Kim Shook

Ditto. Of course, it happens. But when it does, I just TURN THE BURNER DOWN. This little gadget is $30!!! I like going through kitchenware stores and pointing out the things that non-cooks would buy for cooks. We've all gotten them as gifts over the years - single purpose gadgets, special cutters that don't work any better than a knife. I have a dozen or so round wooden spoons that I find mostly useless - all were gifts. The Spill Stop seems to be exactly that kind of thing.

Thanks, Kay. I talked to my niece tonight and she says she doesn't really miss hot dogs, so it's not a problem.

Stash – thanks for the good wishes – I’m much improved today. I just finished dinner, but I’d love a bite of that Pancetta and cippolini onion dish – it looks so good. Spiced shrimp for dinner tonight: With salad: My plate with creamed corn and cheese potato casserole: Mr. Kim’s with kale (he’s back on the South Beach diet to try to get a handle on his blood sugar):

My dad gave me a couple of the small (almost paring knife size) Kuhn Rikon non-stick knives. A regular blade and a serrated one. I don't see that it improves the knives performance, but it doesn't seem to impair it either. I actually use them a lot - they are a convenient size and sharp as hell. I've never sharpened them - haven't needed to - but I wonder if you are even supposed to with that coating.

Wow – you go away for a week and miss so much! So many amazing things – I can’t possibly comment on everything. We had a wonderful time on our little anniversary celebration at the Outer Banks. If you’d like to read my report I’ve blogged about it here. Elise – as soon as I saw your salmon wrapped in Parma ham, I tucked away a few slices of prosciutto that I had left over to do that very thing! Wonderful idea and I can’t wait to try it. Kryptos – that gorgeous plate belongs in the Sexy Tableware Topic thread. Patrick – those Momofuko noodles sound fantastic! Are they really as easy as you say? Dcarch – wonderful texture on your corned beef! Bruce – I don’t know if anyone has mentioned it, but your photos just get better all the time. Did I miss you getting a new camera or something? RRO – your little fried rolls? I don’t even know what some of the ingredients are, but my, they look good! Enrique – welcome to the Dinner thread. Gorgeous meal. I am just in the middle of reading the Cooking of Spain and Portugal book from the old Time-Life series. Cocido Madrileño is one of the first recipes in the book! And your ham croquettes have me feeling weak in the knees! Chris – yay! for finding ribs and for your final product. They look perfect – not over sauced and not overcooked! I’m not a fan of the ‘fall off the bone’ method of rib preparation (though I admit to being guilty of it at times). Bravo! Prawn – your pastrami looks gorgeous and your descriptive ‘sticky juicy’ describes perfect pastrami to a T! rooftop – wow! I’m sending Mr. Kim the link to your post about your corned beef/pastrami! He’s going to be very happy. My first meal after coming back from our week in the Outer Banks Saturday: BLT salad and Lemon-Garlic chicken, macaroni and cheese and roasted asparagus: The chicken was a Southern Living recipe and just ok. Nothing special – I wouldn’t bother to make it again. I did like that it was a one pan on top of the stove recipe, but the flavor was meh. I have somehow injured/strained my left shoulder/neck, so dinner was easy tonight – breakfast (my old stand by). Mr. Kim had a tomato, jalapeno and Provolone omelet and sausage: You see how trifling being hurt makes me? I didn’t even bother to round off my rectangular sausage! Mine was scrambled eggs, sausage and frozen French fries:

Thanks for the good wishes – we are back from our trip and had a wonderful time! Andie – the texture of your scones is just lovely! Stash – gorgeous tortilla! Kay – how did you do your GF piggies? I have a niece who might like them. Bruce and percyn make the most beautiful eggs on earth !

As someone who has done an eG foodblog, I can attest to it being much, MUCH harder than it looks. At the end of my week, I had reams of leftover recipes and ideas that I was sure I would get to. I've loved this one and enjoyed a look at your food week!

Rich – Well, as I said on the ‘teaser’ thread, I’m going to be at the beach this week, but the hotel is SUPPOSED to have wireless, so I’m hoping to be able to keep up. Love that you are a Jeeves and Wooster fan. We are BIG fans – our GPS is named ‘Jeeves’ (and even has a posh English accent ). It’s not just Texas. I’ve never heard anybody but a Yankee use y’all singular. Just wrong.

Pooh! I'm going to be out of town ALL week ! I really hope the hotel has wireless!!!! Have a great week, Rico! I'll catch up when I get back and PM you if I can't see it at the beach!

Bruce – ghost chile sauce! Mr. Kim had ghost pepper jelly for the first time a few weeks ago (Christmas gift from fellow-chilehead daughter) and is hooked! He’d love to try that omelet. We are off tomorrow to the Outer Banks for a week to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary, so no more cooking for me for a while. Breakfast this morning: Ham and shallot frittata w/ roasted red pepper. No cheese, I forgot!

He completely creeps me out. I can't even watch the commercials. Though, Mr. Kim says it's good to see the MC from The Weakest Link finally got another gig.

A Wodehouse fan !

Paul – that’s an amazing deal! Those dinner plates are $18 apiece at Replacements.com! Jaymes - I tend to agree about those square plates. I have a few VERY cheap ones (Dollar Tree, in fact) that I use sometimes, but really just for serving. Unless you plate like a professional, food just looks awkward on them to me. And eating soup out of a square bowl feels very awkward. Maybe I’m just too accustomed to a round plate . And I hate, hate, HATE knives that roll off the edges of plates! PC – those are beautiful and I love the look when they are stacked. I didn’t post this yesterday, but thought of it today. How could I forget this in the Sexy Tableware thread: P1100450 by ozisforme, on Flickr Vegetable bowl from the Cynthia Rowley ‘Dirty Dishes’ line. Fishs Eddy will be my downfall! How about flatware? I loved Tug’s whimsical set! I don’t have time to lug all mine out (assortment of bought/inherited stuff) today, but will do it soon and I’d love to see everyone else’s. Thanks for starting this thread, Keith! Even though your Bossa Nova plates fill me with unrequited lust, I’m really enjoying it!

Love World Market - I've gotten some wonderful serving pieces there. Our china is Haviland Limoges ‘Rosalinde’: P1100435 by ozisforme, on Flickr Detail: P1100436 by ozisforme, on Flickr You can’t tell in the picture, but the rims are the softest, palest green imaginable. I love it every bit as much as I did the first time I saw it more than 30 years ago. I was registering for china and silver and once I saw this I looked no further. Pretty amazing that I picked out something at 22 that I still adore at 52, huh? We got a lot of it as wedding presents – eight place settings, but being young and poor, couldn’t really add to that. A year or so after getting married, we were in Williamsburg VA for a weekend and found 12 dinner plates in this design at an antique store/flea market: P1100437 by ozisforme, on Flickr Detail: P1100438 by ozisforme, on Flickr This is also a Haviland Limoges pattern, but doesn’t have the name on the bottom. I’d love to know what it is if any of our experts know. We thought that the pattern went well with Rosalinde and got them for something like $1.50 apiece. Other than the flowers, these are pure white. Then, a number of years ago, when Mr. Kim was just beginning to understand the wonders of internet shopping (what is it with men who HATE shopping at stores, but will go bananas on Amazon or ebay?), he discovered a treasure trove of this same pattern on ebay. The lot included 12 place settings, a large platter, a small platter, an adorable square platter, covered veg, gravy boat, covered butter dish and 1/2 dozen tiny little bowls (maybe a cup each, but flattish) that I use for mints, nuts, etc. He got it for a completely ridiculous price – less than $500, I think. So we can now serve 32 people on fine china - but hardly ever do since I insist they be hand washed. Mr. Kim objects. Our everyday is something called Parthenon by Coventry. No idea. I got it in a complete set deal at Sears on clearance for $30. I bought two sets, so I have 16 place settings – also 2 vegetable bowls, platters and sugar-creamer sets. They are just white, but I really like the rims: P1100447 by ozisforme, on Flickr P1100440 by ozisforme, on Flickr Saucer: P1100441 by ozisforme, on Flickr I love these and use them for bread or hors d’oeuvre plates. The cups are stored in the attic since Mr. Kim refuses to use anything but a mug to drink coffee out of. Bowl: P1100442 by ozisforme, on Flickr These even have a tiny little motif at the bottom: P1100444 by ozisforme, on Flickr These are just cheapo dishes, but very sturdy – microwave, oven, dishwasher safe and they showcase food the way that I wanted them to.

Elise – your seafood risotto looks fantastic. One of my favorite dishes! Pilori – wow! I’m impressed – terrific meal! Deena – meyer lemon focaccia??? I’m swooning at the thought (excellent photo, by the way). Stash – your chicken and dumplings looks great. I recently made it and don’t tend to repeat dishes very frequently, but you’ve got me craving it now. Those dumplings look absolutely perfect. Dinner last night was some BBQ that I bought when we were in NC visiting my grandmother this weekend: Served with Short Sugar’s slaw and some fries. The BBQ is from Short Sugar’s in Reidsville NC and is my favorite pork in the world. Their sauce is like nothing I’ve ever tasted – it’s neither Western style with catsup, nor Eastern vinegar based. It looks like nothing more than Worcestershire sauce – thin and brown, but no one has ever been able to crack the code. The pork is good, not great anymore, but that sauce is so good that will elevate even grocery store BBQ!

You're welcome! Have a wonderful time and I hope that your food report is more timely than mine (we went in May and I still haven't started the Paris section!) .

Spent the weekend in Reidsville NC visiting my grandmother. Found these in at Goodwill: P1100432 by ozisforme, on Flickr These were the Cooking of Vienna's Empire and Cooking of Provincial France books from the Time-Life Foods of the World series. $3 each! Both of the books were somewhat worn and had folded down corners on a lot of pages. I am intrigued - I'm picturing a lonely little country lady, yearning for elegant, sophiticated meals in the land of fried chicken and congealed salads. I'm wondering how she fared and if she finally gave up and donated these or if they were left behind when she passed and no one cared enough about her efforts and dreams to keep them. I am goopy, I know.

Bizarre coincidence – my mother and I went to NC to visit my grandmother this weekend and Mr. Kim welcomed us home with dinner. Dessert included this: It is a date-nut roll that he got at Whole Foods. He had no idea about my Date Roll post here. I hadn’t talked to him about it at ALL. We’ve never had it before – I’m not sure I’ve ever tasted it. He says that he doesn’t think he has either. He was just wandering around WF and noticed it and thought it would fit in well with his meal. He served it with pears and grapes. How does it work that I have Date Roll in my brain for the first time in my life and in the same week, he grabs it on impulse at the store ? Very odd. Anyway, Momma says it is VERY similar to Ma’s, so I know what I’m shooting for!

ChrisT – lovely sounding meal! So glad you posted the pictures. I know exactly what you mean about the flash pictures. I need some lessons, because when I use my flash, everything turns out like that ! Paul – what are potato tops? They look great. David – your lamb is absolutely gorgeous – exactly like I like it to look! dcarch – your ravioli are so beautiful and whimsical that they made me laugh out loud! Bruce – your butt is divine ! My mother and I went to visit my grandmother in NC for the weekend. Mr. Kim welcomed us home with a great dinner. We started with some cheese and crackers: Point Reyes bleu and aged Gouda. He made a massive and delicious muffeletta with all kinds of meats and cheeses and a homemade olive salad that was perfect: And his wonderful Emeril-inspired split-pea soup: This is one of my favorite soups. It only takes about an hour and a half to make. It’s hard to believe that something so fast can be so good. Dessert was red pears, grapes and date-nut roll: The perfect meal at the end of a long drive. And he even did the dishes (the cook is usually excluded from that duty in the Shook house).

We ate there on our trip last May. We seemed to be the only Americans in the place. Everyone else was speaking French. We were going on a boat tour, so we ate fairly early - maybe 7? It seems that you can make reservations for 5+ people, so they can definitely seat 6. The food was lovely - one of the best meals that we had on our trip.

robirdstx – crispy sage leaves! Yum. Harry – I love that you cook with your son and don’t mind the extra time it takes. That is an investment that will pay off some day! mm – lobster, lobster, lobster! I just tossed a bunch of saved lobster recipes, because I realized that, as a retired person (yay), I probably won’t be making much lobster, but your post is making me regretful! Dinner tonight was an utterly boring chicken and rice casserole and delicious roasted cauliflower: Dessert was some surprisingly good strawberries and Girl Scout lemon cookies:

So very, very envious here! I didn't even realize until a couple of days ago that this was in Washington this year. I wouldn't have been able to come anyway - our 30th wedding anniversary is the 20th and we're hoping to be in the Outer Banks that weekend and the following week (IF the General Assembly would just get a budget done - Mr. Kim works for the VA budget dept), but I would have loved it! I am NOT a candy maker (unless fudge and peanut brittle count ), but I have been getting so interested in it and besides, just meeting all of you would have been the best part ! Have a wonderful time, everyone! Take lots of pictures and post a full report.

Thanks so much for all the help! I can't wait to try them now! I had assumed that these were candies, but I double checked anyway with my grandmother and they are candies. Soft and chewy (like a Squirrel Nut Zipper, it sounds like), but candy all the same. I've never heard the wet cloth technique. And with all of the discussion, I'm now thinking that they would be delicious with a good amount of ground almonds, cooked like Chris suggested (just until they 'seize up') to a cooky consistancy. Time for some experimenting. I'll make Ma's candies and 'my' cookies! I knew I could count on you folks!

avaserfi – absolutely beautiful and what's more, it all sounds delicious. Bruce – another batch for you below – these didn’t rise as much as the last batch. Breakfast for dinner tonight: Sausage gravy and biscuits, scrambled eggs and fried potatoes and onions. By request of Jessica.

Safe travels, Hassouni! What a glorious ride you've taken us on! This is a blog I'll return to again and again.