Karen's Castle

  Los Angeles, CA - December 9, 2010 Author /historian Jay Wertz will be signing books at the Weider History Group booth on Thursday, December 30 at the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl in Dallas, TX. Jay Wertz will be joined by Col. (ret.) Jerry D. Morelock, PhD, a West Point graduate who is editor in chief of Armchair General Magazine and edited THE PACIFIC – Volume One-Pearl Harbor to Guadalcanal. The Weider History Group booth, located in the Adventure Area of SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium, is open from 8:30am-10:30am before the game, and until 5pm. A post game concert with performances by Gary Sinese and the Lt. Dan Band will be in the Adventure Area as well. “Jay has written a terrific book that is not only outstanding ‘must read’ narrative history, it presents the ‘real war’ recounted in fascinating, ‘you are there’ detail by those who fought it. The veterans’ accounts are at the heart of the book and really make it ...

So many weddings this past months!

Los Angeles, CA (June 30, 2010) Author, filmmaker and Weider History Group contributing writer Jay Wertz will be presenting three World War II seminars at HISTORICON on July 8-11, 2010, at the Valley Forge Convention Center, 1160 First Avenue, King of Prussia, PA. Mr. Wertz will join fellow historians and featured guests at the four-day event, including Col. (Ret.) David Glantz, author of The Stalingrad Trilogy , Capt. (Ret.) Dale Dye, the military adviser on Band of Brother s and The Pacific , and Col. (Ret.) Jerry Morelock, editor-in-chief of Armchair General magazine.  The Weider History Group is sponsoring more than fifteen speakers to present engaging topics. "Each year HISTORICON draws about 3500-4000 people from around the world and 100 dealers offering everything you need to recreate military battles from across history," states Bob Giglio,  HISTORICON convention director,...

Serves: 6 servings Ingredients  Roasted Pears with Blue Cheese Port Sauce 3 ripe but firm Anjou pears Freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 lemons) 3 ounces coarsely crumbled sharp blue cheese such as Stilton 1/4 cup dried cranberries 1/4 cup walnut halves, toasted and chopped 1/2 cup apple cider 3 tablespoons port 1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed 1/4 cup good olive oil 6 ounces baby arugula Kosher salt Directions Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Peel the pears and slice them lengthwise into halves. With a small sharp paring knife and a melon baller, remove the core and seeds from each pear, leaving a round well for the filling. Trim a small slice away from the rounded sides of each pear half so that they will sit in the baking dish without wobbling. Toss the pears with some lemon juice to prevent them from turning brown. Arrange them, core side up, in a baking dish large enough to hold the pears snugly. Gently toss the crumbled blue cheese, dried cranberries,...

So happy to report that Zvents, 6abc.com, NBC10.com, Visitphilly.com, PhillyFunGuide.com, Mainline news.com, GoAC.com, NJ Family Magazine, GettysburgTimes.com, and many more are listing info about my client Jay Wertz and his seminars upcoming in July at Historicon!

Have to mention this on my blog..a new client! FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Hollywood Author and Editor Pens Pop Culture Top Ten List Los Angeles, CA (April 16, 2010) Hollywood content creator and author Jay Wertz has just published his latest on-line article "Pop Culture's Top Ten Fads" for HistoryNet.com. In an easy to read style of a top ten list, Mr. Wertz gives his own special twist on pop culture fads throughout history. In addition to his long career as a director, writer and editor, Mr. Wertz segued into pop culture as entertainment correspondent for the Weider History Group, the world's largest publisher of history magazines, having written the majority of the pop culture articles for the company's companion on-line sites. He continues to be a contributing columnist for HistoryNet.com.  "We're defining popular culture as it relates to the larger human experience," says Mr. Wertz. "Everything is history five seconds after...

Found this interesting sweet potato recipe online. Sounded good so posting it. 8-10 medium sweet potatoes 1/2 cup coffee liquer (Kahlua) 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder (Hersheys) 2 sticks unsalted butter (8 ounces total) l cup packed brown sugar Wash-scrub sweet potatoes. Peel now, or after boiling. Boil the potatoes until par-boiled, or until not too mushy as they will be baked for an hour. Heat the coffee liquer, cocoa, butter, and brown sugar in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat until a bit carmelized. Place peeled and boiled sweet potatoes in a large baking dish. Slice or chop to fit dish. Pour the sugar mixture over the sweet potatoes. Bake for l hour at 350 degrees until cooked through tender, and browned on top.

Friend and talented Sinatra impersonator Vaughn Suponatime shares this recipe! Thanks Vaughn!   PENNE WITH CARROTS AND CHEVRE   6 tablespoons of olive oil 10 oz carrots peel, cut crosswise into thin slices Fennel 1 lb Penne pasta 1 Tablespoon Italian parsley 6 oz Chevre (goat cheese)   Saute carrots with fennel, salt & pepper Cook the pasta then add it to the carrots and cook Add crumbled Chevre and parsley toss and serve.

Found this recipe in a quick and healthy cookbook. Sounded good so posting. HEALTHY CHICKEN FINGERS WITH SWEET DIP SAUCE Ingredients: for Chicken Fingers: 1 cup honey crunch toasted wheat germ 1/4 cup whole wheat flour (or all purpose) 1/4 tsp ground paprika 1/8 tsp black pepper l large egg l tbsp fat free milk 1 1/4 lb boneless skinless chicken breast halves cut into strips Ingredients for Sweet Bean Dip Sauce l tasp olive oil l small onion or shallot l clove garlic minced l can 19 oz white cannellini beans rinsed/drained 3/4 cup unsweented applesauce 1/4 tsp salt Chicken:  Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Coat baking sheet with cooking spray (non stick). Place wheat germ, flour, paprika, and pepper into large zip top plastic bag. (or large bowl) and mix. In medium bowl whisk egg and milk. Dip chicken fingers into egg/milk mixture. Then either place in bag (Or bowl) with wheat germ mix. Toss chicken in the mix until it is evenly coated. Place chicken fingers ...

http://www.ehow.com/how_6044031_make-sensational-quick-chocolate-bread.html

my tablescape in honor of the academy awards upcoming this Sunday! Go Oscar :-) !

Just sharing a recipe -- this sounds good for those of you who like oatmeal! And its quite healthy. Found this via the Food Network. Cherry Vanilla Oatmeal Makes 2 servings (1 1/4 cup each) Ingredients 1 3/4 cups water l cup Old Fashioned Oats or Quick Cooking Oats (not instant) 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup dried cherries 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla extract 2 tablespoons cherry jam (or to taste) 1/4 cup of l percent low fat milk (or more to taste - you can use whole milk if you choose to) Place water, oats, salt, and cherries in a medium saucepan. Bring this to a boil. Then reduce the heat andsimmer for about 5 minutes (for Old Fashioned Oats) OR 1 minute (for Quick Cooking Oats). Remove from heat. Sitr in the vanilla extract and the cherry jam.  You're all done! Place in serving bowls - you can add 2 tablespoons of milk over each bowl if you desire.

my fave fireplace photo..taken in Hershey PA

My facebook page is under site maintenance they say. Been unavailable for me to log onto since early this morning. No real response from facebook about this. Did a search and found that other people have had this issue. Could be unavailable for days! Hmmm. to be continued.

Welcoming to the world Miss Hailey Lynn 6 lbs and 15 oz.!

Valentine Dinner Menu was NY Strip Steak with Chocolate Wine Sauce, and dessert, chocolate torte and chocolate dipped strawberries. Pics of tablescape below.

another  pic !

Happy Valentines Day :) Just had a bfast of pumpkin pecan waffles! Looking forward to a nice dinner. (tomorrow start the diet :) Photos of tablescape to come later.

Beach pic by my friend Karen G of Bayport ! so pretty!

Snooow.

Over two feet of snow..posting some pics.

We are indeed snowed in. It's a winter wonderland here..been snowing since last night.Waiting for Richard to send me some pictures he took a little while ago! Stay tuned.

Two possible recipes for a special Vday dinner..here's either beef tenderloin with chocolate-wine sauce or filet mignon with roquefort chive sauce. Making one of these for Vday. Not sure which! Surprising Richard.. http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/cda/recipe_print/0,1946,FOOD_9936_281571_RECIPE-PRINT-FULL-PAGE-FORMATTER,00.html http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/roasted-beef-tenderloin-with-rosemary-chocolate-and-wine-sauce-recipe/index.html  Hope these links work. If not let me know :-) Thinking chocolate dipped strawberries for dessert.    

If anyone is reading this :-) I changed my settings (I think, new to this) to try to allow anyone to post a comment, even though you may not be registered as a gmail or with google!

ABC TV 6 in Philly just posted my snow pic of the tree below..on their website of snowtographs!

Some of you have emailed me saying that you have been trying to 'follow' me but can't because Google is preventing you from signing on with your email address. Wanted you to know I appreciate you trying!

So pretty !

Still snowing here ..so far about 12 or so inches..figuring we will have 15 inches before it ends..!

Found an easy brownie tart recipe on Food Network -- From Ina Garten's Barefoot in Paris.. just sharing http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/cda/recipe_print/0,1946,FOOD_9936_31380_RECIPE-PRINT-FULL-PAGE-FORMATTER,00.html

Megan loves stuffed animals!

 Adam, Jenn, Megan! Unc Richard make a wonderful meal of tortillas with rice, beans, guac, cheese, chicken and the whole enchilada :-) Adam's post bday and Richard made a chocolate devils food cake with mocha buttercream frosting. Yum!

Miss Megan looking cute :-)

Miss Megan!

Niece Miss Megan with Aunt Karen!

A sand castle cake!

Here's a pic from an award recognition program I produced for a long time client.

My first blog! Just testing to see if this really works! This pic on right was taken about 4 years ago..in atlantic city on the boardwalk..thought appropriate to show considering I have worked in and around the production world for many years! These props have since been removed from the boardwalk :-( but this is a fun pic to have nevertheless! My blog will most likely be a mix of info..personal and professional. Stay tuned!