There's no better winter eating than a mess of perch fresh caught from under the ice blanketing Lake Memphremagog here in the North Country.
Firm white flesh, sweet and tender. Fried with the tails left on. Eat them right from the pan. I have a friend who once ate 44 of them. It took him all afternoon.
Yessir, misterman, makes you glad you didn't pursue vegetarian ways your entire life.
I am not a fisherman although I have cast bait, usually on untroubled waters. However, here's my first fish story of the year:
Jane came home from work on Friday with a gift for her resident nouveau geek - a dozen perch caught not far from her office door.
She is allergic to fish, doesn't eat anything that lives under water, and cannot bear the smell of fish or clams or lobsters. You get the picture. It was at no little personal cost that I got perched.
So, on Sunday, I had a fish feed.
How much flour do I need for these fish, I asked.
Three, three, and one, she said.
That meant three parts unbleached flour, three parts whole wheat, and one part corn meal. The corn meal makes for a nicely textured finish.
To this I added liberal shakings of black pepper, cayenne pepper, and cajun spices, all of which I mixed in well.
My fishes ranged from four to seven inches, and I rolled them around good until they were well coated. The skillet was ready with hot oil and butter.
Don't use a fork in my new pan, she said. It's one of those no-stick, coated-with-teflon pans. My personal choice is a deep, cast iron fry pan - that's what I use to cook my spaghetti sauces in.
I kept turning the perch and they fried up quick. I started with the little ones which, of course, were ready first. Soon they were all gone.
End of fish story.