Kim Shook

One of mine that I’ve been reminded of lately is using things that are too small for the job. Knives, bowls, pans, etc. It drives me crazy going to someone else’s house and watching them cut up vegetables for a salad with a little paring knife. A friend of mine takes almost 30 minutes (I surreptitiously timed her) to make a salad that would take me 5 – and that does not include washing things. TV cooks are especially bad about using too small bowls. They will add ingredients to the rim of a bowl and then try to stir. I realize that most of them don’t have the power to insist on specific equipment, so that is the fault of the director, I expect.

That looks and sounds amazing and I've never seen anything like it before!

This is what I had at lunch time, so I guess it counts. Mr. Kim surprised me with a visit to a new patisserie in town – Mon chou: Raspberry meringue tart bar and two macaron – key lime and coffee. Amazingly good and gorgeous. I’m thrilled to see something like this open in Richmond!

Mr. Kim had a poker game Friday night, so I contributed to the clean-out-the-freezer-before-Christmas-baking project: Frozen biscuits and Stouffer’s cream chipped beef. Dinner last night: Kale, a Lidl croissant, Shake and Bake BBQ pork chop and salad! I will probably serve this again this week, as I have another 2 chops and another envelope of Shake and Bake and I am furiously trying to help my daughter pack to move home, finish the majority of the baking that is being done for our church Holiday Market this Saturday and deal with my increasingly needy mother and grandmother.

I’m not usually a weekday breakfast person, but I woke up hungry this morning: Disappointed with that green ring on my yolk! I steamed these like I always do – never gotten green yolks with that method before.

Is anyone else reminded of @Chufi?

Doing a report for us???? Please?

Me neither. The idea of an egg hard enough to hold taco contents makes me feel extremely horky. And I like Taco Bell.

Glad to see the Shake and Bake love! Have to say though – it doesn’t make good leftovers. All those crumbs get sodden. Ick. Last night was pumpkin carving night. We had Shake and Bake leftoversand this: A really good Murray cheese (High Plains Cheddar), crackers and cocktail sauce. Cocktail sauce with Cheddar is a family tradition. I’ve known it all my life. Not sure which side of my family it comes from – I’ve seen it done by both sides. Now I’m curious - does anyone else do this?

Breakfast this morning: (crappy cell phone picture) Leige Waffles w/ homemade lemon curd and bacon.

Here you go: Anna's Chicken Casserole @Ann_T – those arancini are truly amazing looking. One of my favorite foods and I’ve never made them! A very plain dinner tonight that turned out to be really good. Two hour green beans that were as good as 4 hour beans (of course, I boiled the neck bones for an hour before adding the beans): A pan of Jiffy cornbread (I did coat the pan with Benton’s bacon grease): And, as my magnum opus to my recent dull meals – Shake and Bake chicken () and sweet potatoes: I did not grow up eating Shake and Bake and was amazed when @Marlene confessed to using it and liking it a lot. I don’t use it often, but I do like it occasionally. This time, I soaked it in Montgomery Inn (Cincinnati OH rib place) BBQ sauce before coating with the crumbs. Everything was very good and comforting! And this was dessert: My favorite ice cream thing in the world (except for a Crunchie ice cream bar).

Dear God, those eclairs.....thunk!

Just buttered panko.

I'm already loving this! Thank you for taking us along!

<Shiver>

Oh, those eggs! That is exactly what I'm going for when I make them. Gorgeous!!!

I like every one of those things. Except Circus Peanuts. More along the same lines.

I meant that the tamale I ate in Memphis was at Payne's. We loved Payne's BBQ. Also, they sell one of the best cookies I've ever tasted: "Eric's Momma Homemade Butter Cookies". Amazing.

What's wrong with grilling? I am lazy, so I usually just fry them in a pan, but my preferred method is grilling. I like a real char on a dog and the best way to achieve that is by grilling. How do people in their right minds cook hot dogs?

The one that I ate in Memphis was at Payne's. On another note, I just realized that I never added my Memphis food report - it was back in June 2016. A little late now.

I confess to growing up on Hormel's. My family ended up in the Washington DC area, but came from the Delta. We were the only folks I knew who ate these. My first taste of Mexican tamales was when we lived in LA when the year I was 10. Those tamales were completely different from Hormel - not just the quality or flavor. I never got the connection between tamales and Mississippi until I got into food as an adult. I finally tasted my first Delta tamale when we visited Memphis last year. They were a LOT spicier than Hormel! But I got the connection between them and what I'd grown up on. Since I am not a fan of spice, I'll stick with my Hormel!

Thank you so much. I should be able to count on a couple of hours at home before my guests arrive, but you never know. I'm taking my mom for a dentist appt. about an hour away. With traffic and never knowing how long we have to wait and how long the appt will be, I'm leery of leaving it until I get home. I think I will refrigerate and take it out when I get home so it has time to come to room temp.

I am making this tart for a dinner party: Fig Apple-Mascarpone Tart. I will be making it the day before due to having to be out of town the afternoon of the dinner (crazy scheduling). It has a layer of mascarpone spread over a shortbread crust. On top of the mascarpone is a layer of sliced apples. It is baked until the apples are tender. My question is: do I need to refrigerate this after cooling due to the mascarpone layer? Thank you!!