Kim Shook

Neither is the 'lemon'! I admit to using the reconstituted juice on occasion, but this stuff is NOTHING like the real thing.

Tina – welcome to the US and to eGullet! The dumplings look wonderful and I can’t wait to see what you have to show us in the future. Steve – gorgeous tomato tarts! On Sunday Mr. Kim requested a version of Chicken Pho from an issue of Eating Well magazine. We started with crab rangoon and egg rolls from our favorite Chinese restaurant (so much for eating well ): The soup without all the garnishes: With the garnishes – bean sprouts, cilantro, basil, mint, serrano peppers and lime: It was delicious, except for the noodles. The recipe called for wide rice noodles instead of the thin ones that we usually see in restaurants. We found them really gelatinous and distinctly unpleasant. I just let them sink and ate the soup and garnishes. I did a cake for a birthday in Mr. Kim’s office – lemon and coconut by request: Slice: It was another cake mix fix-up and it tasted very good, though the crumb wasn’t as tight as I’d like.

Steve – gorgeous falafel – I love the color! Bruce – thanks for the help – I’ll try that recipe! That steak looks fantastic, BTW. Shane – beautiful crust on that pork loin. Keith – those ribs are amazing. Mr. Kim has FINALLY bought some ribs to smoke and seeing yours, I really can’t wait. Simon – glad you got the chance to try the short ribs. They are a favorite here. Yours sound like they turned out great – especially the fact that the diners descended before you could grab a photo! Pastameshugana – gorgeous color on those oranges!!! We had Mr. Kim’s mom and Jessica over for dinner Wednesday night. I tried a new way of making meatball sandwiches – making patties instead of balls. I saw it on a Food Network show and thought it made a lot of sense. I used my regular meatball recipe – Italian American Meatballs, scali rolls, provolone cheese and Giada’s Basic Marinara. They turned out really good, but really HUGE. I will need to make them smaller next time! Mr. Kim was the only one that finished his and that was only because he threw away half the bread! I served it with cheese fries (per Jessica’s request) and my dad’s Chopped Salad w/ his Creamy Parmesan Dressing. He had told me about the salad and dressing and sent me the recipe. It was absolutely delicious – lettuce, Swiss, olives, tomatoes, chick peas (I left those out – not a favorite), salami and cucumber. Dessert was just a cake mix fix up – Strawberry Yogurt Cake: But it was very good. Mostly because of the delicious strawberries that I found at WF – incredibly good, especially considering that it is April. Slice:

Bruce & percyn: all those eggs look gorgeous! Mr. Kim’s breakfast Thursday morning: A sorta frittata – eggs, cheese, asparagus with ham.

Keith – thank you! I have the plain white plates, too, but the great thing about having them is that you can put anything with them and they look good. Doesn’t stop me from coveting your glass, though! BTW, your lamb and veg look great! Patrick – gorgeous fried rice! Is that ham and shrimp? I love that combination of flavors. Years ago, I got a great recipe from a much missed former eG’r named Doddie for a ham and crab salad. I’ve done it with ham and shrimp and just loved the results. Jvalentino – lovely pizza crust – the bubbles are perfect. Last night I did a Vietnamese roasted chicken dish that Bruce made awhile back. It looked and sounded so good that I Googled the recipe and made it. It is called ‘Ga Ro Ti’. It called for chicken thighs to be marinated in sugar, pepper, soy sauce, fish sauce, oil and garlic then pan fried until crisp and finished in the oven. You then set aside the chicken and used the pan to make ‘dirty rice’. The rice was actually very good, but we all found the chicken underwhelming. One thing was my fault – I am completely inept at using a skillet that isn’t nonstick . All my skin stuck to the pan – AND I crowded the pan a bit – so we missed out on the crispy skin. But the flavor of the marinade was pretty weak. The texture of the chicken was good – tender and moist. Bruce – do you have any pointers for me? Here’s where I got the recipe: http://sundaynitedinner.com/vietnamese-roasted-chicken-ga-ro-ti/ I’m sure that yours was much more flavorful. Is this recipe missing something? Started with salad: Chicken, rice and asparagus:

Dinner last night: Braised lamb shanks w/ caramelized onions and orzo w/ Parmesan & asparagus.

Thanks to everyone for the compliments and responses! Soba – lovely salad! And I agree completely. I love all sorts of wild and complicated salads, but the sine qua non of salads is just what yours is – simple and lightly dressed (I would add not icy cold, but that might just be me). basquecook – I love your fried chicken leg and wish I had a couple in front of me right now! They look perfect. Keith – what an utterly beautiful dish (I mean the food, though you know how I feel about those glass pieces !). Elise – your halibut looks so lovely. I am determined to finally make some this season and that preparation sounds heavenly. I have some lamb shanks braising on my stove right now and I’m really in the mood for them after seeing yours! Patrick – yes, lots and LOTS of leftovers. We sent tons home with our guests, but I still am going to have to stock the freezer with some sliced ham (smoked ham freezes REALLY well). mm – oh, my. That chocolate and hazelnut sweetie sounds and looks so amazing. Dinner last night: My mother brought us some beef stew. Served with Michael’s rolls.

Here’s a picture of egg salad – my way:

I have LOTS of hardboiled eggs to use up . A recent lunch: Easter ham and sliced hardboiled egg sandwich. Another: Egg salad.

liuzhou – all of that meat is beautiful – so shiny and succulent looking! Breakfast this morning: Hot cross buns (minus the crosses) and scrambled eggs w/ salsa.

Bruce – that ga ro ti sounds and looks great. I went searching for a recipe and hope to try it soon. The quiche is also calling my name! Ann – thank you! Your halibut meals always make me hungry. I saw that Whole Foods had some last time I was there and I think that I’ll be buying some soon. Glad to see you posting! Soba – everything is lovely, but that bread pudding and apple dish is stupendous! And I would give a LOT to know that I was having those poached shrimp for dinner tonight. dcarch – thank you! Gorgeous prime rib. I’ll take mine rare, please! Are those potato cakes on the plate with the meat? Questions – did you cook a baking dish of them and then cut out the circles? They look so crisp! Did you sauté the circles separately? Steve – I love fattoush and yours looks perfect. And that po’boy has me drooling. I wanna go back to NOLA!!! Easter dinner was a group effort this year. I did the pre-meal snacks – Rachel’s ‘Paminna’ Cheese, assorted relishes, cream cheese & pepper jelly and gougères: Mr. Kim smoked the lamb and ham: I didn’t get a good picture of the lamb sliced. In order to serve it hot, and for him to be able to go to church Easter morning, he smoked and sliced it on Saturday. I gently reheated it with some lamb stock on Sunday in a slow cooker. It still tasted incredible, but lost its lovely pinkness! My mother made the mint sauce (according to my English Aunt’s recipe) and I made the gravy for the lamb a couple of weeks ago with some neck bones I found at Whole Foods. I am really thrilled with this whole ‘make the gravy ahead of time’ thing I’ve developed. I love not having to devote the time to it last minute and I think that the gravy is actually better. Making it ahead of time, you have the luxury of letting it simmer for a long time and allowing the flavors to really come together and intensify. My MIL did her fabulous devilled eggs: Always Jessica’s first request for Easter. Our honorary nephew did a wonderful creamy fruit salad with berries and oranges and grapes: His mom, Lisa, did green beans (no picture) and her delicious mac and cheese: I did a broccoli and cauliflower au gratin: It ended up being mostly cauliflower – in the future, I need to remember that, with broccoli, when you trim off the stem you end up with about HALF the weight you started with! A green salad with my dad’s paprika dressing, Marlene’s bleu cheese and croutons: Sour cream potatoes: And Michael Ruhlman’s buttermilk rolls: God, these were good. I baked them on Tuesday and froze them. You would never have known it. They were delicious and the perfect texture. I made them about half the size called for - it made twice as many and they were a good size for the meal. My friend, Lisa and I provided the desserts. She made her incomparable pound cake with all kinds of berry toppings. Also huge strawberries with chocolate to dip them in. By the end of the meal I was beat, so I missed getting pictures. I did a cake and almond-stuffed coconut dates: The cake was Coca-Cola cake with coconut extract instead of vanilla and a new recipe for IMBC that called for meringue powder instead of egg whites. It worked beautifully and everyone loved it. The filling is some coconut curd that I found in the store: The dates were done with something that I’d never heard of before – coconut powder. It was very fine and dry and perfect for the task. We found it at the new Indian grocery near us. Tuesday night was Easter leftovers for dinner. Salad: Hot lamb sandwiches: My favorite way to serve leftover meat and gravy! “Veg” plate : Mac and cheese, devilled eggs, broccoli & cauliflower au gratin and sour cream potatoes. Last night was more Easter leftovers: Rolls, fruit salad, mac & cheese and ham.

percyn – gorgeous breakfasts! We are actually not eating breakfast as much lately. I’m cooking less (just busy) and we are just ‘grabbing’ and going more! Plus, I’m trying to diet a bit and breakfast for me lately has been a cup of yogurt or a banana! Ashen – mmmmm, beans on toast! Ann - !!!!!! so good to see you! Great idea using the fish cakes as a base to those amazing poached eggs! Easter breakfast was my MIL, Jo’s Hot Cross Buns: (We know that you’re supposed to eat these on Good Friday, but we always forget.) With scrambled eggs and link sausage:

I’ll be making egg salad in the next couple of days – we’ve got LOTS of pastel eggs in the fridge. Many years ago I came whining to eG about my wet, drippy egg salad and got good advice. My dream egg salad was the kind that was served at every Washington DC deli in my youth – finely chopped/minced eggs, JUST barely moist, spreadable – not pourable! Here are the tricks: Add salt at the point of eating – not as you make the egg salad Don’t use hot eggs. Chill them in the refrigerator before making the salad. Don’t rinse the eggs off. Make sure they are very dry. Mayo, not Miracle Whip. And a TINY little amount! Mash eggs with potato masher, not a knife.I do use a little bit of mustard and hot sauce. Occasionally I’ll add a little sweet relish. Onions ONLY if I’m sure that the batch will be eaten immediately with no leftovers. I sometimes like slices of bacon on top, but not chopped up inside since I don’t like cold bacon. When we were in England I had a couple of ham and egg salad sandwiches. In both cases, there was egg salad AND sliced eggs. Nice touch and something that I’ve done since.

I ended up heating up the Golden syrup in a pan, tossing the stuffed dates in the warm syrup and then rolling them in the coconut powder: It worked perfectly! They were just sticky enough - no problem with leaking syrup. Thanks for all the help!

thanks so much! I have some Golden Syrup and I'll try that.

Thanks, Kay. It wouldn't bother me, but I've got some folks with compromised immune systems eating with me and wouldn't like to serve them raw egg.

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!

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:

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!

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 !

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!

Thanks so much, Special K - for the information and for the compliment! Hope you enjoy the rest.

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!

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: 27-8k by ozisforme, on Flickr 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: 27-142k by ozisforme, on Flickr 27-143k by ozisforme, on Flickr 27-144k by ozisforme, on Flickr 27-145k by ozisforme, on Flickr 27-146k by ozisforme, on Flickr 27-148k by ozisforme, on Flickr 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: 27-157k by ozisforme, on Flickr 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: 27-199k by ozisforme, on Flickr And this amazingly good dish: 27-200k by ozisforme, on Flickr 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.

What's wrong with vodka?