keep the facility running.

My goal in life is to get Reinhard 1 to come to my house and cook sausage.

My true passion is ice fishing the potholes of SW MN, but I'm a bird/deer hunter also. I also consider myself "A Dabbler" and love to build various project things. Sometimes much to the shagrin of my wife. I have a garage full of stuff cuz I do not posess the ability to throw anything away. Currently working on an extremely violent looking tiller that attaches to the slide out of my 4-wheeler. Small children will run in fear when they see this creation actually running.

The wife and I are now empty nesters and the past couple years have really gotten into gardening our own veggies to go with the meat I shoot. This year she planted a bunch of the different spices she uses, it will be cool to see how this turns out. Plans for this summer are to build a greenhouse for her to keep growing stuff year round.

Good to meet all yous guys.

[delcecchi]

So Del, did you work for IBM or Hitachi? If IBM, please punch the person who created Lotus Notes for me.

IBM, although I knew some of the Hitachi guys when it was IBM before they got sold to Hitachi.

I didn't have anything to do with Notes, it wasn't even a Rochester thing. Didn't it come from Ray Ozzie, widely acclaimed software guy, who then went to Microsoft as some kind of guru? Don't know what he is doing now.

I was a hard core hardware guy, in Circuit Technology.

[fishing tech]

49 next month, married 24 years, 3 kids 15-22. I have been a ford tech for 27 years and looking forward to retirement in 2.

I grew up on the westside of St. Paul played hockey for 30plus years and coached for about 15. Love that sport and being around the players.

I fish, more so in the winter then summer. I am a decent cook on the grill but I am learning more and more from this site.

My youngest likes the outdoors so him and I spend a lot of time together. I am trying to hook him up with someone to go do some hunting as I know very little about that.

I do get pheasant and venison from friends that hunt and love cooking and eating MEAT.

[Eric Wettschreck]

I am trying to hook him up with someone to go do some hunting as I know very little about that.

I do get pheasant and venison from friends that hunt and love cooking and eating MEAT.

Gimme a call this fall. I'll take both of ya out for a day.

[fishing tech]

Thanks for the offer Eric, That would be great but I will hopefully be recoverying from a much needed back surgery though. I will definetly keep that in mind. Thanks, Keith

[picksbigwagon]

I am 42, married for 13 years, three kids for 4-11. I am an elementary PE teacher and absolutely love going to work each and every day. My desire to cook goes back to my Mom who kicked me out of the kitchen when I tried to watch her cook. I learned some but I did get her to copy down her recipies for me, many from her mother. I really started "leanring to cook" while watching Justin Wilson on public tv. My cooking now involves making meals and recipies that my wife finds online and then altering them and watching cooking shows on TV (Alton Brown is my favorite, he breaks it down so much that to me it makes sense) I grill year round, just getting back into smoking meats, and thanks to my 9 year old, rediscovering how good fresh fried fish can really be.

I enjoy hunting and fishing although I can't do a lot of either with a wife who travels for work and a young family. My wife still prefers her protein from a store but my three kids love anything that has venison in it.

[Redlantern]

I'm 44, single, plumber, have a daughter who is 13. She really is into cooking, mostly baking, but she appreciates food that's been cooked on a grill. Best person I can think of to work the smoker or the grill with. Ran sled dogs for fifteen years. I camp in the BWCA as much as I can (Leaky, our views are quite a bit different regarding the BWCA, but this is about cooking, not Sillytown). Have a cabin outside of Hovland and do a few rollerblade marathons a year.

[Leaky]

Thats OK Redlatern. You're right, this isn't Silly Town.

[jmd1]

Jeff here, 49 live in Phoenix AZ. Grew up in Sioux Falls and Schuyler Neb. I work for a global agricultural company in the cotton seed manufacturing part of our group. I retired in 2008 from the city as a fire truck mechanic finished my degree and went back to work. I have been married for 9 yrs, have a son who is 16 fixing to be a junior. He plays left tackle and is starting center this year for the Mountain Pointe HS football team. Growing up in SD and NE, my grandparents had a cabin on lake poinsett in SD as long as I can remember. Great times fishing and hanging out enjoying childhood. Left Neb at 19 moved to west Texas to work for John Deere then on to bigger and better things.

I have two yellow labs, Lobo (AZ Dog) and Gunner (Bemidji MN dog). Not much hunting here or fishing for that so i live though you all most days. We have a couple plants in the MN area and someday hope to move up there.

Thanks for letting me be part of the group, I truly feel like i know most of you personally. Jeff

[SkunkedAgain]

Everyone else seems to be jumping off of the bridge, so I'll do it too...

I'm approaching 36 years of age, originally from Milwaukee, married with a 5 month old daughter, and am an owner's rep for commercial construction. I live in the the south metro but am on Lake Vermilion once or twice per month year round. My mom wanted daughters but got three sons instead, so she taught us all how to cook and bake. She used to bake cakes professionally and both my grandmothers (in their mid-90s) are still cooking and baking. I'm the main cook in our house, like to bake, and have a knack for it as all of my coworkers know. I'm a handful-of-this and a-squirt-of-that kind of baker and cook. My newest draw is smoking meats, so I've been working on that a lot this summer.

I think that my favorite cooking/baking strategy is to make something per the recipe the first time, and then make it subsequent times changing the ratios and ingredients to make it my own frankenstein.

[Bobby Bass]

I go by the handle of Bobby Bass after my favorite fish to chase, Married 35 years, retired with four kids, four grand kids, three labs, three cats and a ton of relatives who come and eat at my house when ever we have a family get together. Most of my cooking is done for groups of thirty five or more so I dabble in Chili and Coney sauces along with fish fries and steaks on the grill. I cook while the wife does all the baking so we complement each other well. I also make a lot of pizza's both deep pan and thin crust on baking stones. Always looking for things I can make and call my own.

[LABS4ME]

I'm 48, was a landscape designer for 24 years, owned a large landscape company for 14 years, got out of that business in '08 and have been in building supply sales since. I've owned, trained and bred Labs most of my adult life... I've been cooking since JR High. Dad died and Mom had to go to work... she said if you want dinner at a decent time, you all have to start learning to cook. We did, and through the years learned to enjoy it, not do it out of necessity. (We also had to learn to do laundry... never really perfected tat one though! HA)

I have 4 kids ages 15 - 30 and actually turned up my cooking ability back in my 20s to get them to eat game... it went so well my daughter who'd never eat venison now requests it for her birthday! She is on her own and getting married and I still get food over to her when I can. Her fiance has his venison all turned into summer sausage as he never like venison either, but even that is changing!

I hunt and fish... unfortunately through life's events less and less each year... I still get out when I can sneak away and always make sure my 15 y.o. gets a few nice trips in every year. He shot his first two deer last year and we have had fun cooking up the fruits of his labor and trying many new sausage recipes.

Glad to meet everyone...

Ken

[BobT]

I'm 53 and on my second marriage of 19 years. I have a thirty-year old son from my first marriage who is married with one grandson. Our oldest daughter will graduate from high school this coming Saturday and then it's off to medical school for her. Our youngest daughter will be 16 on July 4th. I've been an electrical designer for a packaging machinery company for the past 16 years primarily focused on modifications and rebuilds of legacy equipment. Prior to that I served as a service adviser, field service technician, and in electrical assembly. I also spent about 10 years off and on in the logging industry of northern MN and worked on the iron range in the mining industry.

I enjoy some cooking and at our home the charcoal grill is my personal domain. My wife tries to stay away from there. I enjoy processing my own venison, fish, and other wild game. Most of the time I try to keep things simple but I will occasionally experiment.

I also enjoy ATV riding, camping, nature walks, and have even dabbled a little in photography.

[Firsttime]

I am 30 yo married for 7 years with two boys 4 and 5 and 3 dogs. My whole family hunts and fish. The boys love to be out doors with us. When we got married my wife told me that her dad is an old school butcher. That was all the better. We try to get to the lake once a week with our new to us boat but I am a volunteer Firefighter/EMT so we don’t get make it every week. It is vary fun when we do

Thank you for this Great post “LEAKY”

[Fish Head]

It’s interesting to read everyone's info. I'm 50 years old, married for 30 years. I have 2 boys 29 & 19 who love to fish. I've been in the insurance business for 29 years in the Cities. I just purchased a cabin on Vermilion last July, so that's occupying as much of my time as possible now.

I worked at a restaurant for a while when I was a teenager and I've enjoyed cooking ever since. I really enjoy cooking big meals for holidays and occasions. I'm a little bit of a food network junkie. I finally purchased a smoker last year and I'm having a lot of fun with it.

Good cooking & good fishing everyone!

[Xplorer]

Another 50 year old here. Married for 23 great years, and have a soon to be 10 year old son who loves to camp, fish and hunt! Been a programs administrator at UMD for the last 12 years, prior to that was in the banking/lending business since finishing college on the 8 year plan

Have 2 dogs, Winnie is a 10 year old husky mix, and Ammo who is a 14 week old yellow lab pup. They are doing great together. Do some bird and deer hunting, and spend most my fishing time on either Lake Superior or up camping the islands of Rainy, Namakan and Kabetogama.

I've been smoking mainly salmon and trout out of Lake Superior the last 15 years or so on a small Little Chief, but last month after sampling some of Leaky's ribs from his Masterbuilt 30", I upgraded to the same. Met Leaky at a FM get-together about 9 years ago and been good friends ever since. If you ever meet him, ask him about a not so memorable day-trip to Jackfish bay on Basswood

Many thanks for all the great info on this forum!!!! Smoked a pork butt a couple weeks ago and turned out very good, and doing St Louis ribs this weekend. Hope to put a few trout and salmon in the boat this weekend also to smoke next week. Can you say addicted

[BuckmasterG]

I'm a smoldering 26 yrs old and newly engaged to an amazing fiance with an awesome family. An insurance agent in Waite Park, Mn, but have my k-12 physical education and health teaching degree. I am a die hard Minnesota fan of all sports, played football, hockey and baseball still stay active every chance I get. Love the outdoors, growing up my dad did little hunting, but would take us kids up on a boys weekend during deer season and would take us on a yearly fishing trip. Learned most of my fishing and hunting from my oldest brother or from trial and error. I use to do more waterfowl hunting and pheasant hunting, but now most of my time is devoted to bowhunting and fishing. I really enjoy taking hunting and fishing trips each year with friends and family, a buddy and I have been doing the Ripley hunt for the past 8 years.

My future father in-law and his brothers are big fishermen, I enjoy hitting the lake with him. It's well known in our families that I am a cooking/eating enthusiast. I really love this Cooking and Sharing Recipes thread, Reinhard1 has supplied me with one of the best Venison Jerky recipes I've tried to date. My brother and I get together a couple times a year to make sausage out of our venison and we do a pretty darn good job. Love reading the forum and excited to start my life with the smoking hot future Mrs. and getting her out into the woods and on the lake.

[Leaky]

Quote:

Met Leaky at a FM get-together about 9 years ago and been good friends ever since. If you ever meet him, ask him about a not so memorable day-trip to Jackfish bay on Basswood

Too Funny, Chris. Sad to say my Jackfish days are pretty much over. I'll leave the portaging of a 16ft/25h to my younger brethern (unless they push and let me ride in the boat) and just focus on getting trucked over Kettle Falls. My profile pic is actually up on Basswood out from Washington Island.

[Leaky]

Too hot to do anything outside and the Twins are getting whooped again. Do enjoy when Tom Kelly takes Bert's spot. Anyway, took a minute to go through this thread again and thought I'd give it a bump.