Read between the pages at book sale
Friends of the St. Mary’s County Library will hold a winter book sale 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 4, at the new Leonardtown Library Branch on Hayden Farm Lane in Leonardtown.
Masks are strongly recommended and will be provided if needed and the library accepts cash, checks and credit cards.
In other library news, St. Mary’s County Libraries Director Michael Blackwell announced that The Library/ Garvey Center has won a Professional Merit Award for non-residential new construction.
For more information, contact 240-561-9828 or folstmarys@ gmail.com.
Museum holiday events planned
The St. Mary’s County Museum Division has plenty of holiday events scheduled over the next month:
• St. Clement’s Island Museum will hold its annual Christmas Doll & Train exhibit noon to 4 p.m. daily from Wednesday, Dec. 1, through Sunday, Jan. 2. Enjoy a holiday exhibit of antique and collectible dolls, classic trains, and other retro toys in this festive holiday display inside the museum. (Closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Call 301-769-2222.
• The Piney Point Museum will hold a Retro Christmas noon to 4 p.m. daily from Sunday, Nov. 28, through Sunday, Jan. 2. Enjoy tours in a family-friendly retro holiday exhibit inside the museum and keeper’s quarters. The museum is closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.Call 301-994-1471.
• St. Clement’s Island Museum will hold a free Holiday Open House noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 5. Enjoy the opening of the doll and train exhibit inside, activities, music and refreshments. Call 301-769-2222.
• Piney Point Lighthouse Museum will hold a free Christmas Open House noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 28. Activities, refreshments and more. Call 301-994-1471.
For more information, go to www.Museums.StMarysMD. com.
Fleury talks boating at Lions meeting
The Leonardtown Lions Club held a meeting Nov. 3 at the Olde Breton Inn. The guest speaker was John Fleury, who gave a presentation on his handmade 20-foot center console fishing boat. The project took Fleury, who trailed his boat to the meeting, about five years to complete.
Anglers should pursue striped bass
According to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, there is plenty of good fishing for striped bass which are spread throughout the lower Bay from Tangier Sound to the lower Potomac River. Along the shorelines, casting paddletails and jerkbaits are great ways to target striped bass. During the fall, jigging is a popular way to target them along channel edges or under breaking fish. Popular spots include the edges of the shipping channel, the channels leading from the lower Potomac from Point Lookout to Smith Point, the lower Potomac from Piney Point to St. George’s Island and the lower Patuxent River. Trolling is a good option, though it requires heavy tackle since heavy inline weights are needed to get umbrella rigs down deep to where the bass are holding. Popular locations include the steep edge in the lower Potomac from St. George’s Island to Piney Point, the mouth of the Potomac from Point Lookout to Smith Point, and the eastern and western sides of the shipping channel in the Bay.
White perch are holding over oyster bottom near the mouths of the Patuxent and St. Mary’s rivers. The middle to upper Patuxent and the middle of the Potomac River are loaded with blue catfish. Be sure to write down the tag number and release them as they have transponder tags inside them and biologists are monitoring their movements. All other blue catfish should be harvested.
Recipe of the Week Rustic Oyster, Corn and Bacon Chowder
By Susan Bickta of Pennsylvania
2021 National Oyster Festival Cookoff Finalist
(Fourth in a series of 2021 National Oyster Festival Cookoff winning recipes)
Ingredients
8 slices bacon, chopped, cooked and crumbled, fat reserved
¼ cup butter
1 medium-sized onion, diced ½ teaspoon minced garlic 3 medium-sized potatoes, unpeeled, cut into ½”-sized cubes
1 quart oysters, shucked and drained with liqueur reserved
2 14-ounce size cans seafood or chicken stock
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon celery salt ½ teaspoon pepper
1 10-ounce package frozen whole kernel sweet corn, thawed
1½ pints half-and-half 1 5.2-ounce package Boursin Garlic and Fine Herbs cheese 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes ½ cup whole milk
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 green onions, thinly sliced Oyster crackers
Directions: In a 6-quart stockpot, place chopped bacon and heat over medium high heat. Cook, stirring often until just crisp. Drain bacon on paper towel and crumble when cooled. In the same pot as the bacon fat, add butter and onion. Cook and stir under tender, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute. Add potatoes, oyster liqueur, seafood stock, salt, celery salt, pepper and corn and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 6-8 minutes. Add oysters and simmer until oysters start to curl around the edges. Add reserved bacon, half-and-half, cheese, and parsley flakes. Cook, stirring constantly, until cheese has melted. In a small bowl, combine milk and flour. Whisk together until no lumps remain. Add to chowder and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Garnish with green onions and oyster crackers, if desired.
Sue is a cook-off pro; her recipes have graced this column June 26, 2020 (Hot Italian Grinder Dip) and Oct. 8, 2021 (Leonardtown Hearty Oyster Chowder With Bacon). She is now a 3-time finalist in the National Oyster Festival Cookoff where she was the winner of first place prizes in the Soups and Stews Category in 2018 and 2019. Currently, she is a volunteer field editor for Taste of Home magazine. Sue says that so far she already has one great recipe idea for the 2022 Oyster Cookoff and is hoping to be a contestant again next year. Once again, thank you Sue for sharing your wonderful recipe with B2R readers. Please continue to send your news items and recipes to LynnieBDavis@gmail.com. Thank you.