Kim Shook

I love aprons and wear them all the time I am in the kitchen. The one that I wear most often is actually 100% polyester, but feels exactly like cotton. It is a classic plain white with extra long ties (so that it ties in front and I can drape a towel through the ties). It was a freebie from a cooking class I took years ago with Roberto Donna. I have them for almost every holiday and wear those when entertaining. My other favorite is one made for us by @maggiethecat It is two-sided. My side is flowered and Mr. Kim’s side is camo. It is one of my most treasured gifts.

Welcome!!!

Mr. Kim and I were discussing Reese's cups just the other day. Unlike other candies, which we prefer in the "fun size", we like the proportions of the regular Reese's cup better than the little ones. And we both agreed that the Reese's egg was the best. The real question is: How do you pronounce Reese's? "Reesus" (like the monkey) or "Reecie"? That's the Mason-Dixon line of candy!

I did, too. Between the pollution aspects and the child/slave labor prevalent in SE Asia, I just don't choose to buy it.

I, too, like cottage cheese. Straight is fine with me. I can't find my favorite anymore, though - dry, large curd. I used to eat it a lot as a kid. I saw America's Test Kitchen do a tomato and cheese lasagna where they swapped ricotta out in favor of cottage cheese - swore it had more flavor.

My take is it needed LOTS more time - 8-10 hours on low and liquid. Honestly, as much as I love my slow cooker for many things, braising red meat is not one of them. Slow cookers are supposed to cook at 200F on low, but I doubt it. I have multiples of them and I think they all cook higher than that on low. I prefer to braise my short ribs covered, in the oven at 300F for five hours. Like this. I also do them on top of the stove like this.

Welcome! Enjoy yourself and I'm looking forward to your posts!

That looks great, @Shelby! I want to try that technique!

That's me. I have this odd reaction to eating. After eating almost anything, I grow incredibly sleepy. To the point that if I eat out when alone, I sometimes feel unsafe driving home and have to either eat close to our house or wait out the sleepys in the restaurant. None of my doctors has any clue what this could be. So, if I need to get something done, I tend not to eat anything but a small snack until dinner time.

I should have said toasted. Skewered and flamed over a candle.

Salad: Spaghetti Bolognese: Buttered and toasted potato rolls: I have to have some kind of bread to eat with anything saucy - gotta drag the bread through the leftover sauce. I couldn't face stopping at the store today, so leftover hamburger buns it was.

Just asked Mr. Kim to order that one and also Instant Pot Obsession.

I didn't grow up liking Peeps and neither did our daughter. But Mr. Kim did. So they were around after Easter. What we discovered was if you roasted them and then dipped in chocolate fondue (or hot fudge), they can be quite yummy.

You are my hero.

There was an egg. @Toliver suggested adding another to help bind things.

@lindag, @ElsieD, and @Toliver – thanks so much for the questions and comments. I used both beef and pork. The beef was 80/20. But, I just realized looking over the recipe that it calls for 1 1/2 lb. of meat and I used 2 lbs. Could that be the issue? I don’t have the meatloaf recipe you talked about, but I do have a Cook’s Country cookbook with a meatloaf recipe that looks simple enough. I think I’ll try that on the rest of the meat I’ve got in the freezer.

This almost ended up in the “I will never again…” thread because I’m not sure I’m ever making meatloaf again. For most of my early adult life, I couldn’t make meatloaf to save my life. It tasted fine, but fell apart – no matter what recipe I used. Mr. Kim and I used to joke that my meatloaf made great spaghetti sauce. Then, about ten years ago, it suddenly started working for me. They held together and served great both hot and cold. I haven’t made one in a long time and got a craving. So, I used one of my usual recipes - Barbeque Meat Loaf. I didn’t put it in a loaf pan – just patted it into shape on a sheet pan and put it in the oven. When I went in to brush it with sauce 20 minutes later, it had begun to spread out over the pan. Luckily, I’d put it on top of foil, so I just gathered it up with the foil and fitted it into a loaf pan and finished baking it. It was obviously much too loose to take out of the pan, so I chilled it completely. When I took it out and sliced it, it was still very crumbly: I ended up heating it in the microwave and piling it on toasted buns, topping with the sauce and an onion ring and serving it that way: So frustrating. I have no idea what I’m doing wrong considering this is a recipe I’ve used before. Sigh. I also served leftover pintos and collards:

@JoNorvelleWalker – Lovely dinner on Saturday! Do you make your slaw with Napa? And those potatoes – Jeez Louise!!!!! @Shelby – Your bread is GORGEOUS!!!! How do you make such lovely bread? @Ann_T– Hoping things go well with Moe! I’ve been thinking about you two! Some recent meals – took dinner to some friends last week. My MIL’s Mandarin Tossed Salad: (I forgot to put the oranges on until halfway through dinner). Shrimp burgers: (one on GF bread). Frozen sweet potato fries: We finally celebrated Jessica’s 35th BD (the actual date was 1/27) at our favorite restaurant in Charlottesville VA - Al Carbon: Sides: Street corn, pinto beans and plantains. The incredible chicken: Chicken cemita: Breaded beef cemita: Churros: A simple one – salad: And kielbasa, fixed up Kraft and green beans and potatoes: Mr. Kim ordered some Father’s bacon: I had some Armenian sweet bread in the freezer: French toast, bacon and fruit: We really liked the bacon and thought it was as good as Benton’s. But the next morning I had some that was leftover and found it a little too smoky and salty. I finally used my Instant Pot for the first time. I did collards and pintos: Also Shake ‘N Bake pork chops and fixed up Kraft. And cornbread, of course – got the skillet good and hot – look at the sizzle: I was thrilled with the flavor of the greens and the beans. Both needed a little bit more cooking time than the recipes called for, but that is an easy adjustment.

@chord - thank you so much. I think I have some leftover cornbread in the freezer and it would be perfect for this! Father’s bacon and egg on a potato roll:

I would never have thought of cornbread for strata! What a great idea. It looks and sounds marvelous! Care to share the recipe?

The youth group at our church hosted a fund raiser pancake supper last night. Pancakes, sausage and applesauce. Does that count?

Digging through the freezer for shrimp, I found some sausage balls…LUNCH!

Exactly. I think I've seen one once at Wegman's. I'm quite sure that our butcher could get them for us. She does whole animals. I mean it's in there somewhere. I just don't think to ask.

I actually found a chuck-eye steak! I shopped at Publix yesterday and was looking for the equally mythical (at least in my area) tri-tip and there they were!!!