Kim Shook
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Posts posted by Kim Shook
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Ben – gorgeous meatballs! I love the crust – do you fry them or roast them?
Scotty – sounds like you are having the perfect vacation! Of course, my dream vacations always involve cooking.
Soba – I wish so much that I lived somewhere that had a true green market. I love the look of those black radishes and the only time I’ve ever seen radish sprouts is in a restaurant. Beautiful, beautiful meals.
dcarch – wonderful story!
Jason – love the pit beef. I really like the fact that you used such an unlovable cut of meat and got such a great dish. Thanks for the prep information, I’d like Mr. Kim to try that. Rachel’s kugel is lovely.
Shane – your lamb looks perfect. Mr. Kim is smoking a boneless leg for Easter and I can’t wait!!!
Bruce – I really need to try that caramel sauce. Every time you make it, it looks so great.
Keith – nice knife work. And you KNOW I love that dish
!My sister came down for a visit this weekend and we had my mother over for dinner, too. Feeding my sister is always an issue because she is SO picky and there are so many things that she just won’t eat. Mr. Kim had been wanting me to try this Alex Guarnaschelli chicken cutlet sandwich that he saw her make on Food Network. The sandwich is interesting because of what you put on it, but is at base just a chicken sandwich, so I knew that would work. My sister had hers with nothing but ranch dressing and the rest of us piled on the goodies! We started with the ubiquitous salad:
Sandwich fixings:
From 12 o’clock: ciabatta rolls, fried prosciutto, lettuce, mayo/red wine vinegar sauce, fried sage leaves, Parm and the chicken cutlets.
Sage and sauce:
The chicken gets hammered out and is very tender and moist:
The prosciutto adds a nice funkiness:
We liked this sandwich a lot and I’m sure I’ll serve it again. It is perfect for a mixed gathering – picky ones and more adventuresome folks.
I also served fries:
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dcarch - thanks for the kind words! I honestly think that I took better pictures in France and England than I ever have. Can't explain it, though!
gingerpeachy - so cool that you went to Mon Oncle and I'm so glad that you enjoyed it!
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rotuts – Here is the recipe for the waffles: http://www.recipecircus.com/recipes/Kimberlyn/SIDEDISHES/Stuffing_Waffles.html
Shane – I’ve watched videos on butchering, gladly eat head-on fish and I’ve even cleaned a chicken once in my life. But those geckos freaked me right out.
Wapi – gorgeous short ribs. I’ve got some in the freezer – need to get those out SOON! The fish stew looks lovely, too – the white stuff in the middle: is that a fish cake of some sort?
mm – beautiful ravioli! And I love, love, LOVE how thin your pasta is. Just exactly right.
Soba – oh, my! Those roasted grapes and ricotta sound and look divine!
Elise – everything is lovely, but those meatballs have me swooning!
Hardly cooking at all these days – seems like we are out or just eating throw together stuff every day! My mother came over for dinner the other night. We had salad w/ her vinaigrette (mixed on the salad, not in a bowl – she just uses vegetable oil, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper and a little sugar and it’s better than I can ever do), Suzylightning’s fresh salmon cakes, yeast rolls and Rice-a-Roni (a guilty pleasure in the Shook house):
Salmon cakes w/ tzatziki:
Inside the cakes:
Fantastic, as always. My mother loved them Suzy!
Tonight was yoga (a gift from Mr. Kim), so we ate at Five Guys afterwards (that works, right?
) and tomorrow Mr. Kim has a poker game, so I’ll probably have a grilled cheese sandwich. My sister is coming for the weekend and I’m making dinner on Saturday, so I guess I’ll see y’all on Sunday 
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Thanks to everyone for the kind responses. I'm sorry it took so long, but at least it is done now - my personal blog is stick in Winchester, I think! Time to get back to that!
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Thanks so much, Special K - for the information and for the compliment! Hope you enjoy the rest.
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Oh, Lord, Forest! From your mouth to God's ear! I think about our trip every single day - the places we saw, the people we met and the food we ate (even more - the food we missed). Mr. Kim and I agree that if we'd made the trip in our 20's or 30's we would have moved heaven and earth to relocate to England or France. If not for our obligations and responsibilities here, I'd go in a minute and never look back. Another vacation is something we talk about all the time, but don't know when or if it would be possible. I'm just so glad that I got to do it - even if I never come back!
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Friday May 27, 2011 – Our Last Day
We started the day with croissant, baguettes, coffee and chocolate at the hotel and set out for our full day. On the agenda for this day were Invalides, Montmartre, Sacre Couer, and dinner with Forest.
We had coffee and chocolate at the sidewalk café at Café du Musee near Invalides:
and got to watch a little street theatre with our drinks. A man on a motorcycle took a corner too fast, skidded and lay his bike down on the road. He was on his feet almost immediately and obviously unhurt. Less than 30 seconds later a little van arrived with a whole passel of uniformed police officers. They surrounded him and questioned him and within about 10 minutes let him pick his bike up and continue on his way. We were astonished! About the only place in the states where this kind of thing would result in such a response is in front of the White House. We assumed that something about the location must have cause a mini security alert.
After visiting the church and museum at Invalides, we made our way via the Metro to Montmartre and Sacre Couer. I loved wandering around the rows and rows of shops devoted to fabrics and notions and such. I thought about our Maggie the whole time and knew how much fun she and I would have had – ducking into one shop after another buying fabric and trim to make a thousand new apron designs! Poor Mr. Kim was VERY patient. I think that this was my reward for spending the morning uncomplainingly looking at countless suits of armor at the military museum at Invalides! We did see a couple of food related shops:
27-100k by ozisforme, on Flickr
27-101k by ozisforme, on Flickr
This was a sweet shop – cookies, candies, etc. Beautifully arranged.
After Sacre Couer and wandering Montmartre (where artists we begging me to model for them – I had no IDEA I was so lovely) we had a late lunch at Chez Plummeau just a few streets away from Sacre Couer and next to the Dali museum. It is rather tucked in a corner and feels worlds away from the tourist crowds of Montmartre:
27-127k by ozisforme, on Flickr
Now, you real French folks may have to look away. Please remember that I was ordering as an American that has romanticized France forever and forgive that instead of being adventuresome, I ordered what has been my favorite ‘French’ meal since I was probably 7 years old, being taken to Chez Camille in Washington DC. Camille G. Richaudeau, the owner, always remembered me and would exclaim, “les chats, les chats!!” because he had taken in 2 of my cat’s kittens. I would then be taken into his office to see the pictures of the cats and he would tell me all of their recent exploits. Monsieur Richaudeau would then oversee my unvarying meal of onion soup, escargot and chocolate mousse. Well, I didn’t get the chocolate mousse, but I DID order the soup and the snails:
27-131k by ozisforme, on Flickr
27-132k by ozisforme, on Flickr
Mr. Kim ordered the Salade au Ste. Marcellin:
27-133k by ozisforme, on Flickr
Salad greens with tomato, lardons, croutons, raisins and hot Ste. Marcellin cheese. His salad was fantastic, as was my meal (but I can’t swear sentiment didn’t influence my taste buds that day).
We didn’t order dessert because I was hoping to find something in a pastry shop. Lucky thing. Walking towards the Montmartre Cemetery we stumbled across Gontran Cherrier Artisan Boulanger 22 rue Caulaincourt:
27-150k by ozisforme, on Flickr
Another magical Parisian shop full of things that make choosing so difficult:
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27-143k by ozisforme, on Flickr
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We finally, with great deliberation chose this impossibly thin, crisp and tender tart aux pommes:
27-151k by ozisforme, on Flickr
Truly, one of the loveliest and simplest things I’ve ever eaten.
Unfortunately the cemetery closed its gates just as we walked up, though we did get a good look and some photos from the rue Caulaincourt overpass. We wandered down to Boulevard de Clichy to gawk at the Moulin Rouge and found this delightful fellow:
27-156k by ozisforme, on Flickr
And this sign, which, since we are infantile, gave us a giggle:
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We were too early for our dinner reservations, so we toiled up rue Caulaincourt to stroll along rue des abbesses and marvel at the shops and bakeries:
27-178k by ozisforme, on Flickr
27-179k by ozisforme, on Flickr
27-180k by ozisforme, on Flickr
We sat on a bench in a tiny triangular ‘park’ and watched folks on their way home from work get in line at the narrow Boulangerie Alexine and exit with long, fragrant baguettes wrapped in paper under their arms. We stopped for a glass of wine at (I THINK) La villa des abbesses:
27-80m by ozisforme, on Flickr
Glass of wine, sidewalk table, smoking like a chimney, Paris, getting ready to eat at a good restaurant. Any wonder that I’m smiling?
We met eG’s Forest and her friend, Thibault, at Mon Oncle 3 rue Durantin:
27-181k by ozisforme, on Flickr
This is a lovely, quiet little place – intimate and a little dark. It was wonderful meeting Forest and Thibault. It’s funny – we’ve met a few eG folks by now and without exception we’ve been simpatico. We certainly talk about food, but not a single one of them has been one-note. We always find other things to talk about and other interests to share. We found that most people in Paris spoke English or were more than willing to decipher Mr. Kim’s French (I stuck to “hello”, “goodbye” and “thank you”), but it was lovely having French-speaking people with us to place orders and ask questions. We had a delicious meal and a wonderful time.
Our wines:
27-192k by ozisforme, on Flickr
27-201k by ozisforme, on Flickr
They brought an amuse for the table:
27-191k by ozisforme, on Flickr
Baguette slices topped with billowy mascarpone and something that I can only describe as sweet pickled bell peppers. It was positively addicting. I am NOT a pepper fan, but oddly enough I love pepper JELLY. This had a nicely sweet pepper jelly-like flavor. A classic nibble in the Southern US is Ritz crackers with a cream cheese and pepper jelly smear. Hmmmm. Makes you think.
At this point, I’m not sure who had what, but I CAN identify everything – perhaps Forest will chime in with more information if I’ve left anything out.
Country pâté:
27-193k by ozisforme, on Flickr
Garden pea soup:
27-194k by ozisforme, on Flickr
Buckwheat crepe with salmon roe:
27-195k by ozisforme, on Flickr
Smoked mozzarella, Italian ham and marinated artichokes:
27-196k by ozisforme, on Flickr
Sirloin of beef w/ pebre sauce (a Chilean salsa):
27-197k by ozisforme, on Flickr
Swordfish w/ basil and cherry tomatoes:
27-198k by ozisforme, on Flickr
Two sides were really good roasted potatoes:
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And this amazingly good dish:
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Fondant leeks. No idea how these were done, but they were incredible – creamy, rich and delicate all at once.
Dessert:
27-202k by ozisforme, on Flickr
Yogurt mousse w/ salted caramel and a Biscoff biscuit (one of my favorite store-bought cookies). This was delectable.
And cheese and quince marmalade to finish:
27-203k by ozisforme, on Flickr
A lovely dinner with lovely company. The perfect finale to our too-short time in the loveliest city we’ve ever experienced.
And then – next morning - back to our real lives, immeasurably enriched with memories that recur every day.
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What's wrong with vodka?
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Our 2nd day - Thursday 5/26/2011
Breakfast was our first at our hotel. Just the typical “continental breakfast” – croissant, baguette, juice and coffee (or, in my case, hot chocolate):
Good, but nothing outstanding (except for the chocolate – that stuff was fantastic). Thursday morning was devoted to Notre Dame and the Crypt Archeologieque. Gorgeous and fascinating. We are mad about ruins (the only castle we toured was Corfe – a lovely ruin in England) and archeology (the only real museum exhibit we went to was the ancient Egypt one at the British Museum) so the Crypt was something of a ‘must see’ for us. Being able to see walls and rooms from ancient Paris back to the 4th century was incredibly interesting to us. After all that dusty, dark and gloomy history, it was lovely to come up into the sun and find a street-side crêperie next to Notre Dame. She wouldn’t let us take a picture of the process (not sure why since her method didn’t differ from any of the other dozens we saw during our trip), but I took one of our Nutella and banana crêpe:
26-75k by ozisforme, on Flickr
I knew that the pastries in Paris would be calling to me the entire time that I was there and that I wouldn’t be able to eat every one that I wanted to, but I knew that I had to have a crêpe. It was every bit as good as I hoped. Perfect combination and made so fast that the crêpe was still warm enough to make the Nutella all melty. Lord.
Our next destination was Pierre Hermé 72 Rue Bonaparte. On the way we passed some food stands on the street:
26-91k by ozisforme, on Flickr
26-92k by ozisforme, on Flickr
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26-132k by ozisforme, on Flickr
Pierre Hermé is lovely – more like a jewelry shop than a pastry shop:
26-96k by ozisforme, on Flickr
Thanks to recommendations from daisy17, drago and Clotilde’s Edible Adventures in Paris, I knew that we would be going and that it would be remarkable. And it was. The selections are astonishing and irresistible:
26-98k by ozisforme, on Flickr
26-99k by ozisforme, on Flickr
26-100k by ozisforme, on Flickr
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26-102k by ozisforme, on Flickr
26-103k by ozisforme, on Flickr
26-104k by ozisforme, on Flickr
There you go, KA!! I thought about you as soon as I saw it!
Although one of everything didn’t seem excessive (to me, anyway – probably it did to Mr. Kim), we were really here for the macarons to take back to our daughter (and have as our lunch dessert) and for one other thing (more about that anon):
26-97k by ozisforme, on Flickr
I don’t even remember now what kinds we bought, but I know that they were all astoundingly beautiful and delicious and made me despair of every achieving my own macarons at home! We did take quite a few home and I hand carried them the entire way, holding the Pierre Hermé bag in front of me like it contained dynamite. Minibus, two planes and three airports and not one official ever inquired what was in the bag. Had I known that it would be so easy, I’d have stocked up on some good cheeses while I had the chance.
For lunch we wandered over to Bread and Roses 7 Rue de Fleurus for freshly made sandwiches and stopped at a little shop for fruit and chips. We walked to the lovely Jardin du Luxembourg and found benches, the most adorable little French toddler to watch and opened our picnic. My sandwich was jambon, cheese and cornichon on a baguette and Mr. Kim had a chorizo and chèvre roll:
26-107k by ozisforme, on Flickr
26-134m by ozisforme, on Flickr
26-136m by ozisforme, on Flickr
26-108k by ozisforme, on Flickr
And, of course, a couple of macarons. Picnicking in a Parisian jardin is something that one must do on one’s first visit. This didn’t feel forced or obligatory at all. The food was wonderful and the atmosphere gorgeous. We got to watch some folks play boules. We saw gorgeous gardens and fountains and sculpture. It was a magical time.
Our daughter was insistent that we see the catacombs, but when we got there the lines were horrifying. Our feet beginning to give out, we flagged a cab and went back to the Latin Quarter in comfort. Weinoo had recommended French grocery stores for goodies and gifts to take home. There was a Carrefour near our hotel, so we stopped in for some food sightseeing and goodies to take home. It was a small store, but we were still delighted with the food and packaged goods on offer. We found some lovely treats to take home as gifts (what exactly they were are lost to the mists of time). We were also delighted, as in England, with the fascinating assortment of crisps:
26-133k by ozisforme, on Flickr
26-134k by ozisforme, on Flickr
26-135k by ozisforme, on Flickr
Now is time to mention the ‘other thing’ that we purchased at Pierre Hermé and I have drago to thank for the recommendation. Drago said, “If you go to Pierre Hermé, his croissant ishpahan…is unmatched by any croissant I have ever eaten.” Bless you, drago. We were lucky enough to get one of the few left:
26-138k by ozisforme, on Flickr
This astonishingly lovely and delicious croissant is glazed with a sprinkling of candied rose petals and filled with a light rose scented marzipan and a mixture of raspberries and litchees (which I never thought I liked):
26-139k by ozisforme, on Flickr
It was so wonderful and appropriately enjoyed on our room balcony overlooking the Paris street:
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After our snack, a rest, a shower and a change of clothes, it was time to find the restaurant that Forest had recommended (and also made reservation for – merci, Forest!!!), Cave a’ los a Moelle on rue de Lourmel in the 15th. We found the restaurant with no problem by taking the Metro – we were even serenaded by violin during our ride. The restaurant:
26-158k by ozisforme, on Flickr
26-147k by ozisforme, on Flickr
Very casual place – seating is at communal tables. You can order wine, but the food is just what they are having that night. Some things are brought to the table and others are on a bar at the back of the restaurant. We shared our table with two young Canadian girls – one a doctor and the other a dental hygienist. As far as we could tell, we four were the only foreigners in the place.
26-150k by ozisforme, on Flickr
This is leek and potato soup – fairly clear, not a creamy soup.
26-151k by ozisforme, on Flickr
Soft boiled eggs in warm olive oil. Oddly enough, this was the thing that I remember best from our entire trip. These warm, gooey, oily, perfectly cooked eggs smeared on good crusty bread made me wish that I could have them every day. I still think about those damn eggs.
26-152k by ozisforme, on Flickr
26-146k by ozisforme, on Flickr
Assorted crudité and a warm, oily, fragrant aioli. Wonderful, especially those lovely long radishes.
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26-149k by ozisforme, on Flickr
Our plates – they include duck rillettes, pork terrine, celery root, beet root, carrots, green beans, blood pudding, artichokes and good, good bread.
26-154k by ozisforme, on Flickr
This was a lamb and turnip soup and so good that we even ate the freakin’ TURNIPS!! Our rule in traveling is TRY EVERYTHING and this place certainly rewarded us for that leap of faith.
Our after dinner plates included floating meringues, flan, cakes, fruit:
26-155k by ozisforme, on Flickr
And this gorgeous assortment of cheeses:
26-156k by ozisforme, on Flickr
We couldn’t have had a meal more suited to how we wanted to eat in Paris. Everything was delicious and fresh and seemed like food that we would be served by people who really cared about eating. We waddled back to the Metro station and made our way to our hotel replete and happy.
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Soba – love, love, LOVE the egg and oyster dish!
Huiray – lovely noodles and wontons. That looks like the perfect, comforting late night meal.
Prawn – beautiful ribs. We just put a couple of racks in the freezer – I’ve finally convinced Mr. Kim to smoke ribs and can’t wait to have them.
Shane – your ravioli looks delicious and that tomato sauce looks so fresh! Did you make it from fresh tomatoes?
This weekend Mr. Kim made hot salt with kosher salt and sriracha:
My mom joined us for dinner night before last. I was trying an experiment. I made stuffing waffles:
Cornbread, white bread, celery, onions, poultry seasoning, etc. – all baked in a waffle. Topped with roast chicken and turkey gravy:
Served with asparagus, cranberry sauce, Cook’s Country whipped potatoes and broccoli with hollandaise:
The gravy and cranberry sauce were in the freezer from Christmas. The stuffing waffles were fantastic. The potatoes were ok – a little light for my taste. Nice and fluffy and creamy and they tasted good, but I like a heftier whipped potato.
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Shane – great looking dessert.
judiu – thanks for the information about the potatoes. I’ve just put a hold on that cookbook at the library and will look for the recipe when it comes. I know those onions that you are talking about and we love them. For some reason lots of rib restaurants have them. They are not quite as brittle as these are, but I’m wondering if you could just cut them a bit thicker and prepare the same way and get an ‘onion cloud’? You’ve given me an idea!
Patrick – I hope you enjoy the beans!
Last night I made another new dish requested by Mr. Kim . He saw Roger Mooking on TV make a spicy shrimp and banana dish that looked interesting. It included shrimp, bananas, shallots, soy sauce, sambal, honey and lime juice. Sauce made with shrimp on top:
Plated with peas, stir-fried noodles and asparagus:
I suspected that this dish would not be something that I would like, so I made my own shrimp stir-fry with soy sauce, garlic, shallots and sugar:
I was right – much too spicy for me and I really didn’t care for the flavor of shrimp and bananas. Mr. Kim, however, loved it.
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Patrick – by long cooked beans, I mean Southern beans. Just green beans with some kind of side meat (jowl, salt pork, ham hocks), a touch of brown sugar, something oniony (I’ve used onions, scallions and even shallots, in a pinch), black pepper and a few red pepper flakes. What I do is slowly fry the side meat to render a little fat and get it tasty. I then sauté the onions in the fat until they are browned. Toss in the rest and cover with water. I basically boil the hell out of them (adding water as needed) until they are as soft as I want them (I like them very soft – traditional), then lower the heat and let the liquid almost cook out. Taste them when they are tender to see if they need any salt. You might depending on what kind of pork you use. Those broad “Italian” green beans work very well with this method.
nickrey – love the anchovy toasts! And those Scotch eggs are gorgeous!
Antwaan – love the "croustifondant"! I’m sure it is completely beyond my skills, but I fell in love with fondant potatoes on our trip to England and have been thinking about them ever since!
Soba – that fried oyster plate looks so delicious. I’m not a beet fan, but I bet I’d love a vinaigrette made with beet vinegar!
I tried two new recipes the other night. One was from John Besh – a Sloppy Joe slider recipe. Mr. Kim saw that one on FoodTV and wanted me to make it. The other was a Cook’s Country recipe for macaroni and cheese w/ tomatoes. The sliders called for making a sambal mayonnaise, onion rings and the meat sauce. The sauce included onions, pepper jelly, rice wine vinegar, honey, Creole mustard, Worcestershire sauce, catsup and chopped meat of some sort. I used leftover pot roast:
Loaded up with lettuce, tomato and the onion rings:
Plated with the mac and cheese and sauerkraut:
The mac and cheese, as written, was a bit dull. Jessica suggested that I add some hot sauce, Worcestershire, Dijon and more cheese and that did the trick. While we loved the sliders, the real knock out was those onion rings:
They weren’t really substantial enough to make the regular onion ring side dish, but they were so easy and so incredibly crisp and good that I know I’ll make them again and again to go with hot sandwiches and steaks. All you do is slice them thinly, separate the rings, salt them, wait a bit then toss with flour and fry in 350 degree oil.
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Meryl - thank you, ma'am!
Beth - thanks for the advice - I think I'll try your first suggestion. The OJ and the water are both VERY cold. Will it be ok to put the yeast into them at that temperature?
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Liuzhou – gorgeous meatballs.
Soba – beautifully turned omelet. And Salade Lyonnaise is a favorite of ours.
Wapi & Shane – I’m ashamed of myself. I bought a pasta machine right after Christmas with some giftcards and I haven’t even read the directions yet. Gotta do it!!!
Steve – all that pork is making me swoon. Amazing.
Norm – glad to have you back and sorry about the ankle! I don’t know if you saw it or not, but in case you didn’t, I made your Korean chicken wings for Super Bowl and they were a huge hit. Fantastic and thank you for posting the link to the recipe.
dcarch – love the look of those mussels. What is in the sauce?
Patrick – the skin on that duck is astounding. And AGAIN with the tahdig???
(dcarch and Patrick's names should be in BOLD. one of the MANY problems I've had since the 'upgrade'
)Some recent dinners include this:
Brats, corn and sauerkraut.
And herbed port pot roast:
on noodles with long-cooked green beans:
Dinner tonight:
Pot roast soup and sauerkraut.
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Breakfast the other day:
Scrambled eggs, peameal bacon and toast. This was the last of the peameal and I’m really sorry it’s gone! We order our regular bacon so I guess we could order the peameal. But the peameal prices I’m seeing are crazy – almost $30 per lb. and Benton’s bacon (just about the best we’ve ever tasted) is $6 per lb.!!!Breakfast this morning:
scrambled eggs, Benton’s bacon and morning buns.
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Beth – your cakes are lovely and the coconut chiffon sounds especially delicious.
pquinene – your macarons are gorgeous!
merstar – they look wonderful and I LOVE that you made them at 2am!
I tried the Morning Buns from “Cook’s Country” on TV. The pastry is a version of a quick, “easy”, kinda/sorta croissant dough. All rolled and ready for a rest in the fridge:
At this point I was very excited and thought that they looked beautiful. Out of the oven and inside:
They were fairly flakey and tasted wonderful, but didn’t rise nearly as much as they were supposed to. The method of incorporating the butter into the flour/salt/yeast mixture involved placing it all into a large ziplock bag and alternately rolling and shaking it to make flour-coated long butter flakes. My yeast was fresh, so I’m thinking that here was where I must have messed up. Lightly scented with cinnamon and orange and sticky with the warm sugar, they tasted great. Just could have risen a bit and been a little lighter and flakier.
Here is the recipe. If anyone has the time to go and look at it and offer any advice, I’d very much appreciate it. -
Scotty – the salmon looks delicious. But, my Lord, that photo! That could grace the pages of the most artsy food mag in the world. Bravo!
Like Patrick, I thought that Robirdstx’s chicken pot pie looked wonderful and decided to try it today. Filling before baking:
After baking:
Slice with roasted cauliflower:
This was really, really good. Mr. Kim (who is not the biggest fan of ‘mixed up’ food, loved this). I think it is in permanent rotation in the Shook household. Thanks
so much for posting the recipe, Robirdstx! -
This is probably the most delayed dining report ever to appear on eGullet. We went to Paris in May of 2011 and I am just now getting to the point of this report. What can I say – life intervened. But some folks are still PM’ing me with hints about this report, so I thought I’d go ahead for anyone who is interested. We got lots of help and advice on the trip before going from eG folks, especially Forest who we were fortunate enough to meet and have dinner with. If you want to see the England part of our trip you can start here: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/139686-england-trip-report/
Wednesday 5/25/2011That morning we took the train from St. Pancras station in London to Gard de Nord in Paris. We left so early that we didn’t have time to stop for a last English breakfast and had to make do on the train with a Crunchy, an apple and a pain au chocolat. Train food being train food, the Crunchy was the best part!
Arriving in Paris was otherworldly. Everywhere we went in England felt like my natural home, but Paris was ‘foreign’ in a very special and wonderful way. You must remember that this was the first time I’d ever been anywhere that English wasn’t spoken. It was exciting and scary all at once. My Mary Tyler Moore moment as the fact of actually being in Paris really washed over me:
25-20m by ozisforme, on FlickrOur hotel was the Familia in the Latin Quarter on rue des Ecoles. Family owned, small and charming with a wonderful, welcoming and helpful staff. When the young lady who served us coffee and croissants in the mornings realized that I didn’t like coffee, she brought me (unasked) fabulous hot chocolate every morning.
After checking in and hurriedly dumping our luggage we hit the street. We were still ravenous after our train snack, hour long taxi wait at the station and open mouthed drive through Paris so we stopped at the first place that smelled good and bought two quiches to eat as we walked:
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by ozisforme, on FlickrA mushroom for Mr. Kim and a Lorraine for me:
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by ozisforme, on FlickrNot fabulous, but perfectly good and much better than any street food that we are used to.
We took a bus to the Eiffel Tour area. And, as an aside, we found the Paris bus and Metro system incredibly easy to use. Mr. Kim has a little French and I can say “hello”, “goodbye” and “thank you” and recognize lots of menu French, but even so I think that I could have gotten around on my own fairly well, I think. I was raised in Washington DC and that Metro is supposedly based on the Paris one. I think it must be true because I found the maps very familiar.
We walked and gawped and grinned for some time. I loved finding the food stores and wished I had a kitchen:And, of course, the bakeries:
Some of the canned goods gave us a bit of a giggle:
25-56k2by ozisforme, on Flickr
25-56k3by ozisforme, on FlickrThe food that French people don’t want us to know about!
And, dear Lord, the cheese shops:
25-56k4by ozisforme, on FlickrSince we were taking an evening Seine cruise, we had an early dinner at Café Constant:
25-61k9iby ozisforme, on FlickrI’m sorry that I can’t remember who recommended this to us, but thank you! Every single dish was excellent. And the restaurant itself
was charming with a nice mix of old and modern:
25-61k9bby ozisforme, on Flickr
25-61k9aby ozisforme, on FlickrWe had a nice chat with the waitress and bartender while we were waiting for our table and it turned out that the waitress had worked in
NYC for some time. Again, as I noted in my England report, folks on my side of the ocean don’t do near as much traveling as the British and French folks that we met.I started out with Bisque de crustaces aux queues d’ecrevisses a la crème legere:
25-61k9dby ozisforme, on FlickrCreamy shellfish bisque with crayfish tails. Perfect. So light and intensely flavored with the shellfish.
Mr. Kim’s starter was Terrine of ‘Kako’, pressed foie gras and pork shin, lentil salad:
25-61k9eby ozisforme, on FlickrNo idea what ‘Kako’ is, but this was stellar. Albeit a tad scary looking to a fellow raised on middle class American food, but he bravely tucked in and cleaned his plate!
Mr. Kim’s main was duck and potato pie with crispy apples:
25-61k9fby ozisforme, on FlickrPerfect pairing and really good.
My main was veal cutlets from the Basque country with white Tarbais beans:
25-61k9gby ozisforme, on FlickrJust gorgeous. Tender and flavorful and the beans were so perfectly cooked firm, tender and each one separate. And that little wedge of lightly grilled romaine on top:
25-61k9hby ozisforme, on Flickrwas just astonishing in its simplicity. I’d love to know how that was done. Of course, I couldn’t possibly find such perfect little lettuces in Richmond VA, so I’ll just have to make do with the memory. More than a year later, I can still feel the texture and taste it.
The cruise was wonderful. One of those things that seem slightly too touristy before you go, but something that I’d recommend to anyone visiting Paris for the first time. Especially if you only have 2 and a half days there. Since it was an evening cruise, we got to see Paris light up for the night. Breathtaking!
After the cruise, we walked along the Seine and took the Metro to the Arc de Triomphe and wandered down the Champ-Elysees. I ended up having a head cold for most of the trip (irritating, but not bad) and was hoping to find something like Sudafed. Just down from the Arc is the Pharmacie du Drugstore des Champs-Elysées. The sign indicated that this was an ‘American Drugstore’. Translation is everything. This was NOTHING like an American drugstore. Gorgeous place with little specialty shop-type areas, amazing confections, Joël Robuchon’s L’Atelier in the freaking basement. Tres posh. But alas, no Sudafed. At least not that we could find.
One of the travel guides that we read said that when in Europe resistance to McDonald’s was futile. That, no matter what we thought ahead of time, no matter how lofty our culinary standards, we’d end up in a McDonald’s. Primarily because of the bathrooms. Once inside, it posited, we’d succumb to the familiar fragrance and the cheap food. Well, we didn’t eat there, but strolling along the Champs-Elysées, we DID need a bathroom and lo and behold there was McD’s. So, we’ve been into a McD’s in Paris. But not even a cup of coffee passed our lips. We felt like we’d passed some arcane test. Cab ride back to the hotel – around the Place de la Concorde, past the Louvre, across the Pont Marie and into the Latin Quarter. To our first view of Paris at night from the balcony of our room:
25-150kby ozisforme, on Flickr
Coming up - first full day in Paris and my favorite meal.-
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Soba – you know, I don’t like mushrooms, but your mushroom salad reminded me of how lovely a poached egg is on top of a salad. I need to do that soon. Mr. Kim is back on the low carb thing and that with some pork addition (maybe the peameal from below) would make a great low carb meal. Thank you. And those veal ricotta meatballs sound fantastic.
Kerry – that cauliflower is gorgeous. Must think about doing that. That color is exactly what I want (and never get – see below) when I roast cauliflower.
On our last trip to Florida we found peameal bacon at a German store in Sarasota. Finally made it for dinner last night:
With roasted cauliflower, sweet potatoes and biscuits. We loved the bacon – very intense flavor, like a cross between country ham and regular ham.
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Shane – I just called Mr. Kim up to the computer so that he could see that bacon wrapped sandwich. He hung over my shoulder for 5 solid minutes. Thanks to you, I now have a damp shoulder.
We had my mother over for dinner last night and had a nice gift from the freezer:
Bolognese with Italian sausage. I also served the romaine with Gorgonzola, spiced pecans and roasted garlic dressing salad and garlic bread:
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Soba – everything looks lovely, but that potato and leek dish sounds especially good. And the mushroom salad looks beautiful. What incredible greens you are able to get. Sigh.
FeChef – I’m not a sweet potato fan, but that chicken pie looks scrumptious! Between your lovely pie and Robirdstx’s chicken pie last month, I think one is in my near future!
Bruce – your stew looks fabulous!
Dinner last night:
Cheeseburgers, fries and butter beans. While I love all kinds of cheeseburgers, I’m with Wylie Dufresne – American cheese makes the best, the most comforting cheeseburger. Nice to have good company on this exceedingly pedestrian opinion!
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Well, there is no way that I can single out every meal that has made me swoon since I last posted. There are so many amazing cooks here at eG that if one wanders away for a couple of weeks one can’t begin to comment on everything wonderful! I HAVE, however read each and every post and I’m just blown away. Once again, I have to confess to not cooking much lately. Last weekend we moved my mother to a smaller apartment and right in the middle of that I ended up with a really bad cold that ended up running through the household – including Mr. Kim, Jessica and my mom. Between getting her moved, unpacked organized and trying to breathe, cooking has taken a back seat. I have done a little bit. Here’s a few meals, plus my Super Bowl contributions.
Chicken Parm, pasta w/ sauce and green beans:
For the Super Bowl – Korean-style chicken wings w/ sweet ginger glaze:
This was a recipe from Norm Matthews. He made them back in September of last year and was kind enough to send me a link to the recipe. They were amazingly good. Nice light coating, due to cornstarch and the glaze was fabulous. Sweet, spicy and sticky. Even the kids loved them and they don’t usually eat wings. Thank you so much, Norm!
Ree’s Cheddar Puffs:
These were very good, but a bit awkward to prepare. Basically they are chunks of crusty bread coated on all sides with a cheese sauce, then frozen and baked when ready to serve. It was a big PITA to evenly coat the bread. Next time, I’m going to try spreading a thick layer of sauce over baguette slices and see if that doesn’t
give the same effect.Dessert was a big failed experiment:
Bar cookies with dried cherries, almonds and dark chocolate chunks. Much too dry. I’ve asked for some advice on the Baking forum.
The good dessert was from the freezer:
Mr. Kim’s apple cake – leftover from what we’d taken to his mom’s on Boxing day. This cake freezes like a dream – it came out moist and delicious and as good as fresh – nice to know.
After I got the cold, but before Mr. Kim caught it, he made dinner for us. Great comfort food:
Salad, steak and cheese stuffed baked potatoes and broccoli.
Valentine’s Day Dinner – Romaine lettuce with roasted garlic dressing, crumbled Gorgonzola and spiced pecans:
Really good salad dressing, but the standout was the pecans. The method was not like anything I’d ever done before. They were first cooked in a syrup made with water, sugar, paprika, cayenne and allspice, then drained and fried in oil. They turn out crispy with a glass-like coating. Beautiful and really tasty! With the salad, I served more of those cheddar puffs:
Dinner was lobster chunks and scallops in a blood orange cream sauce, cous cous with currants and pine nuts (didn’t realize until they were in how much the currants looked like bugs – golden raisins would have been a better choice) and snow peas:
I have to thank Jason Perlow for the idea of the scallops and blood orange cream sauce. He made that awhile back and I Googled a recipe for it. It was delicious and will go in the ‘keeper’ file. Thanks, Jason!
Dessert was Mr. Kim’s favorite – caramel apple crème brulee:
With an excessively brulee-d brulee.
With BOTH of us down with the cold we had one night that was breakfast for dinner:
Home fries, bacon and hardcore bacon grease fried eggs. With biscuits, of course:
Saturday night was burgers w/ Gorgonzola, bacon and caramelized onions, fries, pickle-y stuff and raw veg:
Dinner tonight started with a salad:
Romaine, carrot, radishes, cukes, pear, dried cherries, spiced pecans and an olive oil/cinnamon pear balsamic vinaigrette. Dinner was sausages, fries and baked beans – half smokes for me:
Kroger has started selling DC-style half smokes. And Evergood Louisiana Hot Links for Mr. Kim
and Jessica:
Too hot for me!
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Darienne – thank you, ma’am!
Baselerd – all that coconut goodness! I would SO love to taste that.
For Valentine’s Day dinner, I did Mr. Kim’s favorite – caramel apple crème brulee:
With an excessively brulee-d brulee. I’ve never had that problem before. I’ve always used one of those little kitchen torches before and now I have a big one and I’m wondering if it is too intense? Anyone else ever have this happen? This is just a regular vanilla bean crème brulee with a layer of sautéed apples and dulce de leche under the custard:
It makes for a messy looking crème brulee once you start eating, but it’s really, really good:
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Oh, my goodness! What an amazing assortment of lovely looking and sounding breakfasts. Mine is awfully tame:
Scrambled eggs w. Korean hot sauce, smoked ham (Mr. Kim’s from Christmas – a freezer bonus), biscuits w/ fig preserves. The biscuits and preserves are home made and the ham home smoked, but still. Y'all are astounding!!!
I need help making the outside of my dates sticky
in Cooking
Posted
I'm looking for a shortcut. I want to make almond stuffed dates rolled in coconut powder. My dates aren't sticky enough for that - just a little bit of the powder sticks to the dates. I have a LOT to do today for tomorrow and don't want to do the simmering dates in water/sugar/butter mixture then rolling into a rectangle thing. Is there anything that I can toss my dates in that will make them sticky enough? Thanks!