Kim Shook

This is funny. I obviously live vicariously through my eG pals. I don't think I own ONE item that didn't exist before the turn of the century. Of course, I've replaced or bought new things since then, but nothing that was completely a new product. I don't even have a smart phone.

@liamsaunt – that burrata salad looks gorgeous. One of my favorite foods. @kayb – we did the Olive Garden thing a few weeks back (gift card from a sweet, non-food person) and had the same reaction. My town is big enough that we have quite a few medium range Italian restaurants with good food. And yet every time you drive past the OG lot is FULL. I have an otherwise lovely niece who was stationed in Germany and every time she came home she couldn’t wait to go to OG. @Shelby - I keep meaning to ask you. I know that you peel your tomatoes. I was raised by a grandmother who thought that women who didn't peel their tomatoes were slatterns. I detest the texture of a tomato skin - especially in a sandwich. But I am terrible at peeling them. If I'm going to cook with them, I just do the boiling water trick, but don't like that with raw tomatoes. What knife/tool do you use to get them peeled so nicely? Jessica was over for a “Good-bye to summer dinner”. We started off with pimento cheese & pork rinds and Fritos & clam dip: BLT’s: With some marinated cukes and awful tomatoes: Good corn: Dessert: And Alexa playing the Beach Boys.

Welcome, Gibbs! I'm excited to see that you are from the UK - my spiritual home! I had an English stepdad and 3 stepsisters and grew up wanting so much to go there. I finally made it a few years ago and am hoping to go back next year. We loved it so much. Can't wait to see your posts! As far as being a food blogger - you can add a link to your blog in your posts. I am not very good at tech stuff, but someone else will be able to tell you how to do that!

Ham steak on the grill w/ an orange marmalade, ginger and teriyaki sauce: Mr. Kim’s plate w/ kale and a sweet potato: My plate w/ creamed corn and ATK method baked potato: The ‘method’ involves a quick ‘brine’ (literally just dipping the potato in salted water) and rubbing with oil 10 minutes before removing from the oven. It did result in a much crisper skin than my usual method of rubbing with oil and salting before cooking – and was certainly no more difficult than that method.

Welcome, Louwings! Looking forward to your input!

I confess to being extremely pedestrian. The food that it seems Milk Street is going to be concentrating on just doesn't hold much interest for me. But I usually enjoy reading food writing even if it is about things that I will never eat. This mess just sounds pretentious and silly.

Dinner tonight – Pork chop, roasted cauliflower and veggies for Mr. Kim: And chili mac from the freezer for me:

Dinner last night was a layered salad, consisting of lettuce, cauliflower, mayo, sweet onion, bacon, hard boiled eggs and cheese: I I made one for a church potluck on Sunday and neither of us got a single bite (I was counting the collection and Mr. Kim was grilling hamburgers). At least 3 people wanted the recipe, though. I had all of the ingredients and made a small one for us. It WAS good!

Thank you! I'll be checking. I used to be able to find it at Richmond VA area Food Lions, but no more.

Usually I use this recipe: Creamed Corn - however, this time I made what I call "Winter Creamed Corn". When I'm in NC (haven't found it anywhere else), I buy this product: Corn in a tube. I mix it with a bag of good frozen corn and it makes surprisingly good creamed corn. I just happened to have a tube in my freezer and decided to use it for a quick meal.

Thinking of you during this scary time, @scubadoo97! And of all of the folks affected by nature lately and soon! I have family all over Florida, but a couple right above you in Palm Harbor, so I'll be watching your weather closely! Dinner tonight: D’Artagnan Merguez, roasted cauliflower and creamed corn. Considering that the second ingredient on the sausages was harissa, I figured they would be too hot for me and did an Old Bay shrimp boil. They weren’t too hot, so we shared. Served with the last of summer’s marinated cucumbers, a yogurt sauce, hummus and pita:

As long as he was "straight cooking", I was fine. But all of what I call "stunt cooking" was tiresome to me. He disdains what he calls unitaskers, but then sends you to the hardware store for dozens of items to build your own smoker or dehydrator. Sigh.

Welcome! You will find lots of folks knowledgeable about different Asian cuisines here! Where are you located?

I've heard of B&B's that offer cats for company at night. But I've never been to one offering "fried hims". Quite the hospitable place.

Oh, @kayb, I LOVE this story!!! As would my dear friend @racheld, who used to post here years ago. @caroled - tell your Momma to come read this!!! This is exactly the kind of place that Mr. Kim and I love to find on road trips. We would much rather risk a disappointing meal (and sometimes a tummyache) or a chance at something wonderful than to play it safe and predictable by stopping at a national chain!

I usually enjoyed Good Eats and still watch reruns. But I've gotten a bit tired of the new Alton lately. It may just be the ridiculous Cutthroat Kitchen persona and show. I'll certainly be interested in watching the new Good Eats. Anything other than the marathon competition shows and half hour commercials (Diners, Cheap Eats, etc.) will be welcome.

Sorry to have disappeared again! Dealing with family health issues and also having to get a new laptop – I had problems finding a usable (for me) photo editing app. Found a way to get my old favorite Picasa onto my new computer, so I’m BACK! Some recent dinners from our house include - The inevitable salad: And frozen chicken Kiev and basmati rice: Honestly, I can’t see myself making chicken Kiev from scratch again as long as they make this product. It’s quite good and doesn’t require any work. I love to cook, but find stuffing chicken breasts much too fiddley. Served with some cheddar garlic biscuits left over from a dinner at Red Lobster (a gift card from a very nice person – the only decent part of the meal): Another night we had some of the adequate tomatoes we’ve been getting: And Sloppy Joes, baked beans and butter beans: Mr. Kim’s birthday dinner - Nibble’s before dinner – Belmont Butchery’s (our favorite butcher shop) house made pork rillets: So good! The first time that I tasted pork rillettes was in NOLA and I couldn’t figure out how something that is basically pork and pork fat could be that silky and smooth and not greasy feeling. I still can’t figure it out, but I’m sure glad someone closer than NOLA makes them! Dinner itself was Roasted Pork Chops, butter beans & Gorgonzola Polenta Lettuce in cream: This is a weird salad that I’ve posted before – iceberg with a dressing made of only cream, white vinegar and sugar. Shouldn’t be as good as it is. Wine: Chocolate cake from Wegman’s: Since we were celebrating with family and friends a few days later, I just bought a cake for the actual day. It was actually very good. My MIL made some Gazpacho – she even made some especially for me without bell peppers or jalapenos: Another night was Anna’s Chicken Casserole: Just a simple creamy chicken dish that my stepmom makes. And, of course, a salad: More of my MIL’s gazpacho: Served with salad and cheese: Lettuce greens with chicken, peaches and mozzarella. Swiss and Goats R Us Pineapple and Walnut chevre. Aged Gouda, Midnight Moon, Apple Walnut, Barely Buzzed, & Teahive. A dinner after a trip to Reidsville NC to visit grandmother. Reidsville’s BBQ place is called Short Sugar’s – open since 1949 and my favorite BBQ. Nibble before dinner – Short Sugar’s pork rinds and Palmetto pimento cheese: Short Sugar’s BBQ w/ slaw, baked beans and fried apples: And pickles: A welcome back dinner for our priest at our church – I made Colleyberry’s Shepherd’s Pie – a recipe given to me years ago by @Marlene: Tonight was Cincinnati chili (frozen Skyline chili) – spaghetti: Beans: Chili: Cheese and oyster crackers:

Mr. Kim’s Birthday Celebration cake - Michael Ruhlman’s Angel Food Cake w/ toffee & whipped cream: And something I’m calling “Eton Mess Cheesecake Dessert”: I made this for a welcome back dinner at our church for our priest. This was a bit of a cheat. I wanted the basic flavors of the Eton Mess that I make, but in a potluck-type of dish. So, I went with a sturdy cheesecake bottom layer. But, I used Philadelphia Cream Cheese Cheesecake filling! I mixed that with roasted strawberries and Cool Whip ( again – sturdier than whipped cream) as the bottom layer. I boiled down the resulting strawberry liquid to a thick syrup and spread that over the cheesecake layer. More Cool Whip on top, a drizzle of my lemon curd and then meringues. They scraped the dish clean!

I’ve been ‘off the grid’ lately due to a new laptop and issues finding a usable (for me) photo editing app. Found a way to get my old favorite Picasa onto my new computer, so I’m BACK! Some recent breakfasts: CI Soft boiled eggs and Wegman’s croissant (slightly over baked!) Goats R Us cocoa chevre and more Wegman’s croissants. Mr. Kim’s birthday breakfast: Benton’s bacon, cocoa chevre, Wegman’s croissants and scrambled eggs. Another one: Croissant French toast w/ lemon curd and whipped cream, Neese’s sausage from NC. The angel food cake that I made for Mr. Kim’s birthday party calls for 10 egg whites. Alton Brown’s lemon curd calls for 5 egg yolks, so I made 2 batches and gave them to everyone. Lovely on the croissant. More lemon curd: French toast w/ lemon curd and NC sausage. Fried eggs and the last of the Edward’s country ham.

I do like retro cooking and cookbooks, and have often thought of trying to cook my way through some of the old books ala Julie Powell. There are a couple of sets that I own that would suit your purpose, I think. Better Homes & Gardens put out a series called the "Creative Cooking Library" in the 1960's and The Family Circle Illustrated Library of Cooking (1970's) is another good one. I think that the Family Circle set was available in grocery stores - one of those things that the first book cost like $.99 and you could buy the rest a week at a time. Both series are featured in the hilarious Lileks book and website.

Onion rings also make an amazing combination with meatloaf!

Welcome! Another nutcase right here! I gave my (mostly) non-cooking husband a smoker a few years ago and now he's addicted. I think the combination of you being a smoker and a retired butcher will find people here asking you LOTS of questions!

Welcome, Captain! Like Kay says, JUMP IN! I always especially look forward to hearing from folks outside of the US!

We had friends up from Florida for a few days. One dinner was proceeded by cocktails – IRS Blues Martini: Citrus flavored vodka, blue curacao and lemonade. The Union Stimulus Package: Muddled strawberries, agave and vodka. And The Money Maker: Pear flavored vodka, Midori and lemon juice. Silly names, but all tasty. I had planned on making shrimp pizza for dinner, but we were so full from lunch that we didn’t get hungry until late, so I just sautéed the shrimp and served it with my HOT cocktail sauce (the only spicy thing I like): Served with corn chowder w/ paprika oil: And garlic naan: This was the night’s tragedy: Dinner the night before was at the fabulous L’opposum in Richmond. I had one entire crab cake and half of the other left over (they were enormous) and our friend, Gary, had most of one left. I thought they’d be wonderful with the shrimp and I put them in the microwave to slightly warm…and discovered them still there the next morning. I had completely forgotten them! I don’t think Gary has forgiven me yet. And I’m still grieving. Another guest dinner started with a visit to the Belmont Butchery. Our friends got to meet and talk with Tanya Cauthen – the owner and our local culinary celebrity. She competed and WON a recent Chopped episode. She was delightful and happy to answer their questions and tell about her experience. We got some charcuterie to go with dinner that night. We also stopped at Wegman’s to show it to our friends and to buy some stuff to augment dinner. We spent an embarrassing amount of time tasting every cheese the fellow at the cheese counter offered us and bought a few. Our friends had ordered some cheeses from Beehive Cheeses to be sent here and I planned dinner around that. The dinner table: The meats: Mortadella, Fromani Soppressata, Framani Toscano, Creminelli Fennel Salame, Creminielli Calabrese Salame, and Edwards country ham. Cheeses: Top row are from Beehive Cheese: Barely Buzzed (espresso and lavender hand-rubbed) , Apple Walnut (cold smoked), Big John’s Cajun, Fully Loaded (with double-Rye whiskey), and Tea Hive (black tea and bergamot). Bottom row: St. Augur Bleu (France), Cave Ripened 1916 (VT/NY), Pie d’Angloys (France) and Cypress Grove Midnight Moon (Netherlands) Pickly stuff: Pickled grape tomatoes and assorted olives. Bread and crackers: Sliced apples: Bacon wrapped dates stuffed w/ Manchego: These were a partial fail. When I tested the recipe, I decided that a whole piece of bacon was too much – you didn’t taste anything but bacon and they were awkward to eat. So I decided on just one half a slice per date. These are fried in oil and the whole slice of bacon stayed on just fine. It didn’t occur to me that the half slice wouldn’t have as good a ‘hold’. So most of the bacon came off in the fryer. No matter – I can fix that next time with toothpicks and these were simply addicting. These get drizzled with a honey-balsamic glaze. I confess to coming down before I went to sleep and microwaving a couple more to nibble. Fantastic things. Puff pastry pockets stuffed with bleu cheese and drizzled with black pepper infused honey: We were food intoxicated by the end of this day. Another friend came for a visit on his way home from NC. Served @Maggie the Cat's Shrimp w/ Corn & Basil: Napa salad w/ radishes, carrots, toasted sliced almonds & fried noodles w/ Copycat Oriental dressing: Billy Bread: All the house guests were gone – back to normal! One dinner started with, what else, salad: BLTs: And pickly stuff: Another dinner - breakfast. I couldn’t bear wasting the leftover Billy bread from the other night, so I made French toast: With applesauce and Edward’s Country ham. Cook’s Country Pan Fried Pork Chops, fixed up Kraft, Poppaw’s green beans (whole canned with bottled Italian dressing – this was how my great grandfather ate green beans and is still the only way I like them other than long cooked southern-style) and corn: @Marlene's Ground Round with red wine sauce, broccoli and mac and cheese: Mr. Kim’s Spaghetti Sauce on Wegman’s Barilotti pasta: Raw vegetables (lettuce had died on me) and garlic naan with Fontina:

Thank you so much! Here you go: ET Rolls and Bacon Jam.