Kim Shook

Shal - that's great! I am actually using marshmallow Fluff in the filling, just like they suggest. Darienne - I meant a tub of frosting - Duncan Hines, Betty Crocker, etc. I have a couple of those pens and will try them. Royal icing would probably work the best, but I don't really feel like making a batch of it for a dozen little squiggles. Thank you!

I am faking Hostess cupcakes for a party and want to add that iconic little white squiggle. I'm icing with ganache and wanted to know what to make the 'squiggles' with - I was thinking either white chocolate or a white buttercream (probably purchased, to make life easier). I'll let the ganache firm up before adding the white. Thanks!

I know. I could have kicked myself when I got home! They are $17 a JAR at amazon and almost $10 at a specialty store an hour away. Ahh...my error. When the weather cools, I can mail you some of those pretzel dogs if you like. I am sure one can make it at home, especially easy if you find pretzel dough. The eggs I used were from an organic, open pasture farm and the yolks seems to be more orange and hold their shape better. Bought another dozen yesterday, lets see how the new batch turns out. That would be great, percyn - there is a store in Williamsburg (just 45 minutes east of us), so if we don't get there in the next month, or so I'll let you know. Thank you!

percyn - I should have been more specific - the sausage I was talking about was the pretzel sausage from farther back. BTW - that is one gorgeous poached egg!

Those will go into various things this week for Mr. Kim - he's the chilihead in the house. There are actually less of them that it looks like - lots of little bell peppers there too. A patient brought them into the office from her garden and we all shared them out. Mr. Kim's breakfast was a chile filled omelet!

Roberta – I know, I just love that stuff. I am an absolute sucker for pressed and cut glass and the fact that they are family pieces just makes them that much more wonderful. Darienne – how utterly clever that pan is. What a great find! A recent find at an antiques mall in Danville VA: Wolverine metal kitchen set. These are supposedly from the 1930’s. I think it’s probably more likely 1950’s based on similar things I’m finding on ebay and the style of the pieces. The tallest stands one and a half foot tall. Most of the doors actually open. I don’t think that the sink piece is part of the original set since it is so much larger and I’m sure that the pink paint was done at a later time (the paint is chipping some and underneath it’s white). I’m not at all sure of what I’m going to do with these, but they will somehow figure into my kitchen. They were going for $45 and I talked them down to $30 – again, looking at ebay, I think I got a good deal. My favorite part is inside the refrigerator door:

percyn – it looks like they have stores in Yorktown and Williamsburg – not too far to go. I’d love to try those sausages. RRO – I love the looks of that avocado and salmon breakfast! Breakfast this morning for Mr. Kim: an omelet with tomatoes, hot peppers, onions and cheese – nectarines on the side. Mine: Egg and bacon on toast. In the background is toast with the last of my beloved Little Scarlet strawberry preserves .

I've been MIA recently. Mr. Kim was in Ireland this past week with his mom and sibs (the blog of THIS trip is NOT for public consumption - suffice to say it's been was strained ) and I was in NC visiting my grandmother. Jessica decided to assuage my loneliness by allowing me to take her out to dinner Tuesday and Wednesday, so I've been doing no cooking at all. Mr. Kim’s birthday is Sunday, so I'll be cooking for that - if I can still remember how! Toliver – great idea about using the cinnamon and sugar Ritz crackers. I can get them here, too – I’ll be trying that. People at work are still talking about that pie! rotuts – I remember that dessert with the cookies and whipped cream. It was delicious – I loved how the chocolate wafers got soft and tender! Those cookies are made by Nabisco and are called Famous Chocolate Wafers. They are usually with the ice cream toppings and not with the cookies around here, oddly enough. percyn – I am intrigued by that addition of balsamic vinegar to the bacon jam. We just got a shipment of Benton’s bacon and I’m going to use one package to make bacon jam. I’ll be adding balsamic to that one! RRO – that snapper is gorgeous! I love whole fish. Prawn – sorry about the finger – we have a dear friend who suffers from gout and I know how debilitating it can be. Nice that you got past it in time to produce all of that lovely pork! When I’m finally ready to start my sausage experimenting (I have everything I need but the time), I’ll know who to go to for advice! And those rinds are swoonworthy! Your Tea made me a little sad – that was the one thing that we didn’t get to experience on that trip. But you inspired me – a ‘tea’ dinner is something I can surely make and I will do that soon. Paul – that pork belly BLT looks fantastic. Rhonda – the deviled eggs and shrimp are a perfect pairing and I adore the serving dish! A couple of meals before Mr. Kim went on his trip: Open faced chicken sandwiches with gravy. Probably my very favorite chicken application! Chicken tacos, marinated cukes and rice and beans. With the tacos, I made some pate with some leftover fried chicken livers from a recent restaurant meal: odd combination, I know, but I didn’t want those livers to go to waste and that’s the only way that Mr. Kim will eat liver. The recipe worked surprisingly well with the already cooked livers. The welcome back from Ireland dinner last night was BLT’s with a fried egg and tomato consommé:

I love RB and Coke floats, but when I was a kid, I was in love with purple cows - grape soda and vanilla ice cream! I haven't had one in years, but I still like grape soda, so I'd probably still like them.

Thanks so much, Simon! I printed out all the info on the other thread and will give it to Mr. Kim. He leaves Thursday, so he'll be glad to have this.

Dejah – that is a gorgeous pie! Rhonda – all this NOLA food is torture! We absolutely fell in love with boudin balls when we were there and I just found out that a new restaurant in town makes them. Can’t wait to get there! Dinner was the most enormous chicken I’ve ever cooked. It was 7 1/2 pounds. At just over $5, I couldn’t pass it up. I salted it and let it air dry all day – not long enough, because my skin was still a little soft, but it roasted up lovely: My gravy turned out especially well: I also did a panzanella-inspired salad: Plated with Brussels sprouts, Marlene’s Crispy Smashed Potatoes and leftover spoonbread (which was helped by the gravy):

percyn – did you buy that pretzel wrapped sausage or make it? That looks so good! And what is this leftover crab cake of which you speak? I’ve never heard of such a thing . Seriously, though – what a perfect poached egg! Andie – I Googled Bourbon Bacon Marmalade and all the recipes that I found were basically the same as Bacon Jam. I was hoping for something different – something clear with bits of bacon suspended in it. Someone should get right on that . Parmhero – love, love, LOVE fried salami and rye toast! I sometimes spread some cream cheese on the toast and make a salami sandwich with it! Rhonda – I SQUEALED out loud when I saw the Stanley sign! We had breakfast there twice on our trip and loved it. I thought that the hollandaise was some of the best I’ve ever had – and I loved the ‘pourability’ – especially since mine always turns out the consistency of mayo ! Breakfast this morning: Scrambled eggs, bacon, orange, croissant and Nutella.

I DREAM about British convenience store sandwiches in the triangular plastic molds. They are so ridiculously good compared to anything you can get over here. Cheese and pickle, egg and tomato, ham and cheese, egg and cress, you name it. Just fantastic fast food. Clotted cream to die for. So jealous. Thank you, Patrick! I almost didn't post that because it seemed so silly to rhapsodize about convenience store sandwiches! Nice to know I wasn't alone!

Shelby – Well, Otis thought that the entire outside world was a smorgasbord just for him, but I don’t remember him bringing anything for me ! Fried green watermelon! That is truly a making lemonade from life’s lemons dish! And I need to show Mr. Kim that pork roast – I don’t roast much pork, because it is generally tasteless unless we hock the silver and go to the butcher shop, but I’m sure smoking it would improve even supermarket pork! For dinner tonight we had Matthew’s Grilled Spareribs with Cherry Cola Glaze, baked beans, slaw and spoonbread We really loved these ribs. The sauce is sweet and sticky, but with the added mustard and horseradish not at all cloying. I was a bit disappointed in the spoonbread: I used the recipe on the back of the bag of cornmeal mix I bought and thought it was a little bland. I’m not completely sure why. The two recipes that I usually make call for butter and this one used shortening. Obviously, butter tastes better than shortening, but I think that the cornmeal itself wasn’t ‘corny’ tasting enough. I hate to toss the whole bag, though, so I’ll try it again using butter and maybe adding some creamed corn. Dessert was that crazy pie that Shelby made: It’s called 10-Minute Lime Cracker Pie. Those are Ritz crackers in the pie. This thing has absolutely no business being as good as it is. Just lime juice, heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk and Ritz crackers. You chill the pie overnight and the crackers turn into this flakey layer. It all firms up in the fridge and cuts beautifully. I confess that I didn’t squeeze the limes – I had some Key lime juice that needed using up. Also – that’s ReddiWhip on top . My mind is spinning with ideas for this method. Strawberry. Orange. Peanut butter with a fudge ripple. Thanks so much for posting the link, Shelby!

Kate – all that lovely pottery reminded me of something I wanted to ask you about: In your picture of the beet cured salmon breakfast there was a hauntingly beautiful bowl (maybe filled with salt?) that seemed to be a repeat of a woman’s face. Am I crazy? I haven’t been able to get the image of that bowl out of my head. Where did it come from?

It won't be long now - just a couple of days left in England . Hope you'll be reporting on your London trip! Actually, there is more cream on there than it looks like from the picture - really piled up on the back side. I kept urging Mr. Kim - "that's cream, not butter - PILE it on!" Thanks so much, Prawn - that means so much coming from a native! Yep, 'skon' - I was raised with that pronunciation! Oh, yes - tell me why the bars in the US haven't glommed on to a Pringles machine??? And it's not butter, Shelby - even better the thickest, richest cream you can imagine. You can actually make it at home with good (pasteurized, not ultra pasteurized heavy cream). You need to try this.

Oh, goodness - that butcher shop and the market are truly remarkable. RE: photos - I really don't get the problem. If anything, it provides some free advertising for the vendor. I don't bother asking anymore - I just hang my camera around my neck and unobtrusively snap away.

Days 8&9 Dorchester and the Coast! After our LONG, LONG tour of Salisbury Cathedral we drove to Dorchester. I’m not sure of the route that Jeeves (GPS) took us, but it was gorgeously scenic. Not a lot of places to eat, though. We are both diabetics (mine is diet controlled since having the gastric bypass) and we were desperate for lunch. And we needed gas. Here’s my half confession/half revelation. We ate at a One-Stop. This was JUST EXACTLY like a 7-11. Except not. We were thinking that we could get some crackers and cheese or maybe some hard boiled eggs. Any kind of protein and carb. We perused the sandwich selection, full of hope but not very optimistic. They were the typical convenience store packages – triangular shaped hard plastic with a sheet of cellophane to cover. But they looked different….kind of good. And we were starving. So we took a chance. And they were different – and good. Really SURPRISINGLY good. Mr. Kim got the ham, Cheddar and pickle (British pickle, remember) baguette. Mine was the most ordinary sandwich in the world – egg salad and ham – on white bread. But the egg salad tasted really fresh, the ham was REAL (not slimy deli ham), and the bread was firm and actually tasted of bread. Another interesting thing is that there was egg salad and sliced hard boiled eggs on the sandwich – I’ve never seen that before and I’ve been having my egg salad sandwiches like that at home lately. It seems ridiculous to go on and on like this about convenience store sandwiches. They weren’t the most amazing sandwiches ever. But they were good – if 7-11 had sandwiches like that, I’d probably have them once a week for workday lunches. We checked into our Dorchester hotel, The Kings Arms: 22-1k6 by ozisforme, on Flickr And headed right back out to explore some of the shore area. We were stunned by Weymouth – the white cliffs and views for miles up and down the coast. I was SO tempted: 21-117k by ozisforme, on Flickr Seaside fish and chips and ice cream cornets – the stuff of juvenile dreams for me. But cooler heads and still full lunch tummies prevailed. I mean, it was probably awful, right? RIGHT??? We drove along the coast road, catching sight of the sea, then losing it – through Abbotsbury (another impossibly charming and gorgeous village) surmounting a hill so high, with a view so sweeping that we felt sure we should have been able to see France. We dipped back down to drive into Chideock – out of view of the sea, but still near. This was another favorite village. It didn’t feel touristy at all – it was lovely (we had a postprandial walk and were charmed), but we didn’t see any provisions for vacationers – though it is so close to the sea. We had dinner at the Clock House Inn – a 16th century Free House: 21-208k by ozisforme, on Flickr 21-179k by ozisforme, on Flickr We were the only non-locals there – everyone else was called by their names by the host. One couple had their well-behaved border collie sitting beside their table. This was the first time that Mr. Kim tried “And pull one for yourself” in lieu of tipping and it was well received! Very surprised and gratified response – big grin. There are all kinds of trophies for darts and skittle competitions and even a little lending library in one corner. I loved the Pringles machine: 21-182k by ozisforme, on Flickr We started off with: 21-178k by ozisforme, on Flickr Guinness for Mr. Kim and Thatcher’s Gold cider for me. Mr. Kim had shepherd’s pie: 21-183k by ozisforme, on Flickr Really good – gooey cheesy potatoes. His potato-topped pie came with….potatoes. Anyone who has followed me on the dinner thread can imagine how heavenly I found the British propensity for serving double or even triple carbs in one meal! My dinner was fantastic: 21-184k by ozisforme, on Flickr Meltingly tender lamb shank. With a rich, winey gravy. The lamb was so flavorful – unlike anything I’ve tasted in years. Almost gamey. As you can see, though we both got potatoes, they were different. Mine were the chips and his were the new potatoes – but they certainly weren’t steamed. They MIGHT have been roasted, but I suspect they were fried, too. During our walk, I noticed this sign: 21-188k by ozisforme, on Flickr I just loved that this little village’s Women’s Institute was making sushi! I cannot imagine the ladies of my grandmother’s little church in NC even knowing what sushi is! Breakfast was at the hotel – very similar to what we had at Salisbury. No pictures. We made our way to Charmouth to walk along the beach and then to Lyme Regis. Lyme Regis is VERY touristy and crowded, but I loved it all the same. We took the road less traveled a few times and found some lovely gardens and sea views. Since I knew that a cream tea was in our near future, we shared a small lunch from Mulberry Manor: 22-50k1 by ozisforme, on Flickr It is a small bakeshop on the main drag in Lyme Regis. All kinds of ready goodies – including pasties, salads and desserts. Mr. Kim liked these cheese stuffed peppers: 22-51k by ozisforme, on Flickr We also had a really good cheese straw: 22-52k by ozisforme, on Flickr LOADED with cheese and poppy seeds – this was super crisp and flakey. We shared a beef and bleu cheese pasty: 22-53k by ozisforme, on Flickr 22-54k by ozisforme, on Flickr You know, you’d think that this was the kind of thing that should be served piping hot, but it was just barely warmer than room temperature and it was great. Is it common to serve pasties like that? Next up was Beer (the village, not the drink) where my aunt lives. Unfortunately, she happened to be in the States (we didn’t coordinate our trips very well). We met one of her neighbors, who recommended the cream tea at the Captain’s Cottage: captains cottage beer by ozisforme, on Flickr 22-64k1a by ozisforme, on Flickr I was dying to try a crab sandwich, but knew I wouldn’t have room for that and a cream tea and I was determined not to leave Devon without a cream tea! So, tea it was: 22-64k5 by ozisforme, on Flickr 22-64k6 by ozisforme, on Flickr 22-64k7 by ozisforme, on Flickr We were very happy: 22-64m by ozisforme, on Flickr Dinner that night was (I blush) another convenience store sandwich. We were exhausted and on our way to Winchester the next morning and, like I said they were pretty good.

Thanks so much! I've passed your ideas on to Mr. Kim and he is very appreciative. I've made him promise to take pictures and make notes!

I’ve always thought that the eG foodblogs were the very best part of the site. I love that peek into other folks’ homes and lives. I am a natural born culinary voyeur – at the grocery store I enjoy looking at what other people are buying as much as I enjoy choosing my own food. And you are living up to the best in your blog, Kate! Every time I log on to eG, I see something new and exciting and fun and delicious! What a fantastic ambassador you are to Australia! I could literally respond to every post and every picture. What I keep thinking about are the shellfish – the bugs (I want to try bugs), those incredible sapphire blue crabs, the gorgeous head-on prawns. But tonight, what hit me between the eyes were the spanner crabs. I’ve never even HEARD of them! I'm just mesmerized!

percyn – I adore fried chicken on waffles. It is also fantastic on cornbread waffles – nice mixture of salty and sweet. And drizzling with a little black pepper honey ain’t bad, either! If you will make the Juicy Lucys, I’ll bring the bacon jam! dcarch – yes, we are big pork people. We have to wear baggy pants to hide our curly tails . I am also mad about fried oysters and am wondering about making some soon. Last Christmas I miscalculated and bought twice as many oysters as I actually needed for the stuffing and my dad and I had a FEAST! Shelby – we always say that at Halloween. It becomes somewhat less appropriate at Christmas. You really need to make some bacon jam. It will improve anything. Scotty – I cannot for the life of me find kayb’s post where she gave me the recipe, but here is a link to it on my webpage – I’ve credited it to kayb! I just love panzanella – such a perfect summer dish and really great for using up bits of this and that. Elise – your halibut looks and sounds gorgeous! I just went and got my Les Halles off the shelf and added that recipe to my list of ‘to tries’. We ordered pizza the other night. And since we had leftover pizza the next night: While this was a nice combination, I’d have preferred it on a white pizza – I don’t much care for the combination of tomatoes and eggs. We are thinking of a bacon jam and egg breakfast pizza.

Matthew – It may very well have been a frozen pie lid. But if I could purchase puff pastry that got that airy and light, I’d buy it. And it might also have been made with vegetable fat rather than butter – I go out of my way to find puff pastry made with butter and it just tasted like butter-made to me. I can’t be sure of that, of course. The bottom crust was like short pastry – not puff. Shelby – I think that the cowboy things are some sort of BBQ sauce, maybe? To the left are little men wearing sombreros – that is salsa. And in trying to look at my picture and zooming in to try to read the label, I noticed for the first time that the box to the left of the cowboys is obviously supposed to be an outhouse!! I have NO idea what’s in that one. KA – no cream doughnuts – I’m not even sure what they are. Black pudding – stay tuned. Sausage rolls – no, because I’m not a fan of English sausage, but I make them at home all the time. Jay – that trip sounds wonderful. I think that we liked the wandering and surprises and discoveries best of all. Kit – I’ve been homesick for England since we stepped on the train at St. Pancras station. And it was the first time I’d ever been! I’m trying to put together another segment – hoping to post it tonight, but it’s already almost 9pm, so we’ll see. Thank you all for reading and responding. Reliving it is so much fun and I love that it’s appreciated!

Norm – I am too hot to even think about cooking tonight (I had tuna salad for dinner), but I wish I had a plate of that lasagna! It looks fantastic! Jerry – beautiful sear on your duck! And the sauce sounds great. I agree – it would be good with pork chops, too! Well, I finally made bacon jam. Between kayb in the breakfast thread and Jerry’s blog, I’ve been hearing about it for months and decided I couldn’t stand it anymore. It is TRULY fantastic. Thank you for providing the recipe, kayb! I told Mr. Kim that I would have to quit work and stay home and make bacon jam on a regular basis, so we wouldn’t ever run out. Bacon Jam: I made Jake’s bacon wrapped pork loin for dinner the other night: We liked this very much, Jake! The mustard/syrup glaze is wonderful! Along with red cabbage and Rice A Roni (a guilty pleasure in the Shook household): And cheese/chive rolls with BACON JAM: As you can see, I totally cheated and instead of making Jerry's poppers, I used Sister Shubert's rolls. I brushed them with melted butter then sprinkled with chives and Cheddar. Our aperitif: Peach nectar, sparkling wine and Grand Marnier. Very good. Please ignore the cobwebs in the window . We can’t figure out how to get to them to remove them. When we put the window up – they slide up; when we put the top window down, we can’t get to them .

While I would love to go to Ireland, I wouldn't go on this one on a BET. They are already getting on each other's nerves. This trip is to celebrate her 70th birthday and to help her do a little genealogical research. Great, Simon - thank you so much.

Everyone was so wonderful and helpful before our England trip, that I'm hoping to get Mr. Kim a few tips for his upcoming Ireland trip. He'll be traveling with his mother, brother and sister. All of them like most everything - the unpickiest people I know. They like to eat healthily, but a splurge isn't bad, either. I'll give their basic intinerary and if you have some ideas, they would very much appreciate it. I'll give the hotel, too, so that you will know what area they will be in (they will have a car): Friday, 8/5: Galway - Pillo Hotel & Spa Saturday, 8/6: Shannon - Carrygerry Country House Hotel Sunday, 8/7: Dingle - The Lantern Townhouse B&B Monday, 8/8: Waterville, County Kerry - Butler Arms Hotel Tuesday, 8/9: Kilkenny - Kilkenny River Court Hotel Wednesday & Thursday, 8/10 & 8/11: Dublin - Brooks Hotel I'm thinking that they will need all meals - maybe places that put together picnics, if there is such a thing, or good stores to buy such things. Really anything that will help make the trip more enjoyable and tasty! None of them have ever been to Ireland. Thanks so much!