Kim Shook

PC – I adore your braided chocolate bars! Jerry – next trip to Richmond – Mr. Kim wants more coffee, but I want macarons ! Curls – please, please tell me how you manage to make such a gorgeous apple pie! My apples never stay up inside the top crust like yours. They cook down level with the pie pan and I end up with a bunch of empty crust! Gorgeous. A Coca-Cola cake that I made for a co-worker’s birthday: It was fantastic – moist and super-chocolatey. Everyone at the office said that it was the best chocolate cake they had ever tasted. Halloween cupcakes: Cake for a co-worker’s BD: I had some trouble with this cake. It was a Southern Living recipe. The cake layers felt apart into 2 and 3 large pieces. The frosting was supposed to fill and completely frost the cake and there was not nearly enough for that. Also, while the frosting tasted great, it was much too thin – even if there had been enough, it would have slid right down the sides of the cake. Another cake for one of Mr. Kim’s co-workers: Just chocolate/chocolate. Classic, delicious and very easy! My MIL did Thanksgiving and asked me to make a side dish and a pecan pie. I’d never made pecan pie before. So I remembered a friend’s fantastic looking ‘Heart of Dixie’ pecan pie at Cookskorner.com and tried that out: It was fantastic! The dough is a pate sucre with cocoa and it calls for both chopped and whole pecan halves. Heavenly! There was not a sliver of a piece leftover.

I have been MIA for awhile now – just ‘life stuff’ going on – plus the holidays coming up, but I’ve been sneaking peeks at work between patients coming in the door and while I can’t go back and comment on everything that has impressed me, or caught my eye or made me hungry, please know that those little peeks have enriched and inspired me, as always! I’m taking a break from decorating to scarf down a piece of Costco pizza (we buy the whole ones and freeze them and use them instead of delivery) and have some ‘me time’! I thought I’d post a few pictures of some recent meals: Roast beef, Brussels sprouts au Gratin, Marlene’s cream roasted potatoes, Marlene’s Yorkies: A bit overdone – I’m still not really used to the rotisserie yet. The temp seemed to JUMP from 99 degrees to 140 in no time at all. Teriyaki pork and pineapple skewers, stir fried Ramen and snow peas: Steak and potato pie and cornbread: (We also had kale, which is why we had cornbread) Plated: Marlene’s Crispy Pork Chops Tonkatsu, green beans and teriyaki rice: Marlene’s Beef Stroganoff: Roast beef and Marlene’s Crispy Smashed Potatoes: Purchased cheese fondue w/ dippers (bread, apples and tots) The fondue was surprisingly good, we bought it on a whim at Costco and were really pleased. The ingredients were cheese (three kinds including Swiss and Emmentaler), white wine, kirsch and cornstarch – so just what I’d put in it anyway. Fried shrimp (dusted with rice flour) and more Crispy Pork Chops Tonkatsu: Looks like I’ve been depending on Marlene a lot just lately, huh ? My MIL did Thanksgiving and asked me to make a sidedish. I forgot to take a picture. It was from the November issue of Southern Living – roasted onions. You use red, pearl and cipollini onions and shallots – toss them in a brown sugar, olive oil and balsamic mixer and roast at 450 degrees until caramelized. Everyone loved this. I can’t wait to make it with roast beef sometime.

Percyn - life is getting in the way of fun for me lately, but I've been trying to keep up with the blog - and it has been absolutely fascinating! I don't ever want it to stop! Thanks for sharing your trip with us.

Well, dern on the tempering . I'll just have to keep hoping for Mr. Kim to spring for the temperer. sigh.

OK, but - it says it tempers chocolate. If it really does, it would be MUCH cheaper than the temperer that I have on my wishlist right now ($465!!!). Mr. Kim might actually spring for this (the temperer has been on my wishlist for almost 10 years).

I actually HAVE made a boob cake - for one of the doctors at work. I've also made a...um....gentleman cake (urologists)! I don't know what you are planning for icing, but I found that a few coats of really thick glaze worked best to accentuate the 'contours' ! I looked at the At Last menu. It looks great - I'd love some mac and cheese with ham!

I'm loving all this, Randi! I've enjoyed each one of your food blogs and this is no exception. Oddly enough, I actually knew about the Santa Monica ex-pat British thing. My stepdad is English and when we lived in Reseda (1969) we used to go to a pub in Santa Monica called the Mucky Duck (long gone now) and eat fish and chips made with plaice - first time I'd ever tasted it. Your fish tacos look fantastic. I am in love with fish tacos, but have to make them for myself because I've never had one at a restaurant that wasn't too spicy (another supertaster here, I've been told - I like strong flavors, but can't do heat). I remember your Canada kitchen redo - I'm amazed at what you can accomplish in so much less space in California - quite a change in space and comfort. Funny what love does to you, huh ?

We need a suppressed snorting laughter emoticon - I'm at work and "packing cake" gave me the giggles! It's not me, but I'd like to have that cake recipe! And, no, Jerry - I'm not up to a burrito of that size.

Thank you so much! Great ideas - I'll try them next time I need to make this cake.

EN – thanks for the oven fried chicken recipe. I’ve never made it well – yours looks great. I’ll try it soon! Norm – that ham salad sounds wonderful. I love the addition of dried apples. I would never have thought of that, but it is perfect! Deensiebat – oh, my goodness! That focaccia is just delectable looking. I’m printing that out to go in the ‘to try’ file. And I may just print out the photo to gaze at. MsDL & David – oh pot roast. I am SO ready for pot roast! Keith – gorgeous lamb dish. And those dishes are haunting me . I did a very simple dinner the other night while I was preparing stuff for my FIL’s birthday party. Some good friends gifted us with a bunch of homemade preserves. We sampled the plum, blackberry, strawberry and fig: Along with some country ham, a basket of biscuits: and a plate of fried eggs: Could not have been easier – or more welcome and delicious. Friday night was my FIL’s BD party. I did country ribs, mac and cheese, and angel food cake with caramel sauce (his very favorite dessert in the world). One of my SILs did a gorgeous salad with a sweet honey dressing and the other did peas with mushrooms and onions. The mac and cheese, the angel food cake and the caramel sauce were all from Michael Ruhlman’s new book “Ruhlman’s Twenty”. I was very honored to be picked, along with some other folks over at Marlene’s website, cookskorner.com, to do some recipe testing for the book. It was truly one of the most fun things I’ve ever done – a real dream job for me. Ribs: SIL’s salad: Mac & Cheese w/ Soubise: That one got a tad overdone, but it still tasted amazing and the second one wasn’t quite as crispy. Angel Food cake with caramel sauce:

For my FIL’s birthday on Friday night I made his special request – angel food cake with caramel sauce: Both from Michael Ruhlman’s new book “Ruhlman’s Twenty”. And both delicious. He was a very happy man! As I mentioned over at the dinner thread, I was lucky enough to be asked, along with some others at Marlene’s website, cookskorner.com, to do recipe testing for the book. It was the coolest thing I’ve ever done! Since I made two cakes for the party, I had 20 (!!!!) leftover yolks. I made 12 Yolk “Angel Food” cake: Frosted: Slice: Close up: I need a little help here – or maybe just someone to tell me to give up on this cake. The last time that I made it, I found it a little tough and dry. Kerry suggested that I use cake and pastry flour instead of AP and to fold the flour mixture in rather than beating it in with a mixer. I did that and it helped the texture so much – it was tender and soft and (as you can see) had a nice crumb. But it was still dry. You can see the recipe here. Within the constraints of the recipe, is there anything that I can do to add moisture?

RRO – lovely breakfast. Whenever I see your beautiful and elaborate breakfasts I wonder what time do you eat, exactly? There would have to be at least 6 hours between rising and dining for me to begin to get my head around preparing all of that (see below – it took me 2 hours and a trip to the supermarket to make waffles and bacon!). My heroine ! PC – wow, that sounds good! What do red bananas taste like? Jmahl – must search for that book (pretty sure I own it) – I need to have that bread. Breakfast this morning: waffles and Benton’s bacon. Jessica crumbled bacon into her waffle batter. Wow. I meant to try it with a smear of warm bacon jam, but I forgot. Well, we have leftovers and I’ll try it with them.

EN- Happy Birthday from me, too! Mrs. EN is some cook - that dessert looks beautiful. Jerry - congrats on the macaron success. You should give a little class next time y'all come to Richmond - I think it would be hilarious and informative. I haven't dived into trying them yet. I will probably miss that bandwagon - but then, I'm used to that - we just started getting cupcake shops here ! We met some out of town friends for a halfway visit last weekend (halfway between us and them). They brought us some homemade preserves – fig, blackberry, plum, strawberry and preserved whole figs!!! I took them banana bread: Mark Bittman’s Banana Bread. Good, but it benefitted from sitting overnight – it was a little bland the day I baked it. And Lois’ Best Coffee Cake, a recipe from Maggie that I've made over and over (recipe is here ): This time I added lemon zest and tiny, wild blueberries that I get frozen from Kroger. Cake for a co-worker’s birthday this week: Daquiri pound cake. Not as pretty as it usually is, but it tasted great. Once it was cut, it didn’t last 2 hours at work! The birthday girl got one piece and when she went back after lunch to get a piece to take to her husband, it was gone!

Norm - that Southern ham, beans and collards dinner looks amazing! Gorgeous ham. It looks so moist. How do you cook it - mine tends to dry out a bit. MiFi - oooooh - beef burgundy on polenta - what a great idea! percyn - you eat more lobster than anyone I know. I am extremely envious!! Genkinaonna - I love, love, LOVE the look and sound of that salad and that you made it from on-hand stuff. Thanks for the TJ hollandaise tip - I am hollandaise-impaired - mine tastes good, but is the consistancy of mayo! EN - is that cornflake chicken fried or baked? Because I've never seen oven baked 'fried' chicken that looked that good. Bruce - that is a GORGEOUS crust on your chicken! Not doing much cooking lately - too busy prepping for a family BD party tonight and other bits and pieces. I did make dinner the other night: Huge pork chops from the Belmont Butchery, topped with an apple, Calvados and raisin concoction – also green beans and croissants.

Blether - yes to fresh ginger, which I love and never have any trouble with. Yes, also to a ready-made garam masala. I'll check the ingredient list when I get home! As far as cooking with it, it is added to the pan after the chicken in browned and cooked at medium with the other spices for a couple of minutes, then tomato sauce is added. Thanks so much! Kay - yes, that rueben strudel looks delicious, but I just have to tell you what LOVELY hands and arms you have!!! I always love pictures that show folks actually doing things and that one now a favorite! percyn - I love that bucatini - it's one of my favorite pastas and your sauce looks wonderful. Of course, I'd maim people for one of those

Those look really good, Shelby. I actually use cake mixes fairly often for yellow and white cakes (I haven't yet found a dependable 'go-to' recipe for those yet) - and when I get a surprise "We need a cake" request. While I prefer the taste of a scratch cake, I really love the texture of mixes. It looks like you got a nice crown on those. My cupcakes (even mixes) tend to flatten on me.

Blether - LCBO stands for Liquor Control Board of Ontario – and they have a magazine apparently. I’m an American, so a little in the dark about it – help me out my Canadian buds? The recipe didn’t call for fenugreek – just cumin, garam masala, paprika and cardamom. FrogPrincesse – scallops with lime and ginger sounds fantastic! djyee – that gelato looks completely amazing. And the duck tostados sound great. Shelby – gorgeous bread! And I’m thrilled that you loved your first taste of figs. Now you have to try them paired with cheese, wrapped with prosciutto and GRILLED – it will change your world, I promise! Paul – the soup sounds amazing and the color is fantastic! I did breakfast for dinner a couple of nights ago: My crappy pancakes, sausage, bacon and scrambled eggs. I really do make the worst pancakes – I’d get fired from Waffle House. They taste good because I make them from scratch and use a good recipe, so I know that it is something in my technique. When I put the batter down, it rises up nicely and then when I flip them over, they slowly sink down and flatten. Not as flat as a crepe (those I make perfectly ), but not high and fluffy like I want them. I also don’t get that nice, toasty all over color that other folks get. Night before last night was steak and provolone sandwiches with fried onions and green peppers, fries and green beans:

Thanks, Kay! I'm printing that out to use next time we entertain!

Nothing to add, because I haven’t made breakfast yet this week, but I had a couple of comments and questions: Melange – those caramelized bananas are gorgeous! I need to try that. Kay – lovely brunch. I will remember the corn tortilla trick – we have a niece that is gluten intolerant. Would you please post the recipe for the onion spread? It sounds fantastic!

By an odd coincidence, I was in the middle of re-reading Rogues, Writers and Whores when I read this sad news last week. Daniel was a wonderful, generous and passionate person - eager to share his wide knowledge and expertise in matters of food and wine. What a loss.

percyn – everything looks fantastic, but especially that Korean BBQ and fried rice! dcarch – just gorgeous, gorgeous food! I would love to taste that delicious looking skate! Sous vide is something that interests me. I’d love to find someone near me with a set up and do some cooking with them, but I think the Mr. Kim would finally give up on me. Besides, I’ve had a chocolate temperer on my wish list for almost 10 years now and it STILL hasn’t appeared under the tree ! Jmahl – what is the creamy/herby looking stuff on the small plate? We are doing a Butter Chicken group cook over at Marlene’s website right now. I did the LCBO version. Mr. Kim liked it a lot. I thought it was ok. I wouldn’t ever choose to make it or order it for myself, but I ate a whole portion and didn’t actually dislike it. I’m not really sure what it was – obviously one of the spices. I like Mexican-American food, so I doubt that it’s the cumin (though even there, it’s really easy to overdue cumin). Maybe the garam masala? Whenever I’ve eaten Indian food, I taste what I can only describe as a dusty/dark taste…almost, but not quite bitter. I’m hopeless at describing flavors. This was less that way. Since I am so sensitive to heat, I used an Anaheim pepper instead of a jalapeno and the heat was just fine for me. I served roasted cauliflower and basmati rice with the chicken:

butterscotch - the waffles sound delicious! What goes into almond waffles? I was in the mood for waffles or pancakes this weekend, but it just didn't happen. Maybe breakfast for dinner sometime this week. Breakfast this morning was another go at Breakfast Bruschetta: This time with tomato jam, bacon jam and bits of Benton’s bacon on top. Freaking amazing combination. Also with poached eggs. That poached egg yolk on the right is the result of me trying to be cute. I always have so much trouble with poached eggs and I got the genius idea (ha!) to poach them in little silicone cupcake cups. Disaster. Oddly, the ones that turned out perfectly were the regular method ones that usually give me so much trouble. Sigh.

Thanks so much for the wonderful blog and the story of your wonderful adopted city! Now I'm even more determined to take a food-centric trip to Philadelphia! Must get Mr. Kim to read this one!

I am SO looking forward to the Scott! Your catering sounds amazing - of course your stellar food is familiar to us already! So excited!

Y’all are eating much more interesting stuff than me. And PC…I adore your stars (and can't wait for a free weekend to devote to bagel-making)! Lunch today: sort of Frito Pie – Fritos, baked beans, hot dog coins, hot dog chili and cheese. I wanted to use up some leftovers.