Accepting Criticism

Source: Catch of the Day – Spiritual Lessons for Life from the Sport of Fishing (Jimmy Houston)

Proverbs 1:18 (NCV)

“But sinners will fall into their own traps; they will only catch themselves!”

No one likes to be told they’ve messed up, made a mistake, or failed.  Over the years, ESPN has told us what they see wrong in our televised fishing shows.  We can’t ignore that criticism, so we accept it and work double hard to make the show better, even if we believe we’re right and they are wrong.  The result is generally a better show.

The next time someone criticizes you, use it to your advantage.  According to God’s word, the trick is to accept it.  Don’t ignore it, don’t make excuses, don’t argue about it.  Accept the criticism and look for a positive way to build upon it.  That will bring success and honor.

Jack Daniels Steaks

Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons minced shallots
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 3-1/2 teaspoons cracked black pepper
• 2 cups beef stock
• 1 cup chicken stock

Steaks:

• 1/2 teaspoon each of thyme, rosemary and marjoram
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Jack Daniels (or other whiskey)

Boil shallots in vinegar and 1-1/2 teaspoons of cracked pepper in medium saucepan until the liquid is nearly gone (1-2 minutes).  Add both stocks and boil until reduced to about 1/2 cup (about 20 minutes).

Rubs steaks with herbs and remainder of cracked pepper.  Pour oil over and turn to coat the other side.  Marinate at room temperature for about 1 hour.

Heat skillet over medium-high heat and sear both sides of the steaks.  Transfer the steaks to a medium-high grill and cook to desired doneness (or continue to cook in the skillet).  Transfer to platter.

Add sauce to the skillet and bring to a boil.  Just before serving, add whiskey to the sauce then pour sauce over the steaks.

Red, White, and Blueberry Cheesecake

Ingredients:

• 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 4 squares (4-ounces) white baking chocolate, chopped or 2/3 cups white chocolate chips
• 1 ready-to-use 9 inch graham cracker crust
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1-1/2 cups sliced strawberries

Preheat oven to 350 degress.

Mix cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed until well blended.  Add eggs and mix until blended.  Stir in white chocolate.  Pour mixture into crust.

Bake for 35 minutes until center is almost set.  Cool.  Cover and refrigerate 3 hours or overnight.

Arrange blueberries in a star outline on top of the cake.  Fill center of the star with strawberries.

The ‘Best’ Hot Chocolate

Ingredients:

• 1 pint milk
• 2 tablespoons of your ‘best’ hot chocolate powder
• a handful of marshmallows

In a pan, bring milk to a simmer (NOT A BOIL!) and while it’s heating, put a tablespoon of the chocolate powder into each mug.  Add the milk to each mug, just enough to dissolve the powder.

At this point, put some marshmallows in each mug.  Carefully pour remaining milk/powder mix into a plastic jug or flask.  Select a container large enough so that the mixture only fills half of the container; you’ll need the extra room for shaking.

Screw lid onto the container tightly and shake hard for 1 minute.  Remove the lid (watch out for the steam) and pour into the mugs.

Stir and enjoy!

Green Chili Stew

Ingredients:

• 3 cups peeled, diced Idaho potatoes
• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1/4 cup onions, diced
• 1 cup chopped green chilies
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

Put diced potatoes in a saucepan and add enough water until the potatoes are just covered.  Bring the potatoes to a boil over high heat and then reduce to a simmer.  Simmer the potatoes for 20 minutes and then add in the ground beef, onions, and green chilies.  Let the stew continue to cook until the potatoes are fork-tender and the beef is cooked all the way through (another 10 to 20 minutes).  Season the stew with garlic salt and serve warm.

Saying the right thing…

Source: Catch of the Day – Spiritual Lessons for Life from the Sport of Fishing (Jimmy Houston)

Ephesians 4:29 (NCV)

“When you talk, do not say harmful things, but say what people need — words that will help others become stronger.”

Bob Ferris was the best bass tournament announcer of all time. He announced Bass’n Gal tournaments for all twenty-one years of the organization. Yes, he had a big, booming voice and tremendous stage presence, but what made him great was what he said and the way he said it. He made all the girls feel important and always encouraged them just enough to make them believe they had a great chance to catch fish and do well in the tournaments.

In daily life, if each of us went about trying to be helpful and encourage those with whom we come in contact, the whole world would be a better place to live. Not only that, we would be encouraged and helped by those around us.

Snickers Bar Cheesecake

Ingredients:

• 1 (9 ounce) package chocolate wafer cookies
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 half-pound bag of Snickers snack-size bars, each cut into sixths
• fudge topping

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

In a food processor, grind cookies into fine crumbs.  Add butter and process until well blended.  Press into the bottom and about 1 inch up the sides of a 9-10 inch springform pan.

In a large bowl, beat together cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth, 1-2 minutes.  Beat in eggs, one at a time.  Beat in vanilla and 1 cup of cream, beat 3-4 minutes.  Fold in 1-1/2 cups of cut up snickers pieces.  Pour mixture into crumb-lined pan.

Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and  25 minutes or until cheesecake is almost set but center still jiggles slightly.  Let cool to room temperature.

Sprinkle remaining candy bar pieces over top of cheesecake.

Refrigerate at least 4-5 hours before serving.  Run a knife around edge of pan to loosen cake and remove springform side of pan.  Just before serving, drizzle fudge topping over cake.  Whip remaining 1 cup of heavy cream until stiff and spoon a dollop over each slice.

Banana and Honey Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 3 bananas
• 3 dessert spoons of honey
• 1/2 pint single cream
• 1 pint of ice cubes

Place the bananas, cream and honey in the blender and blend for 30 seconds before adding the ice cubes.  Place the lid on and pulse to a slushy milkshake consistency.

TIPS:

1. Add a little peanut butter; mashed up with the banana
2. Wrap up the ice in a tea towel and bash it up with a rolling pin

Pop’s Roast Turkey with Herb Butter and Caramelized Onion Gravy

This turkey was served Thanksgiving 2007 and definitely has become the main contender of turkey to be cooked in future turkey dinners! Moist, succulent and herbally-delicious!!! And the skin, oh how crispy and crunchy it was!!

Onion base for gravy:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 4 large onions, thinly sliced
• 1-1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 1-1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
• 1-1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3 tablespoons honey
• drippings from turkey

Turkey:

• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, room temperature
• 1-1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 21- to 22-pound turkey; neck, heart, and gizzards reserved
• 1 large onion, quartered
• 4-1/2 cups (approximately) low-salt chicken broth
• 2 large fresh rosemary sprigs
• 2 large fresh thyme sprigs
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

For the gravy base: melt butter in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and saute until deep brown, about 40 minutes. Mix in rosemary and thyme, then flour, stir for 1 minute. Add vinegar and honey; simmer until thickened, about 2 minutes. Puree mixture if you desire a finer consistency. {NOTE: For added flavor, cook the neck, liver, and gizzards along with the onions. Just remove before adding the rest of the ingredients.} (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover, keep chilled.)

For the turkey: remove livers/gizzards/neck; mix butter and herbs in a small bowl. Rinse turkey inside and out; pat dry. Place on rack set in a large roasting pan. Sprinkle inside and out with salt and pepper. Starting at the neck end, slide hand between skin and breast meat to loosen skin. It’s best not to fully separate the skin from the breast because all the butter will just melt and run down into the pan. Therefore, don’t separate the skin between the two breasts and don’t separate the skin on the edge of the breasts. This will create two pockets to keep all that flavorful butter in place!!! Spread 1/4 cup of the herb butter over breast meat under the skin. Rub remaining butter over outside of the turkey. Place turkey parts and onion quarters in pan around turkey. If stuffing turkey, spoon stuffing loosely into main cavity and neck cavity. Tuck wing tips under; tie legs together loosely to hold shape.

Set rack at lowest position in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Roast turkey uncovered for 1 hour. Tent turkey breast and tops of drumsticks loosely with foil; roast for another hour. Add 1 cup broth, herb sprigs, and bay leaf to drippings in the pan. Continue to roast until thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh (do not push in to the bone!!) registers 175 degrees (or as noted on the turkey package); baste with 3/4 cup broth and pan juices every 30 minutes — about 2 hours 30 minutes longer for unstuffed and 3 hours longer for stuffed. Transfer turkey to platter; let stand 30 minutes (internal temperature will increase 5 to 10 degrees).

Strain pan juices into 8-cup measuring cup; spoon fat off top. Heat gravy base over medium heat. Whisk in flour, then pan juices. Boil until gravy is reduced to 7 cups, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve turkey with gravy. Makes 14 servings.

Key Lime Cheesecake

Ingredients:

• 1-3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 5 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (about 5 limes) [NOTE: if using key limes, use only 1/4 cup of juice]
• 3 eggs
• whipped cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine crumbs, butter and 1 tablespoon sugar in a bowl.  Stir well to coat all crumbs.  Keep it crumbly.  Press the crumbs onto the bottom and halfway up the sides of an 8-inch springform pan.  Bake crust for 5 minutes and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine cheese, 1 cup sugar and vanilla.  Mix with electric mixer until smooth.  Add the lime juice and eggs and continue to beat until smooth and creamy.

Pour filling into crust.  Bake for 60 to 70 minutes.  If top is turning light brown, it’s done.  Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature.  Put into the refrigerator.

When chilled, remove the pan sides and cut.  Serve with whipped cream.