Page 4C
EAT, DRINK & EXPLORE
East Oregonian
Saturday, April 8, 2017
Solar eclipse mania spurs festivals, sold-out hotels
By BETH J. HARPAZ
AP Travel Editor
Get ready for solar eclipse mania.
Destinations in the path of the Aug.
21 eclipse, which will be visible in
the U.S. along a narrow path from
Oregon to South Carolina, are going
wild with plans for festivals, concerts
and viewing parties.
Hotels in Casper, Wyoming, are
charging five times their usual rates.
Rooms at Idaho’s Sun Valley Resort
have been booked for years.
An eclipse tour in Tennessee’s
Great Smoky Mountains National
Park sold out in 10 minutes. The
Smokies are among 20 National Park
sites that will experience the total
solar eclipse, from sections of the
Blue Ridge Parkway in North Caro-
lina to Wyoming’s Grand Tetons.
“We are expecting record visitation,”
said NPS spokesman Jeffrey Olson.
Hopkinsville, Kentucky, popula-
tion 32,000, and Carbondale, Illinois,
population 23,000, expect 50,000
visitors each. The destinations, 140
miles apart, will experience about
2 minutes and 40 seconds of total
darkness, among eclipse sites with
the longest duration. Events in the
region include an “Eclipse Con”
festival, concerts and tailgate parties.
South
Carolina’s
Clemson
University also expects 50,000
people at a campus event that will
feature astronomers and other
experts. Twenty thousand people
will gather in the Ochocho National
Forest for Oregon Eclipse 2017, with
music, yoga, theater, art installations
and more. Wind River Reservation in
Wyoming hosts “bring back the sun”
ceremonies.
A Pink Floyd Tribute band plans a
“Dark Side of the Moon” concert in
Jefferson City, Missouri. The South
Carolina Philharmonic in Columbia
offers “Star Wars Musiclipse.” Sylva,
North Carolina, has a “Moonlight
Madness” run.
Eclipse chasers
Sharon Hahs and her husband,
AP Photo/Ben Margot, File
AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File
In this May 2012 file photo, people view an annular solar eclipse as they look towards the setting
sun on the horizon in Phoenix. Destinations are hosting festivals, hotels are selling out and travelers
are planning trips for the total solar eclipse that will be visible coast to coast on Aug. 21. A narrow
path of the United States 60 to 70 miles wide from Oregon to South Carolina will experience total
darkness, also known as totality.
Billy, have chased 14 eclipses around
the world from Mongolia to South
Africa. They’ll see this one from a
family farm in Missouri, not far from
their St. Louis home.
“There is nothing else in our
universe that looks like a total solar
eclipse,” said Hahs. “The air gets
cool. You have 360-degree dusk.
Nature sounds really happen: the
cock crows, birds get quiet. We even
had a horse cross our viewing area to
return to the stable.”
Michael Allen of Southampton,
England, is a “keen amateur astron-
omer” who considers the eclipse “a
once in a lifetime opportunity.” He
can’t travel alone because he has
cerebral palsy and epilepsy, so his
brother Nick is accompanying him
on a three-day tour to Nashville with
eclipse-viewing at the Kentucky
border.
Jack Bohannon of Anchorage,
Alaska, plans to see the eclipse in
Nebraska as the “culmination of a
summer-long RV trip” with family.
“We were originally going to book
an RV park in the eclipse path in
Wyoming, but everywhere was full,”
he said.
Hotels
In small or remote destinations,
hotels and campsites in the path of
totality are completely sold out. But
bigger cities still have openings. As
of March 25, Nashville hotels were
only 54 percent booked.
Don’t assume lodging is sold out
because a travel booking site says so.
Call hotels directly to ask.
Many hotels are offering eclipse
packages. Nashville’s Loews Vander-
bilt package includes eclipse viewing
glasses, commemorative T-shirt,
Uber gift card and bar credit. Hotel
Jackson in Jackson Hole, Wyoming,
has an “eclipse concierge” to help
guests plan their $699-a-night stay.
Consumers in Oregon have
complained about hotels canceling
reservations they made long
ago, claiming rebranding or new
ownership, then charging much
higher rates for rebooking.
Location and weather
As the moon moves in front of the
sun, daylight will yield to darkness
from Oregon to South Carolina along
a path 60 to 70 miles wide. The path
of totality will also cut across broad
swaths of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming,
Nebraska, Missouri, Kentucky and
Tennessee, along with corners of
Kansas, Georgia and North Carolina,
and a tiny chip of Iowa. Totality will
first hit Oregon around 10:15 a.m.
Pacific time. South Carolina will
experience the final moments of total
darkness at 2:49 p.m. Eastern time.
Some spectators are heading to
mountains and forests to experience
the eclipse in a natural setting.
“Think of an eclipse as an
incredible short night,” with “a rapid
sunset and then sunrise,” said Sara
Morris, an ornithologist and biology
professor at Canisius College in
Buffalo, New York. “Birds go back
to roost. Animals that are active
during the day will stop foraging and
In this May 2012 file photo, the
annular solar eclipse produces
flare through a lens in Alameda,
Calif.
put themselves in a place of safety.”
Destinations that offer easy
highway access have an advantage
in bad weather: You can drive else-
where to seek clear skies. “Clouds
are the enemy of eclipse chasers,”
said Hahs. “If one can move, one
should.”
The driest section of the eclipse
path is from eastern Oregon to
western Nebraska but “even the
driest places on Earth experience
clouds, fog and rain,” said Brady
Phillips at the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, which
is developing an online weather map
for the eclipse.
Safety
When the sun is completely
blocked by the moon, its rays can’t
hurt your eyes. But the period before
and after totality is dangerous —
even when it seems dark — because
viewing even a sliver of the sun as it
slips in and out of view can damage
retinas. Sunglasses are useless.
Viewing through telescopes or
cameras without proper filters is also
unsafe before and after totality.
So be sure to buy eclipse glasses,
but don’t spend a lot: $1 glasses with
paper filters are fine.
For a summer cocktail, look
no further than a Ginnie Meyer
By THE CULINARY
INSTITUTE OF AMERICA
Associated Press
Melissa d’Arabian via AP
Dijon and sherry chicken tenders.
Mustard and sherry inspire
adult-friendly chicken tenders
By MELISSA D’ARABIAN
Associated Press
I mentioned to my
husband recently that I had
mastered an oven-baked
chicken tender recipe, and
his response was a little
underwhelming; dismissive
even. It sounded like a
healthier version of a
restaurant kid’s meal, and
frankly, he wasn’t interested.
At the dinner table,
however, I served them to the
family, calling the dish “fried
chicken” to my husband,
and “chicken tenders” to my
kiddos. I’m a big believer in
cooking only one meal for
the whole family — I’m not
a short-order cook — but
certainly the name could
vary a little?
Success on all fronts! My
husband is the fried chicken
lover of the bunch, but he
watches what he eats fairly
strictly. And he was sold
on the chicken — crunchy
on the outside and juicy on
the inside; no dipping sauce
needed. (But hey, if you want
to grab some low-fat yogurt
or ranch dressing, I wouldn’t
stop you.)
The secret to this adult-
friendly chicken tender
recipe is a few hours in a
simple low-cal marinade
made of sherry and Dijon
mustard, which tenderizes
the chicken and then serves
as the glue for panko bread
crumbs. Using panko means
lots of texture and crunch
without an overly heavy
coating. (Another option:
pulse up some fresh bread in
a processor to create jagged,
fluffy bread crumbs, and
DIJON AND SHERRY CHICKEN TENDERS
Start to finish: 35 minutes, plus marinating time
Servings: 4
• ¼ cup Dijon mustard
• ¼ cup dry sherry (or other fortified wine, such as
Marsala or Madeira or Port)
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs, or dried herbes de
provence, or dried tarragon
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breast
tenders, or boneless skinless chicken breast cut into
strips about one-inch wide and three inches long
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• olive oil in a spray mister (or nonstick spray)
Place the mustard, sherry, herbs, salt and pepper in
a large resealable plastic bag and mix the contents by
squishing the bag a little. Add the chicken to the bag,
coating well with the mustard mixture. Let marinate in
the refrigerator for 1-8 hours.
Once ready to bake, heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Fit a baking rack on a large baking sheet. (Cover the
baking sheet with foil to catch drips and make clean up
easier.) Lightly spray the baking rack with olive oil to
keep chicken from sticking. Place the bread crumbs on
a plate and use a fork to remove chicken tenders from
the marinade and toss in crumbs to coat on all sides.
Place the breaded chicken tenders on the baking rack on
the baking sheet and spray the top of the chicken lightly
with the olive oil mister. Bake the chicken until cooked
through to 160 degrees, about 20-25 minutes. Serve.
Cooks note: Add 1 tablespoon of honey to the
marinade for honey-mustard tenders.
Nutrition information per serving: 289 calories; 20
calories from fat; 2 g fat (0 g saturated; 0 g trans fats);
97 mg cholesterol; 840 mg sodium; 19 g carbohydrate;
1 g fiber; 2 g sugar; 41 g protein.
you’ll only need a slice or
two of bread for a full recipe
of tenders.)
Spraying the tenders with
an oil mister combined with
high oven heat work together
to create a crispy crust — not
quite fried, but pretty darned
close. With boneless skinless
chicken breast meat boasting
31 grams of protein per
serving (and fewer than
4 grams of fat), this easy
chicken tender recipe may
take a permanent spot in
your weeknight dinner menu
rotation. Both the adults and
the kiddos will be thrilled.
As we ease on down
that road toward spring,
you might start dipping
your toe back into outdoor
living. It starts with two
minutes of staring into the
sunshine before you huddle
back under the blanket, but
before you know it, you’ll
be reading your newspaper
al fresco with a cocktail in
hand.
That moment requires
planning, so it’s time to talk
spring cocktail. Sure, you
could go generic with your
old standby, but even small
moments deserve to be
celebrated with something a
little extraordinary.
Let our Ginnie Meyer
be your first taste of spring.
The drink is a refreshing
blend of gin, freshly
squeezed Meyer lemon
juice, and ginger beer. It’s
a slow wave goodbye to
citrus season as the sun
breaks through the clouds.
Meyer lemons are
sweeter than everyday
lemons, with a flavor that
might remind you of a
slightly tart orange. They
are also usually a brighter,
more vibrant shade of
yellow that looks beautiful
when sliced for garnish.
You should be able to
find them at most grocery
stores during the winter and
early spring, but you can
substitute equal parts lemon
and orange juice, if you
can’t.
Like all citrus, Meyer
lemons can be squeezed at
the peak of their season and
their juice frozen for later.
Portion 1/2 cup of juice into
small zip-top bags to have
enough for four cocktails,
and sip all year long.
You may have noticed
old favorites like the Dark
& Stormy and Moscow
Mule popping up on happy
hour menus. Ginger beer,
which is stronger in flavor
than the familiar ginger ale,
is having a moment right
now. This recipe capitalizes
on the availability of
high-quality and, if you’re
lucky, local versions of this
lightly carbonated, slightly
spicy mixer.
Speaking of ginger, if
you’ve never tried candied
ginger, this is a good excuse
to grab some at the store
to use as a garnish. CIA
Phil Mansfield/The Culinary Institute of America via AP
Ginnie Meyer cocktail.
GINNIE MEYER
Start to finish: 5 minutes
Servings: 1 serving
• 1 ounce freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice
• ½ ounce simple syrup
• 2 ounces gin
• 2 to 4 ounces ginger beer
• 1 piece of candied ginger
• 1 mint sprig, for garnish (optional)
Pour the lemon juice, simple syrup, and gin into
a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake the cocktail
like you mean it and strain over fresh ice in a Collins
(tall) glass. Top with the ginger beer and garnish with
a piece of candied ginger stuck on a toothpick. Top
with mint, if desired.
Chef’s Note: If you don’t have bar measuring
tools, you can use a tablespoon measure — 1 ounce is
equal to 2 tablespoons.
Nutrition information per serving: 241 calories; 0
calories from fat; 0 g fat (0 g saturated; 0 g trans fats);
0 mg cholesterol; 11 mg sodium; 24 g carbohydrate; 0
g fiber; 20 g sugar; 0 g protein.
beverage instructor John
Fischer created this cocktail
and says, “Candied ginger
is so tasty and so much
fun because of its heat. My
friends and I always try to
steal the garnish from each
other’s glasses.”
The candying process
adds plenty of sweetness
to offset the spicy qualities
of this flavorful root. If you
have leftover, chop it up
and add to spice cookies or
sprinkle on top of a baked
pound cake.
The recipe calls for
simple syrup, which is,
simple. In a small saucepan,
combine equal parts water
and sugar, and bring to a
boil until the sugar is fully
dissolved. One cup of
water and one cup of sugar
is a convenient quantity
to keep on hand. The
syrup can be flavored by
steeping ingredients like
herbs and vanilla beans,
or by blending with fresh
fruit juice or purée (like
raspberries) — because
soon enough, you’re going
to need a summer cocktail.
———
This article was
provided to The Associated
Press by The Culinary
Institute of America in
Hyde Park, New York.