Kim Shook

PC – your cakes get more beautiful each time you post them! You are truly accomplished and I’m always impressed. Chris H – your cookies were beautiful. Especially loved the looks of those Andes mints ones. I love the height you got (flat cookies are a perennial problem for me). rajoress – I thought your holly cookies were lovely! kayb – Bacon fat gingersnaps. I’ve printed THAT one out to try for sure. My Christmas goodies - Lemon chess tarts: Sugar cookies: My PB cookies that I’ve already posted about. Chocolate and Reeses Cup fudge: Iced almonds: Pretzel pecan turtles: Candied pecans: Sponge candy: “Happy Accident Candy”: Made with Cadbury chocolate and the shards from breaking up the sponge candy. Peanut brittle: Darienne’s Enstrom-Style Toffee: I think that I went a little heavy with the cocoa that is dusted between the toffee and the chocolate layers – my chocolate came off in sheets! I also made GF sugar cookies for my niece. Some food gifts – Jayme’s Caramel Corn: Chai spiced Chex mix:

One of Jessica’s Christmas gifts to Mr. Kim was a session in a sensory deprivation tank. For that, we traveled to Charlottesville VA where we also had lunch and dinner. Lunch at The Flat – a crêperie behind the Downtown Mall. I had the Temptation of Adam: Apple, Brie and Ham. Jessica had the Crepes According to Anna (no picture) with ham, Brie and local jam. Mr. Kim had the Southside of Heaven: Chicken, spinach, onion, feta and Cheddar. All were delicious. And enormous. Only Mr. Kim finished his. Dinner was remarkable. We ate at Al Carbon – it comes across as a Mexican/Charcoal rotisserie chicken place. And it is, but SO much more and better. Jess and Mr. Kim had discovered it one time when they went to a game and raved about it. The food was so wonderful and different and satisfying that days later, I’m still thinking about it and I’m ready to go back any time! We shared two cemitas (Mexican sandwiches) and charcoal roasted sweet potatoes. This was the breaded beef sandwich: You can’t tell by the picture, but the sandwich was huge – easily 7-inches across. The beef was 6 thin layers of tender, delicious breaded beef and it included avocado, fresh Oaxacan cheese, papalo (an herb like cilantro), red onion, a slice of ham and something creamy – I’m guessing mayo rather than crema. The other sandwich had all of the same fixings but was made with the charcoal cooked chicken. It was incredibly tasty and moist: The potatoes are roasted over charcoal and then topped with sweetened condensed milk. Incredibly good: Churros for dessert: Unfortunately, they weren’t serving the cajeta stuffed ones that night. Still fantastic, though.

Jessica’s breakfast the other day: Fried egg and baked beans and toast. I’ve taught her well.

Liamsaunt – I just sat and stared at your scallop rolls for about 5 minutes. Fabulous. Baselerd – love the idea of charred octopus in the spring rolls! Shelby – You can make Yorkshire pudding in a large pan – making, in effect, one large pudding (it doesn’t puff quite as much – this was the kind of pud that I grew up on) and apparently, in Canada, they make some sort of French dip thing, wrapping the roast beef in the large pieces of pudding and using the gravy for the dip. Just the idea of this makes me feel faint. I am determined to figure this out some day. Eight perfectly cooked and peeled hard boiled eggs: Peeled with the shaking in a plastic bowl with water method. Done while the eggs were still warm and the shells just fell off. Egg salad and olive and cream cheese spread to go with a meal basket for a lady at church who had some surgery:

I got this cake stand a couple of weeks ago: http://www.crateandbarrel.com/marin-white-large-cake-stand/s211092 I haven't opened it yet, but the packing slip gave it away. Not sure if I'm going to keep it or not. I like it, but I have 4 others within site of where I'm sitting right now.

Well, I wouldn't like to promise that it would work on any PB cooky recipe. It worked on mine: http://www.recipecircus.com/recipes/Kimberlyn/COOKIES/Almost_the_Best_Peanut_Butter_Cookies.html But it is certainly worth trying on a standard recipe. I didn't change the amounts of any of the other ingredients.

Toliver - I just added the powder to the dry mix. Didn't subtract any of the flour. I haven't added chocolate chips to these cookies, though I've done the Hershey's kiss on top before. No reason for you not to try the chips. They've already got PB chips in them, so the dough would stand up to them just fine.

Shelby – your Yorkies look wonderful! So glad you tried them. Even without heating the pan first it looks like you got a nice rise!! And what a gorgeous roast! happysnapperorgans – this recipe makes the best Yorkies I’ve ever eaten (including those made by my English relatives). I crisp them up in the toaster oven the next day and they are STILL good. The pan that Shelby used and holding the batter for a long time seem to be the secret! (BTW – I’d LOVE to know the origin of your name!) Steve – fried oysters and green tomatoes. Got my attention. Jessica’s appetizers for Thanksgiving dinner at my MIL’s – crostini topped with goat cheese, pancetta and red wine poached figs: Those bacon wrapped Club crackers with brown sugar: These were almost gone before I could get a picture. Both things were delicious. A little giggle. This is the gravy that my distinctly odd MIL saved: The glasses are for comparison. About the size of a shot glass and not half full. Last night - Oven ribs: Just cooked in foil and then topped with Montgomery Inn BBQ sauce and honey. Good, but smoked or grilled would have been better. But for a rainy weekday, they were very welcome! Plated with asparagus, corn and green beans:

Thanksgiving Day breakfast that Jessica made: Bacon, egg and cheese breakfast egg boat. Fabulous! This is a wonderful brunch/breakfast dish. We munched on this while watching the parade AND the dog show – we couldn’t stop.

caroled – oh my! What a gorgeous sounding spread! Richard – your croissant is lovely. I really need to start that project after the holidays! My first ever pumpkin pie for a lady at church: New and improved PB cookies: I have actually improved my almost perfect PB cookies. I added 1/4 c. of Jif peanut powder to the dry mix and they are just incredible. Best I’ve ever made. I got 3 large batches done for the freezer.

Well, except for the giving thanks part.

rustwood - welcome to eGullet. It sounds like you have varied interests. I think that you will find this an excellent place to be! Lots of interest and expertise here!

Welcome to eGullet, fiiron! You have come to the right place for all of your questions! I think you'll find folks here truly helpful and encouraging for the most part!

Great article. Bless this lady. Timely and more important than some folks think.

Good grief ! Ok - I added 4 T. to my regular PB cooky recipe: http://www.recipecircus.com/recipes/Kimberlyn/COOKIES/Almost_the_Best_Peanut_Butter_Cookies.html. I didn't change the recipe or ingredients in any other way. I expected anything from no change to a slight change. But this stuff gave a REAL boost to the PB flavor. They are absolutely the best I've ever made and maybe the best I've ever eaten. And since my perfect PB cooky would taste like pure peanut butter, but in cooky form, that is saying a LOT. The only difference is that they are possibly SLIGHTLY more crumbly.

Ann T. – I showed Mr. Kim your baguette and he said, “Why can’t WE get bread like that?” And then he looked at me MEANINGFULLY. rotuts – I agree with Kay. Try making stuffing waffles. They are magical. (Especially done with oyster stuffing).

Darienne - that cake is like fruitcake - it KEEPS! We've forgotten about a couple of set aside slices for week or so and eaten it with no discernible changes! Between the two of us organizational-challenged folks, we lose a LOT of things.

Making my PB cookies for Christmas today, so I thought I'd add a bit to the flour mixture to see how it works. I'll report back once they are baked. Thanks for the Crepes - It's a Jif product and I just found it at Kroger, I think. hummingbirdkiss - it tastes wonderful. Like REALLY dry peanuts!

Working on all this! Love the responses. I was at Costco tonight and saw some nice looking smoked salmon that wasn't too expensive (other things are just out of range for 50+ guests). I had forgotten to put assorted cheeses on the list. We don't have any vegetarians anymore (the 2 nieces that were got pregnant and that put paid to vegetarianism ). So there's plenty of protein. Jessica just emailed me and told me that she's planning on making this delicious sounding fennel/apple salad, so that's another salad. And here is an open invitation to anyone who finds themselves in the vicinity of Richmond VA on Christmas Eve to come on over!

Here’s my proposed menu for Christmas Eve – 50+ guests, open house. I’d like to know if you all think it is missing anything: Slow Cooker Italian Beef with rolls, horseradish, Provolone cheese and sautéed onions and red peppers Smoked turkey breast with rolls, mayo and lettuce Ham with rolls and mustard Fruit Salad Macaroni Salad Mixed Green Salad w/ two dressings And all of my usual sweets. Thanks for the help! (I couldn't find another thread that seemed to fit this question, but if I've missed it, just tack me onto it!)

Your lunch looked so great that I went straight to TJ's that night to get some Pate. I somehow missed that you mentioned truffles. I detest truffles. Do you know if they have any without? They didn't that day, but I know they sometimes switch things up. I did find the little toasts, though!

Daniel - I am so thrilled for you all! I've been watching you all along and admiring your food and your principles so much. I've never forgotten the help you gave me when I first started posting here. I've sent an email to our mutual friend, Rachel, letting her know about this. If we ever get back to NYC, Mekeburg's will be our first meal. Best, BEST wishes to you!

Patrick – that caramel tart is truly gorgeous. The kind of dessert I would order first, just to make sure that I could finish it. excv – lovely brownies! Kay – love the look of your cake. Coconut cake is possibly my favorite dessert in the world. Darienne – I’m so glad that your cake worked out so well for you. Mr. Kim was thrilled that you liked it so much. He says that he likes the idea of walnuts and will try them next time. The bake sale was a great success. We sold out of most everything and sold everything that didn’t sell on Saturday the following day after church. The coolest thing was that the lady who bought the gingerbread cake last year came in the door first thing and asked if I’d made the cake again. When she found out I had, she plunked down $30 and said that she’d waited all year for that cake and so had her entire family. I gave her one of my cards and told her that I’d make her one any time!

Sartoric – have a wonderful trip. Hope you plan to chronicle it for us! Awhile back I made shredded beef in a crock pot for a test for Xmas Eve dinner. I’m planning on doing sandwiches (everything make-ahead) that people can build themselves, side dishes and my regular ‘goodies’. I wanted to see if I could make the beef ahead of time, freeze, thaw and heat and serve. I thawed it out the other night and it worked great. The beef tasted very good and the texture didn’t suffer at all. Served with salad and pickle-y stuff: Sandwiches: I dipped the cut side of the top of the bun in the jus. The buns were a little too tender. It was fine for us, but with people walking around holding a plate, I think that a firmer roll will work better. I’ll be experimenting with that.

Darienne – does this ring any bells? https://forums.egullet.org/topic/60659-your-daily-sweets-2005-2012/?p=1884593 You mentioned somewhere that you used cardamom when you made them. I didn’t use the cardamom, but added smoked almonds. excv – I’m always happy to share: http://www.recipecircus.com/recipes/Kimberlyn/COOKIES/Tahini_and_Almond_Cookies.html and if you ever decide to try the others, here’s the link for those: http://www.recipecircus.com/recipes/Kimberlyn/APPETIZERS/Bleu_Cheese_Shortbread_w_Fig_Preserves.html Last day of bake sale cooking before the Holiday Market tomorrow - Gingerbread Cake w/ Cranberry Filling and Orange Cream Cheese Icing: Selling as a whole cake. Mr. Kim made two apple cakes this year and maimed himself in the process. He cut his finger peeling apples so badly that it bled for an hour before I finally forced him to go to Patient First. It was really a slice off the end of this finger and too wide to stitch, so they just packed it . I finished up for him, but he’d done most of the prep by that time. I forgot to take a picture, so from last year: Just incredibly good. Moist and really rich. One of the ladies from church remembered it from last year and told me yesterday that she wanted to buy a whole cake! I cut the other cake to sell in slices. up to sell like that. Last year folks treated it like breakfast and it went early! I’ll try to remember to take a picture of a slice tomorrow.