Here are some pictures of Tom's great hospitality

[Tom_in_Mo.]

The first picture is a sample of Tom's famous steaks.

[farmerdoug]

You boys from Baker sure made it hard to stay on your side in this.  Tom sure is a great host.   Maybe I will get down there to visit him some day.

Farmerdoug

[Tom_in_Mo.]

yes, with a little help, well, ok, alot of help, I finally go some pictures posted.
That bird became a buddy for a short while. We were catch small fish and feeding him. He stayed right with us.
The bait (shrimp)we were using was bigger then I have ordered in restraurants here in Mo.

[farmerdoug]

What kind of fish is that in the pictures?   
Tom will tell you that they only use the best bait in Florida.

Farmerdoug

[DanG]

Tom's a master!

[pigman]

Tom is keeping things from us.  He never told us about his boat in Tom_in_ Mo's picture. Not the blue and white one, the big gray one.



Bob

[Furby]

I like the gray one, but I'd be happy with the blue and white one.

[Jeff]

Did you just say you like Tom Tom but you would settle for Tom from Baker?

[Furby]

 
Hmmm.......... I guess so..... in a really sorta twisted way...........

[Tom]

The second picture is of Tom-in-Mo standing beside a Tabby construction on Fort George Island..
 
We visited Kingsley Plantation , a Florida State Park.  It was closed because we were late in the day, but Tom and Adam were able to see Tabby construction.  It was a popular way of building in the old days.  You burned oyster and clam shells in a fire, which created a lime type stuff.  Then you built a wood frame and mixed the lime like stuff with whole shells and packed this into the frame forming the walls.  When it dried, you had a concrete wall. 

There was an abundance of shells in those days because the Indians ate a lot of Oysters and Clams and piled the shells in large Middens over thousands of years.

There are several good sites describing Ft. George and Kingsley Plantation.

The third is of  CV67, The John F. Kennedy.  It is to be decommissioned this year.  Being a Navy town, there is a bit of sadness when one of our warships is decommissioned. A lot of families that have made Jacksonville their home will be leaving.   The ship is docked in the harbor in Mayport.  Mayport is an old fishing village located at the mouth of the St. Johns on the south shore.  It was once packed with Shrimp boats and fishing boats.  The rules and regulations applied to commercial fisherman today have caused the fleet to shrink dramatically.  It is still a quaint and interesting place to visit.  It is connected to the North shore by one of the few Ferries still running.  You can catch this Ferry on Ft. George or Mayport on an a half-hour schedule.

The fourth picture is of a Great white Egret.  They are wading birds just a little smaller than a Great Blue Heron.  You can see the Lane Snapper, that Tom fed him, in his throat.
He got some shrimp too and waited until we had left, hoping for more.

Fifth is a Sea Robin.  They are a pretty fish in their ugly sort of way.  They are coral red and have spines about their head, fins that look like legs that they walk on and larg pectoral fins that allow them to make long jumps when chased by a preditor.  They also use them to “fly” through the water and hug the bottom.

The large gray boat with the pink trim is a car carrier from Korea.  It is tied up to Blount Island.  Blount Island is the receiving point for many import automobiles.  It’s seen the Southeast’s majority of Toyotas, Volkswagens, Volvos, Hondas, and newer manufacturers from the 1960’s to today.

Lastly is a Fishing boat tied to the dock on Dames Point.  It looks as if it were tied on too short of a line and has developed a list as the tide came in.  Behind the boat is the Dames Point Bridge, as famous a landmark to Jacksonville as the Golden Gate is to San Francisco. 

Dame is my family name on my Mother's side.  The story of the Dame name goes back to the Dame Garrison House in Dover, New Hampshire and this captain, Charles Dame, according to family tales, plied the coast from New Hampshire to Florida carrying  lumber and other goods.  We've found the name spelled several different ways from Dam to Dammes.  It has been traced to English ancestry by my Grandfather, Fleming Charles Dame (Judge and lawyer), and his brothers, George (Physician), Leland (Physician) and Hershall(Lawyer).

Have you ever heard of the Ashley Gang?  It was a bunch of bad news boys along Florida's East coast in the 1920's who robbed banks and terrorized anyone with whom they came in contact.  Uncle Hershal was one of the Lawyers appointed to defend Sheriff Baker and his Deputies after the news media called the demise of the gang a Massacre.  Things got taken care of quickly back then. 

I hate it when I get side-tracked like this. 

Through the rigging you can see a tubular structure that is used to pump coal slurry from the holds of ships to the coal fired generation station about three miles away.

An yes, the first is of Tom-in-Mo’s  Steak.  We cooked the steaks and Gael had a baked potato, sautéed mushrooms and sweet tea for us when we returned.  After the meal was coffee and a Chocolate cake.  I get full just thinking of it.

[breederman]

I got the joke  Dan!  Nearly spit on the monitor.

[Weekend_Sawyer]

 I was wondering about the boat pulled hard against the dock like that.

Tom, What cut of meat is that? I swear, I looked at the pic and my stomach started growling, and that's some LOUD growls

[Tom_in_Mo.]

I got the joke too, kinda the highest paying job for fishing.

I am thinking about making that picture my home page, but afraid my stomach couldn't handle the pressure. I would get thinking about it and start chomping on my monitor.
One of the reason I didn't try to explain the picture for I knew Tom what he was talking about and I would just foul it up REGOOD.
Tom, I had forgotten about the coffee cake, sorry Gael. Those side orders of a BIG BAKED POTATOE and sauteed mushrooms just put the icing on the cake.
That was very amusing seeing that a building had been built out of shells and was still standing after all those years.

[farmerdoug]

I guess that is what the nursery rhyme was pointing to when they said' collecting seashells by the seashore'.  They were building seashell houses by the seashore.

Farmerdoug

[Tom]

The steaks are ribs. We get a whole rib, sometimes with bone and sometimes without and cut what we want.  If the bone is in it kinda denotes the thickness of the steak. 

The next that gets cooked here is Porter House, but, I'll be honest, we go through a lot of Chuck too.  No, not chuck steak, chuck roast.  The butchers will almost miss the meat when they cut a steak. Less than an inch is hardly worth cooking. One and half or two does just fine, as long as they are all that size.

One of the most discombobulating things is to be cooking for folks that brought their own.  Mine will be 1 1/2 and theirs will  be 1/2 or 3/4.  You just can't a fire right to cook'em mixed up like that.

Part of the reason for the thicker steak is for the fire to add its flavor.  You need more than just heat to cook a steak.  A lot depends on the type of wood, the amount of the smoke and heat of the fire.  A thin steak gets cooked just by being close to the fire.

What's the number one rule?   Don't cook over a yellow flame.

[Murf]

A lot depends on the type of wood, the amount of the smoke and heat of the fire.

Tom, we were talking about "Southern Hardwoods" on another thread, and your fire looks to be a real wood fire.

What kind of wood do you use down there, and do you start a fire on one kind and then add something else?

Just wondering 'cause we use pine & hemlock to get a hot fire going, then add apple or oak & apple to build the coals.

Inquiring minds...... 

[DanG]

I prefer oak, mostly, with a little bit of pecan or cherry added for flavor.  The reason I like oak is that it makes the best coals.  Pecan burns really well, but only leaves a fine white ash instead of a nice glowing coal.  I usually use a little pine to get the fire started, too.  It'll be long gone before the fire is ready for cooking.

Looks like I'll get my first chance to cook with apple next time.  One of my old trees died and the wind took it down a few weeks ago. 

[Weekend_Sawyer]

 Mom's old apple tree blew down, actually broke off at the root. I have made
2 batches of jerky using it for smoke. Came out fantastic.

Jon

[Tom]

I basically use Oak.  Specifically, Water Oak and Laurel Oak. That is because they plentiful.  I"ve used live oak and white oak before but they are better for the fireplace.

I make the fire with the oak and a little piece of fat lighter.  Dan's using pine to start the fire is OK too and I've done that, especially if my Oak is bit wet.

Then, as I approach a proper cooking fire, I use Pecan, Hickory, Cherry, Red Bay, Sweet Bay or other available "sweet" woods for flavoring.  They are put in the fire in small amounts and help keep the fire at the proper temperature but take the bite from the Oak.  I think too much "sweet" wood is obnoxious.  It's kind of like dumping a whole can of cinnamon on an apple pie. 

The real trick is to burn the wood until you are cooking on a green or blue flame.  Yellow fire puts soot on the meat.  That means that the fire may have to be bigger than most people think of a cooking fire. It's not a matter of waiting until all you have left is coals.  Cooking a roast, the coals are great.  Cooking a steak, that fire has to be pretty hot.

[Murf]

Hmmm, further research required.     

'Cept they say it's gonna be -11 tonight. 

Looks da fire pit has ta' stay cold for a few more days.  Real cold.

[Tom]

Murf!!

You can have a lot of fun warming yourself around a firepit while the fire gets right.  I've had nights when 11pm was the start of the cooking.  It makes for a long night but the meal sure is good. Just think of the Coffee pot on the open fire and the toasty toes and fingers held to the fire, and the oysters you steamed open and the apple with the brown sugar in it baking on the edge and the stories you can tell while you are chasing away the winter. 

[Tom_in_Mo.]

DanG didn't realize Adam and I was so close to you until we arrive at Tom's.

I also have an apple tree that I am going to have to prune early this spring. I will save those limbs. I also have some hickory and of course oak trees.

I am going to try a roast over the fire. My wife thinks I have went over the edge with this steak cooking, well, shoot I haven't cooked one the way Tom did yet, Wait until I get done and then put me in a straight jacket Naw, she a pretty good girl for sure, anyway she has put up with me for almost 24 years. Its really her fault for I weight about 180 lbs when she met me and now look at me......

[ADAMINMO]

Dont feel bad Tom, my wife is the same way.She asked why I needed a pit when I have a brand new grill. I told her it aint the same as a grill.  She said, well aint there a fire in it too???  Guess she got me on that one.  Oh well, she will think different when she bites into one of those steaks.

[Murf]

Murf!!

You can have a lot of fun warming yourself around a firepit while the fire gets right. 

Tom ole friend, if I make a fire dat'll keep me warm on a night when it's -11 out......

You'll see it from down der!!!     

[submarinesailor]

Mo Tom,

I know what you mean about the married and weight thing.  I weighted 147 the day we tried the knot.  Now we won’t talk about how far over 200 lbs I’m.

Bruce

[Furby]

Hey Tom,
Not to change the subject, but any chance that car ship tied up at Blount Island is named "Kentucky Highway"?
Was watching a show last night on National Geo. and part of the show was about the Kentucy Highway's trip throught the Panama Canal.

[Tom]

Furby, I remember reading the english name but Kentucky Hiway wasn't it I don't think.  Most of the writing on those ships is Hen scratching.

[Furby]

Yeah, I know.
I was just wondering after seeing the pic and show on the same day.