Sunday, September 25, 2022

Secret Recipes Revealed Durinig Coronavirus Pandemic

Published April 10, 2020

Hilton Doubletree Hotels Chocolate Chip Cookies.

https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/doubletree-hotel-official-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe

Ingredients:

½ pound butter, softened (2 sticks)
¾ cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1¼ teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2¼ cups flour
½ cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch cinnamon
2⅔ cups Nestle Tollhouse semi-sweet chocolate chips
1¾ cups chopped walnuts

Directions:

  1. Cream butter, sugar and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes.
  2. Add eggs, vanilla and lemon juice, blending with mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, then medium speed for about 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy, scraping down bowl.
  3. With mixer on low speed, add flour, oats, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, blending for about 45 seconds. Don’t overmix.
  4. Remove bowl from mixer and stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.
  5. Portion dough with a scoop (about 3 tablespoons) onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper about 2 inches apart.
  6. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Bake for 20 to 23 minutes, or until edges are golden brown and center is still soft.
  7. Remove from oven and cool on baking sheet for about 1 hour.

Cook’s note: You can freeze the unbaked cookies, and there’s no need to thaw. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F and place frozen cookies on parchment paper-lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake until edges are golden brown and center is still soft.


Disneyland Churros Recipe

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2020/04/cooking-up-the-magic-create-disneymagicmoments-at-home-with-disney-parks-churro-bites-recipe/

Ingredients

1 cup water
8 tablespoons butter
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1½ cups vegetable or canola oil
½ cup sugar

Instructions

  1. Combine water, butter, salt, and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon in 1 ½-quart saucepan over medium heat. Bring pot to rolling boil.
  2. Reduce heat to low.
  3. Add flour and stir vigorously until mix forms a ball. Remove from heat and let rest for 5-7 min.
  4. Add eggs, one at a time, and stir until combined. Set aside.
  5. Heat oil in medium skillet or 1-quart saucepan over medium-high heat or until temperature reaches 350˚F.
  6. Spoon dough into piping bag fitted with large star tip. Pipe 1-inch strip of dough over saucepan, cut with knife, and drop into hot oil. Repeat until churro bites fill saucepan with room to fry.
  7. Fry churro bites until golden brown. Remove with slotted spoon or mesh spider strainer.
  8. Drain churro bites on paper towel.
  9. Mix sugar and ½ teaspoon cinnamon in medium bowl. Toss in churro bites until coated. Place on serving plate and serve with favorite dipping sauce.

Monday, April 15, 2019

Requiem for Notre Dame





It's not just the loss of a church.
It's not just a loss for Catholics.
It's not just a loss for Paris, nor for France.

Mais, non!

Today all of us have lost a treasure. A legacy bequeathed to us by medievel engineers, who devised the now-famous flying buttresses and figured out how to make towering, load-bearing walls stand tall and stand strong for eight centuries, and by craftsmen and artisans who devoted their entire lives and gave us the best of their talents scultpting stones, carving wood, and staining glass to create a simply beautiful cathedral, in the name of God.

I've had a sad, sickened feeling deep in my gut all afternoon.
Today's fire has left me empty and in disbelief.

Notre Dame survived the tumultuous history of France.
Notre Dame survived the French Revolution.
Notre Dame survived Hitler's occupation.
Today, however, Notre Dame is gone.

And it's a loss for humankind.


















Monday, July 23, 2018

My Geographic Extremes - January 2018

Prior Entries in this series:


I love to travel!  It's fun to keep track of how far north I've been, how far west I've been, etc. I still haven't managed to get out of the northern hemisphere (the closest I've come to South America is the island of Curaçao, about 25 miles north of the Venezuelan coast), but I have really stretched my boundaries over the past couple of years.

In January 2018, I finally went so far west, that I was actually in east longitude! On January 10. 2018, I crossed the International Date Line for the first time, which meant that it instantly became January 11 as I hit eastern longitude. Nevertheless, until I finally circumnavigate the entire globe, I will continue to treat this a a "westernmost" extreme; after all, I did fly west to get there.

Interesting oddity: Two of the four compass point extremes are located on islands, and the other two are located at airports.

Here are my current geographic extremes (as of January 21, 2018)







NORTHERNMOST: 52.57° N

Terminal C at Berlin Tegel airport (TXL)

52° 33' 22.1034" N
13° 17' 52.8282" E

Monday, May 15, 2017

Plot on map












SOUTHERNMOST: 7.68° N

Maya Bay, Koh Phi Phi, Thailand

7° 40' 43.5" N
98° 45' 57.7" E

Thursday, January 18, 2018







EASTERNMOST: 23.95° E

Athens International Airport, Athens, Greece
37° 56' 12.1956" N
23° 56' 48.3106" E
Sunday, September 25, 2016
(repeated Tuesday, September 27, 2016)










WESTERNMOST: 98.28° E


Between Patong and Karon Beach
Phuket Island, Thailand


7° 51' 44.9346" N
98° 17' 1.4202" E

January 16, 2018


Plot on map









Other temporary easternmost spots during January 2018
January 13, 2018 - Tian Tan Buddha/Ngong PingVillage
Lantau Island, Hong Kong
22° 15' 27.9108" N
113° 54' 6.663" E

January 11, 2018 - Hong Kong International Airport
22.314288 N
113.931159 E






PRIOR NORTHERNMOST: 52.43° N

On the A10 Ring Road on the north side of Amsterdam

52° 25' 31.5552" N
4° 53' 16.0512" E
Saturday, May 14, 2016

Plot on map

PREVIOUS PRIOR NORTHERNMOST: 51.45° N

On the Trans-Canada Highway, about 8 km NW of Lake Louise, Alberta

51° 27' 30.2652" N
116° 16' 7.3848" W
Saturday, May 23, 2015

Plot on map







PRIOR SOUTHERNMOST: 12.07° N

Caracas Baai, Curaçao

12° 4' 8.439" N
68° 51' 42.1524"

Tuesday, June 13, 2007

Plot on map


PRIOR EASTERNMOST: 7.06° E

Cologne, Germany
Transition ramp from southbound Autobahn 3 to Autobahn 4 and 59, east side of Köln
50° 55' 29.172" N
7° 3' 30.2522" E
Saturday, May 14, 2016
The eastward march of my easternmost point in May 2016

Thursday, May 5, 2016: Heathrow Airport, London
Thursday, May 5, 2016: Tower Bridge, London
Friday, May 6, 2016: Royal Naval Observatory, Greenwich, England
Saturday, May 7, 2016 - 48.88°N 2.36°E: Gare du Nord, Paris
Sunday, May 8, 2016 - 48.86°N 2.39°E: Père La Chaise Cemetery, Paris
Tuesday, May 9, 2016 - 48.87°N 2.78°E: Marne La-Vallée RER Station, Disneyland Paris
Friday, May 13, 2016 - 50.84°N 4.34°E: Bruxelles Midi Station, Brussels*
Friday, May 13, 2016 - 50.84°N 4.38°E: Parlamentarium (European Parliament), Brussels
Friday, May 13, 2016 - 52.38°N 4.90°E: Amsterdam Centraal Station, Amsterdam*
Friday, May 13, 2016 - 52.37°N 4.93°E: Brouwerij t'IJ, Amsterdam

* - Also a new northern record at the time


PRIOR WESTERNMOST: 158.10° W

Haleiwa, Oahu, Hawaii

21° 35' 35.448" N
158° 6' 12.5892" W
Monday, February 14, 2011


Plot on map


Conversions from Decimal to Degrees /Minutes/Seconds:
https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/dms-decimal


Saturday, December 9, 2017


I now have a travel blog, the Selfie Traveler

Find my travel posts there instead.

selfietravelerblog.wordpress.com

Thursday, October 19, 2017

Black Tuesday of 1987

Today is the 30th anniversary of the stock market crash of October 19, 1987. On that day, the Dow Jones Industrials average fell 508 points in one day at time when the average was only at 2200 to begin with. It would be the equivalent of a 5000 point drop today.

I remember being worried that another Depression was coming, but since I was young and had only a small amount invested back then, I left my 401k in the market. The good news was that less than six months later, the entire plunge had been recovered ...and more.

What I learned from that experience was never to panic, and certainly never pull out when prices are low. It's a lesson that served me well back in 2008 when the market lost nearly half of its value -- not in one day, both over a relatively short period of a few months. Then too, I did not pull my money out, and I have been rewarded with a near quadruple of the market since the low in early 2009.

The lesson I take from it is this: slow and steady wins the race. if you're in it for the long term, just keep putting money away, and don't fret about the short term movements on Wall Street. Other people want us to sell in a panic ..so they can profit on your losses.

Saturday, September 30, 2017

Recipe: Parmesan Penne Sausage Skillet


4 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp chopped garlic
 1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup sliced red onions

1 14.5 oz can stewed tomatoes
1 cup penne pasta
2 Italian sausages (or 3 sausages if you wish)
1 roma tomato
1/2 pkg (30g-35g) chopped basil
1 tsp oregano
1 tbsp sea salt

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese



In a skillet, add the olive oil, chopped garlic, sliced mushrooms, and red onions, and sautee.

While sauteeing, slice the sausages, and the roma tomato.

Then, add the stewed tomatoes, penne pasta, sliced sausages, roma tomato, basil, oregano and sea salt.

Use the empty can from the stewed tomatoes to add one can of water.

Stir. Cover. Simmer on medium heat for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the Parmesan cheese and serve

Recipe: Crockpot Creamed Corn


2 lb frozen corn
1 cup whipping cream
2 cups milk
2 8 oz pkg cream cheese
1 stick butter
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp paprika

Cut the cream cheese into cubes, sliced the butter.

Place all of the ingredients into the crock pot. Stir. Stir occasionally while cooking.