On 1/27/2013 10:48 AM, Ophelia wrote:
>
>
> "jmcquown" > wrote in message
> ...
>> On 1/27/2013 10:19 AM, Janet Bostwick wrote:
>>> On Sun, 27 Jan 2013 14:51:43 -0000, "Ophelia"
>>> > wrote:
>>>
>>>> My family were great bakers and made wonderful bread, cakes, scones and
>>>> pastries every week.
>>>>
>>>> A couple of my favourites which I still sometimes make today:
>>>> snip
>>>> What were your favourites? Not necessarily sweet thing btw!
>>>>
>>> I loved fried smelt. Great Lakes smelt are smaller than ocean smelt.
>>> My BIL would catch them by the bushel-basket full in Lake Michigan. I
>>> can't remember the time of year or what else we had with them. I
>>> think we had sour cream cucumbers, but what I remember is this truly
>>> heaping platter of fried smelt. (Heaped high enough that some would
>>> always slide off) They were all golden and crusty. Mom fried them in
>>> her big 'spider.' (I don't know why, but spider is/was a common term
>>> for the big, black, cast iron skillet.)
>> (snipped)
>>> Janet US
>>>
>> If it had "legs" it was a spider
>>
>> http://www.ebay.com/itm/ANTIQUE-CAST...-/251024528288
>>
>
> I have an antique Scotch Frying Pan which has three wee legs. It also
> has a handle over the top which can hang over a fire
>
That's a spider! You could either set it directly over the source of
heat or hang it over a fire. Great for cooking outdoors if you ever go
camping.

Jill