ANOTHER roast chicken dinner

The good news . . . the chicken looks pretty good. The bad news . . . the potatoes have about 20 minutes to go ( Oops ! ). I will spend the time making pan gravy.

OMG

OMG ( Oh My God ). No wonder the chefs on the Food Network rave about duck fat. This is a six pound duck ( duckling ) that I roasted for dinner tonight. The fat that poured off of this bird is unbelievable. There is a ton of it, and it's all good.

Boats

This is the USS Salem at her slip next to the Fore River Bridge. I haven't boarded her in 5-6 years but it's an interesting tour. It's self-guided, so you can stay as long as you like. She was built here at the end of WWII and has returned in retirement.

This was the scene Saturday morning at Wollaston Beach. I don't know if it was poor navigation or exceptional navigation. On closer inspection, she is moored, and the stern is propped up by a couple of large rocks. I'm thinking engine trouble (out of fuel, maybe ?). I will stroll by this morning to see.

Rabbit and Veal Stew

I am not sure about any number of things but I'm pretty sure I'm the only person in Quincy cooking rabbit and veal at 9:30 in the morning. With our large Asian-American population, maybe I'm only sure about my building ! This is the rabbit cooking away in my cast-iron pot, and below is the veal, resting.

I kind of skimmed "The Joy of Cooking" and figured I couldn't screw this up too much. I bought the only rabbit they had at Stop & Shop and a package of stew veal. I will cut the rabbit off the bone, add some chicken stock and the veal, and simmer with potatoes, onions, and celery. Then I will add some flour to thicken.

History; Today

Today, October 25th, marks the 594th aniversary of the Battle of Agincourt. This was one of the most decisive battles in history, and gained for England the French crown, but their gains were squandered (mostly by Henry's son, Henry VI).

Today is also the 155th anniversary of the Battle of Balaclava, in the Crimea, made famous by the Charge of the Light Brigade (commemorated by Alfred Lord Tennyson). The French commander, Bosquet, commented "It is magnificent, but it is not war".

End of the Weekend

Sailboats moored in the Vineyard Haven harbor. Boats are a lot of work. I could probably handle the dinghy that's tied to the boat in the foreground.

This is one of the two boats operated by the Black Dog. It's the Alabama. They take you out for sunset cruises, etc.

This is about as close as I got to any kind of boat this weekend. The ferry is big and very stable. You barely feel any sensation from the seas.

Martha's Vineyard Again

Our annual golf outing to collect wooden nickels at the Newes From America is underway. We enjoyed more golf and are now headed out to eat, drink, and be merry.

Father/Son Golf on Martha's Vineyard

OK, I am neither a father or a son but I did get invited to go to Martha's Vineyard to play golf and generally hang out. The weather was perfect on Saturday and we played at Farm Neck until we ran out of daylight (we completed 13). It is awesome playing right next to the ocean.

I did not hit my second shot into this water hazard, despite my old tendencies. We were playing Scramble and 2 balls landed on the green so my shot (which was left of target) was not fatal. We had a great time and some people even went out Sunday in the rain and played 9.

Sausage, Spinach, Pasta

One of my favorite "one pot meals" ( Okay; it's a very limited category; I need to do more research ! ). Sweet Italian sausage, cut lengthwise and then into 1 inch pieces. After 2-3 minutes, add 1 large onion, chopped. Add 5-6 cups chicken broth; bring to a boil. Add 1 pound of pasta; broken into thirds ( if it's spaghetti or linguine, for example ). Cook and stir for about 8 minutes, then add 2 10 ounce packages of spinach ( fresh not frozen ! ). Wilt; then stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese and 1 cup half-and-half. This seems better the day after; I put it in Tupperware and freeze it to bring it for lunch.

Golf

I am spending 5 days at the TPC Boston (Norton, Mass.) for the Deutsche Bank tournament. Thursday, during the Pro-Am, I got training on the greenside laser. This is the view you get from up in the tower. Some are even better.
The laser is GPS positioned to shoot the ball locations and distances from the hole. It's accurate to the inch !
This info is uplinked to their website and also made available to the TV announcers (If you ever wondered how they knew).