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    Thursday, February 18, 2010

    Picnicking at "Fort Knotts" (Feb 2010)



    Last Saturday, February 13, 2010, Oak Street (part of the Historical Citizens Association) picnicked at “Fort Knotts”. Fort Knotts is an American Civil War Living History Encampment set up on the grounds near Independence Hall – and the parking lot - at Knotts Berry Farm in Buena Park, CA.

    It was a beautiful day. Not too hot, not too cold, and just perfect in the shade where we set up our picnic. (Thanks go to Gina, Chris, Cat, Elizabeth McCash, & the Crosbys…and anyone else I may have accidentally left out….who snagged us such a perfect picnicking spot!).


    I didn’t get that many pictures, but it was a fun ‘relaxing’ day. (I even managed a nap, which I really needed :). Jenn Mulvey even managed to make it over to visit with us with 15 *day* old baby Talon. (Yay!) So of course the baby was passed around, which he was pretty good natured about for the most part. :)


    Around 5pm we day-trippers were packing up our stuff, with a few people leaving for the day and some headed over to Mrs. Knotts Restaurant to eat supper over there. I was chit-chatting with a few people and it took longer than it should have for me to pack up my stuff, so by the time I was ready to figure out my supper plans, I had missed the earlier group. I did manage to join up with Elizabeth McCash, Colleen Crosby, & Shaw Crosby as they were about to head over to try the line at Mrs. Knotts. By the time we got there, though, the wait was an hour and our friends somewhere inside. We decided not to bother and instead trekked over to the nearby Claim Jumpers (where we all proceeded to split a couple meals due to HUGE portions and 3 of us wearing corsets! :).

    When we finished dinner, the 4 of us headed back to Camp and soon found the location where the dance was going on and found our friends already there. We were just in time to join in on the Virginia Reel, which was a blast. :)


    I danced a few more dances (though not every one – we had only recently had supper after all!), and visited some more with other non-dancers. Then sometime past 9pm, we called it a night. What an excellent end of a long (but full) day.


    Pics available at my Flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shutterbec/sets/72157623451829278/

    Jane Austen Evening 2010 Photos & Video Online!


    DSC09320
    Originally uploaded by
    marcailgaelyn


    Belated notice, but my Jane Austen Evening 2010 pics (& video clips) are now online.
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/shutterbec/sets/72157623309385342/

    I also have added the three videos from 2010 to my Youtube account’s Playlist for Jane Austen Evenings. You can find the Jane Austen Evening Playlist here: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=C7A0D6C8F38EE5D2

    in a baking mood

    so, I'm thinking of baking some cookies tonight, since the baking mood has apparently struck. ;-).

    But what cookies should I bake? Hmmm...so many choices.

    Chocolate Chip Oatmeal are always yummy. So are Molasses-Ginger Crinkle Cookies. Then there's Snickerdoodles...

    :)

    Any suggestions? :)

    Tuesday, February 02, 2010

    Garlic Parmesan Chicken Recipe

    Here the recipe I use for Garlic Parmesan Chicken, which is originally from Mary Hunt's Everyday Cheapskate (I don't know when it was published, as its a recipe my mom found and passed on to me).

    - - - -

    "Even if you are not typically fond of garlicky dishes, don’t rule this one out. The garlic does a wonderful job of tenderizing the chicken so that it nearly melts in your mouth. My family raves about this, and I’m nearly certain yours will, too. The secret is to make sure you use very fresh garlic. Hint: If you see any green or hints of sprouting, the bulb is not fresh."

    Garlic Chicken

    4 egg yolks, beaten slightly
    6 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
    4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into desired portions
    6 tablespoons butter, melted
    1 cup dry unseasoned bread crumbs
    1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
    1 tablespoon dried parsley
    1/2 tablespoon salt
    1 tablespoon ground black pepper

    Drop the egg yolks, chopped garlic and chicken breasts into a zip-type plastic bag. Press out as much air as possible and seal. Massage the bag to make sure that the chicken pieces are all well coated with egg and the garlic is well distributed. Refrigerate for at least four hours, up to overnight.

    Preheat oven to 400F. Place melted butter in a 9 x 13-inch glass baking dish, tipping dish until bottom of pan is coated. In a small mixing bowl, combine the bread crumbs, cheese, parsley, salt and pepper. Dredge chicken pieces in this coating mixture so they are coated well on all sides. Lay pieces in the baking dish in a single layer. Pour any remaining egg mixture over the top.

    Bake for about 40 minutes, or until no pink remains in the chicken and the juices run clear.

    Servings: 4 to 6


    - - - - - -

    Becky's Notes:

    Go ahead and add more garlic! I love the big garlic flavor so I add a LOT. :) Go ahead and refrigerate the chicken for overnight...4 hrs is too little. In fact, feel free to do more than 24 hrs. (This last time I made it, I prepped the chicken with the garlic marinade on Monday night, and didn't have time on Tuesday to cook...so it sat marinading until I made it on Wednesday. Turned out yummy! Did I mention I like the garlic flavor yet? :)

    I also tend to split the pepper into half white pepper & half black pepper...though when I'm cooking for a friend of mine who's allergic to black pepper, sticking to white pepper as a substitute is just fine.

    I'm having difficulty at present adding in pics to this blog post (not sure why at the moment), so instead of delaying posting this further, I'm going to suggest just looking through my Flickr set of pics while you read the above recipe directions. I took pictures throughout the process of making the chicken, so it should match up. :) If you have questions, please let me know! I've made this enough I can possibly help. (Plus, I've even made this for a large sized crowd...I'm talking like 25-30 people! :).

    For Cooking Process Pics (Recipe illustrations!) and the finished/plated food, check out my Flickr Set ("Garlic Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, & Veggies") . http://www.flickr.com/photos/shutterbec/sets/72157623314268134/

    Enjoy!!
    :)

    Monday, February 01, 2010

    Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pics online


    DSC09262
    Originally uploaded by marcailgaelyn

    Ok folks - for those of you following me on Twitter & or Facebook, in January I mentioned making some Garlic Parmesan Chicken...and then had requests for the recipe. So, here are the pics from the process of making the chicken (well, the whole meal really) as well as the final product. Ta Da! Looks good, doesn't it? :)

    Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pics (full set): http://www.flickr.com/photos/shutterbec/sets/72157623314268134/

    And Yes, I'll post *another* blog post with the *actual* recipe (and a few of the pics added it :).