Kim Shook

Warm! I just scoop out what I want to use, put it on what I want to use it on, and run it in the toaster or the microwave. Or you can microwave enough to serve in a container. You don't need it really warm, just enought take the chill off and make it pliable. Let me know what you think. I'll be anxious to hear. OMG. Thanks to you and Jerry, I now have to quit work and make bacon jam all the time. I can NEVER be without this stuff. And I just made it with Neuske's - I think that when I finally get some Benton's the roof will blow off my house. I don't know whether to bless you or curse you. I guess I'll bless you and THANK you, dear!

Oh, I agree, Tim! Oxford was lovely and we wished we had budgeted more time there. Other than lunch, our entire time in Oxford was spent on the tour. As good as it was, we really would have liked some wandering time.

gfweb – I like your ‘old school’ breakfast very much. As much as I love bacon, sausage is really my very favorite breakfast meat and those potatoes look perfect. Were they parboiled before frying? Jan – that salmon looks gorgeous and the addition of the hollandaise puts it over the top! percyn – your pizza with the egg gave me a real ‘duh’ moment. I hardly EVER make my own pizza, but we order it all the time. I keep thinking that the next time I make one, I should add an egg, but never thought of putting it on leftover pizza. What a great idea! kayb – since Mr. Kim got into smoking, we almost always have some pulled pork in the freezer. I’m always looking for ways to use it. I’ve put it on cornbread waffles, but never thought of under eggs! Wonderful! deensiebat – those pancakes are just gorgeous! Breakfast this morning was steak and eggs: Leftover steak from last night. Mr. Kim’s eggs were cooked in some of the jalapeno compound butter that he made awhile back. Plus tomatoes and Swiss & onion bread. Mine included a breakfast favorite from my childhood: Tomatoes on toast with a dollop of mayo. I wasn’t much for breakfast as a kid, but if there were good tomatoes, Momma could always tempt me with this. Between kayb and Zeemanb’s blog, I have been DREAMING of bacon jam. So I’ve got kayb’s recipe on the stove right now. Guess I’ll have to throw together some of Jerry’s cheese and herb poppers, too! Important question here: Bacon Jam – served warm or cold?

Panaderia Canadiense – thank you so much – I’ll PM you later this week! Your beef fryup looks great – kind of like an upsidedown shepherd’s pie! I gotta try that! Parmhero – thanks for the demo! We have a gas grill and for the most part we like it a lot and I know that we use it MUCH more often than we ever did charcoal. But I think that there is room for a small charcoal grill - for doing things like those gorgeous burgers. Now that Mr. Kim is smoking, he might not be so resistant to messing about with charcoal! percyn – that crab boil is just summer on a tray! Lovely. Dinner last night was very simple – just salad, steak and sweet potatoes. I’m not sure where we got these – I THINK it was actually Food Lion, oddly enough (they have improved VASTLY in the last year) – but they were nicely marbled: The markings on the steaks are from Food Saver bags. When I’m going to freeze steaks I always season them (Montreal steak seasoning and brown sugar), then ‘suck’ them first. Dinner: Just SLIGHTLY overdone:

So excited for this one, Kate! I've loved your food and writing and humor since you started posting here and I'm just thrilled that you are blogging! The pictures of the fish market are amazing! I'd probably never eat another piece of meat or chicken if I had access to that! Maybe weird of me to notice, with all of the other fantastic stuff but I love how your books are arranged by color!

Thanks for the info about the rape/canola. And we have found Branston Pickle – at our local Kroger, no less! Good thing, too, since my FIL has become addicted also! Thanks, also, for the encouragement. I know that this is taking forever, but LIFE happens and I appreciate so much that you are all interested still! Days 7& 8 Avebury, Stonehenge and Salisbury Stonehenge was a must, of course – one can’t possibly be near it on one’s first trip to England and not go. But I’d ferretted out Avebury in some book and knew that it was a similar, but much more ‘up close and personal’ type of experience. Avebury is a charming little village with a pub – The Red Lion – and not much more, as far as food goes: 20-48k3 by ozisforme, on Flickr We’d been snacking on those lovely tomatoes and strawberries and our stash of candy on the drive down and weren’t really hungry, so we passed, but were tempted by the menu of pub food: ham and eggs, Ploughman’s, various meat pies (I adore meat pies - they are what I always request when I go to visit my parents - even in weather like this). Our hotel that night was the Red Lion in Salisbury. Very near the Cathedral and right in town – convenient for wandering. It had a lovely courtyard where we had drinks that night: 20-106m2 by ozisforme, on Flickr We wandered a little in the Cathedral Close – saving our real touring for the next morning. Finally hungry, we straggled through town looking for something that appealed. The Ox Row Inn looked good: 20-177k by ozisforme, on Flickr But had a sign requesting ‘Proper Attire’ and we were in jeans, so we started to wander on. An older fellow who was at an outside table drinking a pint and having a cigarette said, “Oh, yer dressed just fine. If I can go in, you can.” He said the food was good and that they had ‘real ale’. This is a very important and complicated (to me) designation that we heard over and over. It has to do with the ale/beer being brewed in the traditional way. There is a big ‘real ale’ campaign in Britain (and a similar ‘real beer’ one over here, I’ve learned) that goes along with promoting ‘free houses’ – independent pubs. We followed him in and discovered that he was right – we fit right in and the food and drink were quite good: 20-173k by ozisforme, on Flickr We started with some very good onion rings – tempura-style: 20-174k by ozisforme, on Flickr Light and crackly batter and very sweet onions. Mr. Kim had the fish and chips: 20-176k by ozisforme, on Flickr And I had a GIGANTIC burger with Cheddar and bacon: 20-175k by ozisforme, on Flickr More of that lovely ‘salad garnish’ on each plate. I have to say that, as much as I adore English bacon, I believe that ‘streaky’ bacon goes better on a burger. You need the fatty crunch – otherwise it’s like having a slice of ham on a burger. We did some more strolling, coming across Patisserie Valerie on Butcher Row: 20-178k by ozisforme, on Flickr 20-179k by ozisforme, on Flickr Unfortunately closed by then. But we had planned ahead and bought some goodies at Reeve the Baker: 20-166k by ozisforme, on Flickr I was so mesmerized by all of the offerings that I’d been reading about for years – buns, rolls, lardy cakes, tarts – that it was hard to chose. 20-166m1 by ozisforme, on Flickr On the right is a little treacle tart – my final choice. Sweet and gooey, it reminded me of what my mother used to say about the English – that they loved their afters so much that you could serve them ANYTHING for dinner, as long as they knew something sweet was coming (this was in the bad old days of British cuisine). My stepdad, Ted, would put up with any manner of odd American cooking if he knew Momma had some Bird’s custard to pour over tinned fruit! I thought the tart was similar to a chess pie – only with a deeper, richer flavor and a wonderful short pastry-type crust. The one on the left is Mr. Kim’s choice – Jap Cake a lovely combination of cake (very light) and apricot jam covered with a fluffy, sweet icing. In the back of the picture, you can see a bottle of my beloved Mt. Dew, which I was lucky enough to find all over the place. Since soft drinks are my caffeine of choice, I was thrilled. The Red Lion was our first experience with hotel breakfasts in England and we found them basically the same at all three hotels we stayed at – a cold buffet with cereals/granola, cold cuts and cheeses, juices, fruits, pastries and breads to toast. You could also order a hot breakfast off the menu. By and large, the quality was very good. We started almost every hotel day with this: 21-1k by ozisforme, on Flickr Fruit and yogurt. Or this variation: 21-1k2 by ozisforme, on Flickr Yogurt and granola. The yogurt was excellent, without exception. I found myself craving yogurt, granola and honey every morning. More: 21-1k1 by ozisforme, on Flickr 21-1k3 by ozisforme, on Flickr 21-1k4 by ozisforme, on Flickr Beautiful dining room. We toured the breathtakingly lovely Salisbury Cathedral and hit the road for Dorchester and the coast!

It's funny, but this issue came up tonight. It was 104 with a heat index of 126 today in Richmond. We had two lovely T-bones all thawed and ready in the fridge. And we just couldn't face them. The idea of big hunks of hot protein was NOT appetizing at ALL. So dinner ended up being a couple of scoops of egg salad and tuna salad. And crudités - I couldn't even muster the energy to make a salad! (I did use the toaster oven and make tots, though. We aren't totally uncivilized ).

dcarch – just gorgeous! Mr. Kim would swoon over that beautiful fish. The salt slabs are smart! And it's nice to know that I'm not alone on the no rare duck issue! Hot weather dinner tonight (104 with a heat index of 126): Egg salad, tuna salad, ham and veggies. And TOTS!!: (I only heated up the toaster oven) And a disappointing dessert. Someone at work today told me about a new cupcake shop. Went by and bought 6. Gorgeous cupcakes with really great sounding varieties. I tried two of them tonight – a chocolate buttermilk cake with seven minute frosting and grated coconut and a strawberry limeaid - fresh strawberry cake filled with lime curd and frosted with strawberry buttercream. The chocolate had a funky almost ‘off’ flavor, but the icing was good. The strawberry had absolutely NO strawberry flavor at all and the texture of the cake was gunky and muffiny. Gah. But they were lovely to LOOK at .

CLICK! The cover – with the spike haired guy looking over Archie’s shoulder caught my attention in the line at the grocery store. Then I opened it and saw the trio on the first page (below the cover in the linked page – you can click each one to get a larger picture) – and I had to buy it. They are named “Dude Ferrari”, “Maple May” and “Deanna Paul” and they are all celebrity chefs with the ‘Eats Channel’. So, they aren’t gettin’ paid, I guess . The ‘story’ is that they are having a cafeteria ‘throwdown’. A very funny and completely weird little bit of popular culture. Not exactly a FOOD periodical, but I couldn’t find anywhere else to put it.

When we come to KC, we don't have to watch television with y'all, right?

Jerry – Crazy week here – I’ve been reading along, but not commenting, so I’ll hurry and post now before the thread closes! Your writing didn’t disappoint at all – I was laughing and getting hungry and THINKING the whole time I read. I’ve loved every bit of this and am so glad that you blogged and folks got a chance to see what you can do (both the food and the writing). Mr. Kim and Jessica are STILL talking about the coffee that you brought. He’s been lurking and reading and was really surprised that you use a popcorn popper to roast your coffee. I may be in trouble here. I cannot wait until I can build up a little leave time at work (or maybe quit completely – hope, hope) and we can come out to KC. Will you please make us some sous vide fried chicken (with some grits and Meredith’s perfectly gorgeous Key lime pie) and take us to Jim’s??? That place is SO ‘us’! "El Comedor" looks astounding – that pick your own pork is just genius! More bacon jam. Good lord, I gotta make this stuff. I had to laugh at your refutation of the idea that bacon has jumped the shark. Vicious vegan-spread rumors. Loved the pasta trio at Lidia’s! Why doesn’t Richmond have places like that? I need to move. Every time I follow an eG foodblog, I wonder that same thing. Red-X is what I WISH Wal-mart was! What a fantastic place. I’d shop there all the time. And the dioramas?? I wanna see those on our trip, too. Very honored by the mention of myself – and you describe the ‘country mouse’ syndrome very well! ‘Apologetic’ is the perfect word. How lucky you are to have a place like the Rieger. The charcuterie plate just knocked me over. Since our NOLA trip, I’ve dreamed of pork rillettes! And Gnocchi à la Parisienne is one of my favorite dishes and dead easy to make. Definitely try at home! But the scallops and sweetbreads just had me banging my head on the table. With our two mini-tummies, we could have shared that and fought over the last of that gorgeous sauce with dueling hunks of bread! I would vote for a second week of blogging, too, but I like you too much to kill you. But…Meredith would probably move home then, wouldn’t she? Hmmm……

Panaderia Canadiense – thanks for the cheese information – I really want to learn to do bagels and I think we’d love that combination! Parmhero – how did you cook your megaburgers? I love that crunchy crustiness that seems to go all around the burger! Shelby – I saw that show, too and your pizza pot pie looks GREAT! How did you do it? Mr. Kim would love that. And I went right to that pie recipe link and printed it out. I’m making that soon! Dakki – thanks for the answer about the tortillas. I’ll try that next time we have meat tacos (the shrimp ones didn’t lend themselves to that method). Genkinaonna – great idea for the duck stock – I ended up with a TON of it and I think when the weather finally gets below HADES level (104 today, with a heat index of 126!!!), I’ll try the soup! Thank you. Soba – the shrimp dish is just gorgeous and looks so perfect for the weather! Carro- atyoursenses.com - so funny that you should mention “Janssons F”estelse". I had never heard of it before, but just had it on our England trip and now here. I really liked it a lot, but I don’t think that that version had anchovies – I wish it had! Scotty – monkey bread !!! Robirdstx – little bitty bites of lamb on the bone. Nom nom nom!! Last night I got an urge for shrimp tacos, so: Jumbos with a combination of rice flour, cornmeal and Creole seasoning. Tomatoes, fried corn and – well, shrimp tostadas actually, because I’m not too good at the whole folding and frying thing. I topped them with a slaw that was tossed with a rice wine vinegar, mayo and lime juice dressing. Really good. Close up:

kayb – thanks – I’ll try all cornmeal next time. Elise – that casserole sounds wonderful. I’m a big fan of casseroles, but almost never use fish. I need to try that. RRO – that soup sounds marvelous! I’ve roasted tomatoes, but never smoked them – I’ll have to get Mr. Kim right on that. Soba – gorgeous gnocchi! I keep seeing your gnocchi and am determined to make it soon. Panaderia Canadiense – Those bagels are incredible looking! What kind of cheese? And I LOVE fries dipped in mayo – especially if it’s homemade mayo! Dakki – gorgeous tacos! Are those corn tortillas? Are they fried, or what? They look crisp, but flexible, if that makes any sense. Dinner tonight started with the traditional Shook Salad: Pan roasted duck breast with blueberry/balsamic sauce, fried corn and roasted potatoes: We really liked this sauce a lot. The balsamic cut the sweetness of the blueberries and it went really well with the duck. I’m sure that the duck was overcooked for a lot of people, but rare poultry is just revolting to me. I literally cannot get it down. It’s like trying to swallow a wad of wet paper towel. I just keep chewing and chewing and it doesn't seem to get any smaller and I cannot manage to send it on its way! The corn was some we had bought last Sunday in MD and, while still good, was not good enough to eat plain – so fried in butter with a little salt, pepper and sugar it came alive again. It was so nice to get busy in the kitchen again. The duck breast was from the freezer – I’d needed leg quarters awhile ago and couldn’t find them without buying a whole duck. So I had the breasts and a bunch of scraps in the freezer. I roasted the scraps today and will let them simmer in the slow cooker all day tomorrow. I’m hoping to get some fat, as well as some good stock. Then I just have to figure out what to do with a couple of quarts of duck stock. Dessert was homemade fudgsicles: Emily_R made these and posted them on the desserts thread a few days ago. This was Smittenkitchen’s version of a Matt Armendariz recipe. Really good. I made it with milk chocolate, since that’s what I had and with Splenda so Mr. Kim could eat them.

Emily – I made the fudgsicles!!! They were SO good! I only had milk chocolate chips, so I used them and I also made them with Splenda, so Mr. Kim could share! And, yes, next time I’ll be doubling the recipe! RWood – luscious looking cake! I love the idea of pouring the syrup over top! ET – Adorable nectarine decorations! And what a great picture!

Those oysters look absolutely pristine! Just gorgeous. And the lobster rolls sent me over the edge! I am in awe of you for blogging on the road and working! It's been wonderful and mouthwatering! And the 8 year old in me says 'thank you' for all of the 'Anne' stuff! Now go relax and have a drink! Well done!

Days 4-6 Oxford & the Cotswolds Tuesday, May 17th This was the morning that we left London. Mr. Kim went out to get breakfast while I organized things at the flat. He came home with this: 17-1k by ozisforme, on Flickr Be still my heart – a full English!! (Except for the mushrooms and grilled tomato, which was fine by me!). I have ‘issues’ with English sausage (I prefer all meat versions of sausage and will have my cereal in a bowl, thank you very much), but even THAT was welcome to this crazy Anglophile! The bacon was fab, of course and the eggs perfect again! Mr. Kim has this prejudice against those beans, though. Having an English stepdad (some of you probably remember Ted Fairhead who used to post here) beans on toast was a regular breakfast item for me growing up and we always used Heinz vegetarian beans to approximate English baked beans. Mr. Kim believes that if there is no pork in beans, they are not fit to eat (I can see his point, but still like beans on toast myself). So it was off to Paddington Station again for us. This time, we took the train (as opposed to the Tube) back out to Heathrow to pick up our car. Mr. Kim was the driver and I (and the blessed GPS – Jeeves, by name) the navigator. As you can imagine, hilarity ensued for the following eight days. Since it has nothing to do with food (except we did eat in the car a couple of times), I’ll spare you all the car stories. Suffice to say, we never got irretrievably lost, hit anyone or anything, or got a moving violation (MOVING violation – ‘nuff said about that). We arrived in Oxford, shaking bags of terrorized jelly some time later. I had chosen the Turf Tavern for lunch. I can’t even remember where I heard about it (it wasn’t here), but when I looked at pictures online and saw the menu, I thought it sounded like a place we would like. It is also VERY hard to find – down crooked alleys and around multiple corners. I am so glad that I noticed that mention, where ever it was because it was EXACTLY the kind of food and place we were longing for. The place is charm itself – quaint and OLD with a friendly staff and great outdoor seating: 17-5k by ozisforme, on Flickr We started with a pint of something dark (sorry) for Mr. Kim and a half of cider for me: 17-6k by ozisforme, on Flickr Cider became my drink of choice in England. I’m not a beer/ale drinker, but I love cider, so I was in heaven. Mr. Kim IS a beer/ale drinker, so he was in heaven too. Nice, that. Mr. Kim had a cheeseburger with Shropshire bleu, chips and some soppy cole slaw: 17-6kkkkk by ozisforme, on Flickr We had slaw a few times in England and I have to say that it is the one thing that we didn’t find that they do better than the US. It was, without exception, overly wet for us. I like creamy slaw, but this was just too much. But the burger was great and the cheese was fantastic! I had another wonderful meal (you’re going to get tired of hearing that) – Beef & Abbot Ale pie with chive mashed potatoes and braised red cabbage: 17-6k6 by ozisforme, on Flickr With lashings of really good gravy. Look at that pastry: 17-6k7 by ozisforme, on Flickr We had a wonderful tour of Oxford – we wished that we had more time to wander on our own, but were glad of the knowledgeable tour guide, who took us places and pointed out things that we never would have seen otherwise. The dining hall at Keble College: 17-27m by ozisforme, on Flickr How could food NOT taste good in such a setting? Even this stuff: 17-41k by ozisforme, on Flickr What do you suppose Florida Chicken is? We left Oxford, sorry to not have more time, but very excited about finally getting to the Cotswolds! Onrushpam gets a HUGE thank you from us for suggesting a website for rentals in England. It was through that website that we found the 400 year old Grade II listed cottage that was to be our home for the next three nights. Green Court: 18-6k6 by ozisforme, on Flickr It was everything I wanted – old, charming, in a village and it even had a kitchen: 18-8k2 by ozisforme, on Flickr We were too tired to try to ferret out somewhere to eat, so we just went to the nearest place that we could find on a map. It was called The Ragged Cot and was just beautiful: the_ragged_cot by ozisforme, on Flickr Originally a 17th century coach house, it is now a gorgeous upscale inn and restaurant with gardens and lovely outdoor seating, a snug and a sign proclaims that it welcomes dogs and wellies. The people were friendly and welcoming. So why were we so underwhelmed? I’m not sure that it wasn’t my own fault. The food was upscale and I just don’t think that that was what I really wanted for my first meal in the Cotswolds. We should have probably just gone to the pub down the High Street from Green Court. We started with homemade bread and marinated olives: 17-95m by ozisforme, on Flickr Mr. Kim also had the cream of wild mushroom soup: 17-96m by ozisforme, on Flickr He said that the mushroom flavor wasn’t really very apparent. My main was New Season Lamb Cutlets, Wilted Wild Garlic, Janssen Temptation (a layered potato dish) and Marjoram Relish: 17-100m by ozisforme, on Flickr The Janssen Temptation was very good – a TAD undercooked, but delicious. But all that liquid at the bottom? That is a big pool of pure melted butter. It kind of sapped the flavor of the lamb. Mr. Kim’s main was Honey Cured Pork Chops, Vichy Carrots and Warm Potato Salad: 17-99m by ozisforme, on Flickr The pork was excellent – tender and juicy and VERY porky. No dessert – we were exhausted and already thinking about curling up under the fat, ploufy duvet at the cottage. Wednesday, May 18th Our hostess had stocked the kitchen with bread, butter, tea, milk and basic condiments. I’ve already mentioned how much better we found the ‘ordinary’ food to be in England. The bread is a good example. It was just regular plastic bagged supermarket bread (I later found the same brand in a Tesco) – but the taste and texture and even the size was world’s away from Wonder! I actually had a hard time getting it in the toaster! Our first stop was a Tesco supermarket in Stroud. On my blog, I had to explain WHY I would take the time to go to a supermarket while on vacation. It’s nice that I don’t have to do that here! I do love going to markets in new places and seeing all the things that are different and unusual and they are great places to find gifts to take home. But this was the first thing we saw when we walked in the door: 18-8mm by ozisforme, on Flickr Sigh We were very excited about the Crunchie and Flake ice cream, though: 18-8m by ozisforme, on Flickr 18-8m3 by ozisforme, on Flickr And, of course, the odd crisp flavors: 18-9mm by ozisforme, on Flickr And THIS was interesting: 18-9m by ozisforme, on Flickr We bought some bits and pieces and a few gifts (Mars bars, McVittie’s biscuits in a commemorative Royal Wedding tin) and loaded up on our favorite English candies – Flakes, Crunchies, Maltesers, etc. Lunch was in Painswick, an impossibly charming Cotswold town – my favorite place in England. We ate at the pub – the Royal Oak Inn: 18-40k7c by ozisforme, on Flickr The owner, Keith Ayres (who I don’t think is the chef) is a bit of a wise guy – they serve a dish called Puppy Dog Pie that has caused some controversy. He even put up missing dog signs around town. Lunch started with an unusual (and gratis) appetizer: 18-40k8 by ozisforme, on Flickr That is a delicious blackberry sundae. The server asked if we would like it since she’d made too many. Well, it might have been in the wrong order, but I’d never turn down fresh blackberries! For lunch we shared a local cheese plate: 18-40m3 by ozisforme, on Flickr Stinking bishop washed with pear juice, also with nettle rind, local stilton, Hereford hop cheese (with hop rind), baguette, butter and quince paste. The chef (or Mr. Ayres – if they aren’t the same person – sorry) brought it out and patiently named and explained the cheeses to us. He also told us something that I’ve never heard before – he said that the quince paste was to be used as a ‘palate cleanser’ – not to be eaten with the cheese. I’ve never heard that and always just piled a sliver of paste on top of my bread and cheese. Who’s right? The cheeses were just gorgeous – the stinking bishop was our favorite. We debated trying to find somewhere to eat dinner, but I was ACHING to use that kitchen – even in a small way, so we had dinner from the bits and pieces that we’d purchased that day (mostly at Tesco). That BACON: 18-107k by ozisforme, on Flickr 19-1m by ozisforme, on Flickr Bread and cheese: 19-2m by ozisforme, on Flickr The cheese was Stilton and Laurels Farm Red Leister. We love anything stinky, so the Stilton was our favorite. Cox apples and strawberries: 19-3m by ozisforme, on Flickr Some gorgeous little tomatoes: 19-4m by ozisforme, on Flickr I had the best BLT (minus the L) I’d ever eaten: 19-4m2 by ozisforme, on Flickr Dessert was dark chocolate shortbread and a raisin scone: 19-1k by ozisforme, on Flickr Thursday, May 19th Breakfast the next morning was bacon butties with the rest of that incomparable bacon: 19-2k by ozisforme, on Flickr And some really good clementine juice that I wish I could find at home: 19-3k by ozisforme, on Flickr We drove to Chipping Camden and I drooled over the windows: 19-15k by ozisforme, on Flickr Gorgeous town and not too crowded. Does anyone know what this is: 19-45k1d by ozisforme, on Flickr There were fields of it all over the Cotswolds. Obviously cultivated. My MIL thought maybe Canola? We drove to Upper Slaughter and walked the public footpath the mile to Lower Slaughter. Two more amazingly picturesque villages – places that, as an American, I hardly believed existed. We had lunch at beside the River Eye at The River Café: 19-56k3 by ozisforme, on Flickr A really lovely place to relax and eat and the locals were good company: 19-56k7 by ozisforme, on Flickr The place is a combination gift shop, ice cream parlour, restaurant and museum. Other than the two manor house hotels, it seems to be the only commercial place in the village. And that’s the way the locals want it apparently. The owner, a jazz singer from London is not a popular fellow in Lower Slaughter, it seems. Be that as it may, we had a simple but good lunch here. And were serenaded by lovely 1940’s music (my favorite era). Mr. Kim fell in love with two things at the River Café. One was this fantastic ginger beer: 19-53m by ozisforme, on Flickr The other was my sandwich: 19-56k by ozisforme, on Flickr Cheddar cheese and pickle. He did the whole “where have you been all my life” with that combination. That lovely salad is called a ‘salad garnish’ in England. Everywhere we went that modest phrase appeared on menus and we got these really good side salads. Mr. Kim’s sandwich: 19-55m by ozisforme, on Flickr Roast beef and horseradish. A little dry, but tasty. We got to Bourton-on-the-Water a little late in the day for any real sightseeing, but I managed to find an open cookware shop and did my own brand of sightseeing. I wanted every tea towel I saw (I LOVE English tea towels), but managed to only buy a new tea tray. I needed a new one and do you know how hard it is to find a tea tray in the US? They had DOZENS – mine is pink and has cupcakes on it. Naturally. We also stopped in a little mini-mart here (we had become addicted to Crunchie Biscuits and were hoping to restock) and found THIS: 19-167k by ozisforme, on Flickr WTF???? We had dinner in Cirencester at the Black Horse. During our trip, we really tried to eat at ‘Free Houses’ as much as possible. The Black Horse is part of the Marston’s chain. But it is not exactly like eating in a Red Lobster. There were still the pub regulars – like the old guy who nursed his pint all night and read the newspaper. And the food was pretty good – my meal was certainly better than any chain I’ve eaten in in the States: 19-179k by ozisforme, on Flickr Pork and Hereford Cider Hot Pot – pork slow cooked in Hereford cider and sage sauce with caramelized Braeburn apples, Chantenay carrots and new potatoes. The bread was awfully good, too. Mr. Kim’s meal: 19-180k by ozisforme, on Flickr Sirloin steak, half a grilled tomato, peas and chips. The less said about that hard clot of a ‘tomato’, the better – but the chips were great and the steak was pretty good. Friday, May 20th This was the morning that we left the Cotswolds, so we packed up, bid a fond farewell to our little cottage and went to Cirencester to find breakfast. Our wonderful and reliable GPS (named ‘Jeeves’ by us) found CAKE (or maybe The Cake House – I can’t remember): 20-1k5 by ozisforme, on Flickr Breakfast was teacakes: 20-1k6 by ozisforme, on Flickr And yet more bacon butties: 20-1k7 by ozisforme, on Flickr Terribly reluctant to leave, we did a little window shopping. Lick the Spoon – a chocolate shop: 19-168k by ozisforme, on Flickr 19-169k by ozisforme, on Flickr Sadly, closed at that hour of the morning. A butcher shop: 20-1k8 by ozisforme, on Flickr Pasties!!: 20-1k9 by ozisforme, on Flickr Farewell, Cotswolds…On to Avebury, Stonehenge and Salisbury!

Yes, yes, YES! I am so excited about this blog! I love your writing, my friend - that careening, exciting, breathless plummet - will it end in a blaze of glory, or a train wreck??? I'm betting GLORY - it always does on Unsaved Loved Ones. Mr. Kim and I have the honor of actually KNOWING this delightful couple and are crushed that Meredith moved to KC instead of Jerry moving HERE! Can't wait for every moment!

Andie - thank you so much! I knew that I could count on you! I can't wait to tell my stepmom all about them - we were so perplexed! Kerry - how funny and just about what I expected. But wouldn't it be cool if it really worked?

Kerry - have you actually tried the Eggstractor? Not sure if this counts for this thread, but my dad and stepmom sent me some family stuff that they didn't want and knew I'd find a home for. Some pieces of glassware: P1090722 by ozisforme, on Flickr The pattern is Moon & Star. Don't know any more about it, but I collect pressed glass and depression glass, so I love it. I thought that the footed bowl would make a nice small trifle bowl (it stands about 8 1/2 inches tall). The other pieces are silverplate: P1090720 by ozisforme, on Flickr They are obviously the same pattern, but all three have different markings on the bottom. The pitcher says: Barbour Bros. Co. Quadruple Plate 76. The goblet looking one says: Barbour Bros. Co. Silver Quadruple 76 and the other piece says Barbour Bros. Co. Quadruple plate hard white metal with a little hallmark: P1090724 by ozisforme, on Flickr I was really hoping that someone (Andie - you here? ) could tell me what the goblet and small pot were used for. The goblet is 5 3/4 inches tall and the other is 4 inches. With the band across the top, the 'goblet' doesn't look like you could comfortably drink out of it.

kayb – thanks for the bacon jam recipe – I can’t wait to try it. BTW, your veg plate is lovely. Do you use all cornmeal on your beautiful fried green tomatoes? I usually do part flour or panko, but I really like the look of yours. Ben – your scallops are gorgeous – what a sear! Dejah – your broccoli slaw is just beautiful! I love broccoli slaw, but haven’t gotten as creative as you did – I’m in love with the idea of yours! I saved your description for later. Bruce – I’ll trade one of my sandwiches for a wing and one of your Mrs.’ lovely little potatoes! Shall we meet at Pope’s Creek and share a pile of crabs? Soba – I have a whole set of those knives and they get used a LOT!! Jan – the liver is spectacular! I am a big fan of liver, but the family is NOT, so I don’t do it much. The sauce/gravy looks delicious, too. RRO – I agree with Scotty – octopus sausage is cool! And serving a scallop on top is genius! Nikki – You can’t really make fried ripe tomatoes the same way – the flesh just melts into nothing. Too bad, because they would taste spectacular! I’ve barely cooked at all this week. It’s funny how when things in life get crazy, the first thing that gets jettisoned is cooking (something I love) instead of laundry (something I hate) . Tuesday night was sandwiches, salad and corn again: Egg salad and ham: A sandwich I loved in England and tried to recreate. The combination of the egg and ham is wonderful (think of ham and deviled eggs at Easter). When I had it in England there was also a layer of sliced hard-boiled eggs. Tuna and cheese:

Emily - I just copied that fudgsicle recipe. I'm going to make those SOON! My MIL came over the other night to look at our trip pictures. We went out for Pho for dinner and then came back for dessert and photos. I made Dream Cookies (just a really simple shortbread-type cooky that I’ve made since I was a kid – our favorite cooky) filled with Nutella: I also threw together these little lemon curd tarts with Greek yogurt and blueberries: They look a bit like googly eyes . The tart shells were purchased, so this dessert went together in just a few minutes. I took the leftovers to work on Friday and they were still good – the shells were crisp. So these also hold well.

Well, I called it 'cartilege' because I wasn't sure what it actually was - but it was hard and long and thin like a bone. But we could crunch and eat it. And to repeat myself - it was some of the most delicious stuff I've ever eaten. More is coming - unfortunately, idiocies like work and laundry and errands get in the way, but I'll be posting soon, I promise!

The first thing that I have to do is to say thank you to everyone who answered my call for help regarding this trip – your contributions to the food, accommodations, dress, tipping, etc., etc. (both here and in PMs) helped make this trip the best we’ve ever been on. Also – to all you British folk: please don’t scoff at our food choices and opinions . As I said in my NYC report, keep in mind that we are country mice and not accustomed to your local food. We probably just missed many good places and I’m sure that we enjoyed meals that would seem terribly ordinary to you. But enjoy them we did, so we were happy! It’s taken me forever to get this report together – life intervened when we got home in the form of work, family health issues, possible home renovations. But, actually, perspective may not be a bad thing. I should also say that we truly didn’t have a bad meal throughout the entire trip (except for the predictably execrable pre-flight Applebee’s airport dinner). The ‘good restaurants’ (all recommended by eG’ers) were fantastic, not unexpectedly. But, more surprising, was how good the ‘ordinary’ meals and snacks and regular grocery store food was (not to mention a couple of desperation convenience store meals – more later re: that!). Saturday, May 14th One of our first stops in London, after dropping our bags at our friend’s flat was the astounding Fortnum and Masons. I could have wandered for HOURS (but didn’t want to incur the wrath of either Mr. Kim or our indulgent host) and spend thousands of pounds (Mr. Kim again). Gorgeous confections: 14-5K by ozisforme, on Flickr 14-8K by ozisforme, on Flickr 14-10K1 by ozisforme, on Flickr 14-10K2 by ozisforme, on Flickr Beautiful meats, cheeses, dairy, produce, baked goods: 14-10K3 by ozisforme, on Flickr 14-10K4 by ozisforme, on Flickr 14-10K5 by ozisforme, on Flickr 14-10k7 by ozisforme, on Flickr Not to mention an amazing array of things to serve those beautiful things on or in, to cook them with and a great selection of cookbooks. I wished that we were going to be in London long enough to have a picnic just so that I could order one of their lovely hampers. So many people recommended Ottolenghi, Sofra and Leon that I was anxious to try at least one of them and even carried everywhere a Google map that I’d made with each one of their locations pinpointed so that we could go if we were ever near one at lunch time or breakfast. Alas, we never seemed to be from what I saw. I was so sorry to have missed all three – I’d been drooling over the menus and photos and descriptions for weeks! We ended up at EAT for lunch the first day. I was expecting Panera and was so pleasantly surprised! EAT is a London based chain - sandwiches, soups, desserts, etc. MUCH more interesting than Panera - and it shouldn’t be – the sandwiches are Panera are made when you order them, at EAT; they are already made up in boxes on a refrigerated shelf. They have no business being as good as they are. No pictures because my friend, while understanding my obsession (he even reminded me to take pictures in the other places), thought that EAT was just too ordinary to take pictures of! We shared a very good hummus, avocado and harrissa sandwich and the best Cheddar cheese potato chips I’ve ever tasted. More wandering and more food-centered sightseeing! Macarons really ARE the new cupcake – we saw them everywhere: 14-22k1 by ozisforme, on Flickr I love the fact that English department stores still have food halls (maybe really big stores in the US still have them, but in Richmond and Washington, DC, they disappeared years ago). Lola’s cupcakes in Selfridge’s: 14-25m by ozisforme, on Flickr See the price on the giant cupcake? £45 – that’s almost $72 !!! I am charging way too little for mine. LOVED the ‘American’ aisle: 14-26k1 by ozisforme, on Flickr 14-26k2 by ozisforme, on Flickr Crisco, Kraft Mac and Cheese, JIF, Marshmallow Fluff, Karo, and even Shake n Bake! The three of us had dinner that night at the beautiful and dramatic looking Quo Vadis (thank you, thank you nikkib!): 14-27m1 by ozisforme, on Flickr Our friend, Craig, started with the Sea Bass Ceviche: 14-36m by ozisforme, on Flickr This was lovely – perfect texture and perfectly seasoned. The avocados suited the fish so well. Mr. Kim started with asparagus and a poached Bantam egg: 14-35m by ozisforme, on Flickr He really loved this (not a fan of asparagus, so I couldn’t say). Another shot: 14-37m by ozisforme, on Flickr This picture illustrates something that I noticed during our entire trip. We ate a LOT of eggs and every single one was perfectly cooked (for us) – nice firm whites (no snot, Maggie!) and unctuous, oozy yolks. I guess everyone in England likes eggs the same way that we do! My main was Braised Ox Cheeks and mashed potatoes: 14-38m by ozisforme, on Flickr Again – just a perfect rendition. They were tender, but substantial and the sauce was winey and beefy all at once. I didn’t come near to finishing this – who knew oxen were so cheeky? Craig’s main was Spotted Ray with Capers, Browned Butter and Curly Kale: 14-40m by ozisforme, on Flickr I have a question here. I don’t think I’ve ever had spotted ray, but I assume that it is basically like skate, which I have eaten. The flavor was marvelous, but it was very spiny. We discovered that we could actually eat the cartilage, but it was a bit disconcerting and we weren’t sure if we were really supposed to. Mr. Kim’s main was the hit of the evening (maybe the trip) for him: 14-39m by ozisforme, on Flickr Line Caught John Dory w/ Braised Fennel. He said it was the best fish he’d ever eaten in his life and he’d eat it all the time, if it was available. Understand that Mr. Kim is fairly new to the fish world. When I met him, his experience with eating fish was mostly limited to tunafish out of a can and Friday fishsticks. He’s slowly become more of a fish eater, but he likes it occasionally rather than on a regular basis. So this reaction says a LOT about that delicious dish! We all shared three different ‘afters’. Bitter Chocolate Crunch: 14-44m by ozisforme, on Flickr A gorgeous little square drenched in glossy dark chocolate and topped with a wisp of gold leaf. Inside was more dark chocolate mousse on a crisp crust: 14-46m by ozisforme, on Flickr Cheese plate: 14-43m by ozisforme, on Flickr Bath Soft, Stinking Bishop, Tovey, Perl Las and Montgomery Cheddar. Just lovely – I could have made an entire meal of only this! Home Made Petit Fours: 14-45m by ozisforme, on Flickr A tuille, a macaron, a meringue and various candied fruit paste (I can’t remember what the little crackly topped bite at the back was). Lovely and light and the perfect end to the meal. Another perplexing thing at the end of the meal was this: 14-42m by ozisforme, on Flickr eXpresso. That pronunciation of espresso has always sent shivers down my spine (like ‘marscapone’ does) and considered that only the likes of Sandra Lee pronounced it like that. I think it even crops up sometimes in the various eG ‘pet peeve’ threads. But I think that I recently heard Mario Batali say ‘eXpresso’ and here it is on a very reputable restaurant’s menu. Have I been ignorant and arrogant without cause? Sunday, May 15th Breakfast the next morning was a Tesco express chocolate croissant (yeah, I know, but it was Sunday, I was hungry and we were hurrying to a Matins service at St. Paul – and it was pretty good, too, as grocery pastry goes). We had a pre-British Museum lunch at Pret a Manger nearby. Pret yet another London chain that is much, much better than it should be, considering that the sandwiches aren’t made as you order them. I had the Wiltshire Ham and Greve cheese baguette and it was VERY good (can’t remember what Craig and Mr. Kim had and still no pictures). Dinner this night was at The Wolseley in St. James. The building was built in 1921 and is gorgeous inside and out. I liked the Wolseley even better than Quo Vadis (thanks for this recommendation go to PoppySeedBagel and patrickamory) – though Mr. Kim was still think about that John Dory! About a week later, Ms. Hillary Clinton dined there with the British Foreign Secretary, so eGer’s really know where to go, huh? I suspect that this is the main reason that I loved it so much: 15-197m by ozisforme, on Flickr That is a Croustade of Quail Eggs w. Hollandaise. Is that the cutest thing you’ve ever seen or WHAT? The pastry was crisp and buttery. The eggs were poached absolutely perfectly and the hollandaise was smooth and thick and delectable! Honest to God, if I’d been in a diner, I would have requested a yeast roll to sop up every atom of the eggy-saucy goodness at the end! Craig’s starter was Avocado Vinaigrette: 15-196m by ozisforme, on Flickr Beautiful, smooth and creamy avocados. Mr. Kim’s starter was another of his favorite dishes of the trip – and another fish: 15-195m by ozisforme, on Flickr Servern and Wye Smoked Salmon w. Buttered Soda Bread. Possibly the very best smoked salmon I’ve ever eaten. And the bread was great, too. My main was something that I knew I would have to have at least once in England, and it was Sunday evening, so it seemed appropriate: 15-198m by ozisforme, on Flickr 15-201m by ozisforme, on Flickr Roast Beef, Yorkshire Pudding and Roast Potatoes (pay no attention to those green things in the corner – they were CRUNCHY – bah – and weren’t Brussels sprouts, so I didn’t give them the time of day). Gorgeous and delicious. I’d give anything to be able to make a Yorkshire pud like that! Craig’s main was Seared Mackerel w. Celeriac Remoulade: 15-200m by ozisforme, on Flickr I’ve never cared much for mackerel, but this was very good and the remoulade was exceptional. Mr. Kim’s main was Steak Frite: 15-199m by ozisforme, on Flickr 15-202m by ozisforme, on Flickr Here, I’m afraid, his inner American came to the fore. He said it tasted good, but was awfully small. I was the only one who ordered dessert: 15-210m by ozisforme, on Flickr Strawberry Tart. It was very good – lovely strawberries and a super crisp crust. I ended up sharing. Monday, May 16th Craig’s flat is near Hyde Park, so on the way to Paddington Station, we stopped at a little place called The Chelsea Deli for breakfast. Since it was my first real breakfast in England, I knew that bacon was in order. I had a bacon butty: 16-1k1 by ozisforme, on Flickr Mr. Kim opted to add eggs: 16-1k2 by ozisforme, on Flickr For those that don’t know about English bacon – just look at that! Lean and gorgeous! They call American-style bacon ‘streaky bacon’ and I have no idea what they do with it, because I never saw a slice. I was accustomed to it, because my English Nanny used to smuggle it into the US years ago when she visited. Half of her suitcase would be filled with Cadbury chocolate (impossible to find in the US in those days) and this amazing bacon. Mr. Kim hadn’t ever had it before and was in heaven. The texture is very like ham, but the flavor is much more complex – somewhere between ham and bacon. Thus fortified, we set out for our day – Westminster Abbey, a double decker bus tour (I thought it might be hokey, but it was actually wonderful sitting back and letting someone else drive and park and all – if we’d had more time, I would rather see everything on our own, but 2 1/2 days is a very short time), a short Thames cruise, St. James Park, etc. Lunch, was unfortunately coach station snack shop sandwiches and a Cadbury bar, necessitated by us lingering at the Abbey (no pictures, but not bad, actually). We walked from Buckingham Palace to the one and only fish and chips place that was recommended by Harters. Master’s Super Fish is way out Waterloo Road (my navigation skills made it farther than it actually WAS) and I could tell that Mr. Kim wondered where the hell we were going. We were rewarded finally: 16-159m by ozisforme, on Flickr We ate lots of great food on our trip and I was very careful to get recommendations for the high-end restaurants that we went to, but I think that I was most excited about my first real English fish and chips. I have to thank you, Harters, for recommending Master’s. It was a wonderful meal. We sat down and ordered and then they rather startled us with this: 16-160k4 by ozisforme, on Flickr An amuse? In a chippie? Did this bode well? Had Master’s gone all upscale on us since Harters’ last visit? Nope. The delivery of our fish settled that matter. I had plaice for the first time since I was a little girl at the Mucky Duck in Santa Monica, California (and that was probably American plaice) and had forgotten what a lovely, light tasting fish it is. I was swooning over my gorgeous fish, proper chips and big, crunchy pickled onion, all doused with vinegar: 16-160k5 by ozisforme, on Flickr Mr. Kim chose cod and it was lovely, too: 16-160k6 by ozisforme, on Flickr Bite: 16-160k7 by ozisforme, on Flickr Two and a half days in England so far. Eight more to go and then two and a half more in Paris. I’ve got lots more to report, but I thought I’d break it up to make it more manageable. I have begun blogging our trip. If you would like a fuller, but less food-centric report, it starts here.

kayb – well, it may be weird, but your potato salad sounds good to me. I’m not a big fan of potato salad usually, but I want to try yours! Thanks for the information! And I want some more, please, ma’am. Please, please tell me what recipe you use for bacon jam??? I gotta have some of this stuff. It’s haunting me. Jan – that is a delicious looking and beautiful onglet! I’d like to just dive into that sauce! Scotty – (cue Homer Simpson voice) mmmmm, crispy pig skin. Also lovely dumplings and potstickers! And stuffed fried squash blossoms! suzi – I gotta ask…what are ‘eggy potatoes’? I’m intrigued. Emily – leftover Morney …lucky YOU! Norm – I’m drooling over that smoked salmon! What gorgeous color. MsDivinaLoca – great, great fish skin idea! dcarch – I may have to try sous vide after all, just to get that pork. The idea of making moist, tender char sui at home is very, very attractive. Mine tastes good, but is, alas, a tad dry . We spent this weekend at Ocean City MD. This is the beach that I grew up going to. It is the quintessential ticky-tacky beach town. Junk food, souvenir shops, long boardwalk, rides, pier, etc. Great for people watching and eating. We stopped on the way home at a farmstand. Maryland has so many of these – we passed dozens on the way home and as soon as we crossed the Potomac River into VA, they just stopped. We got some lovely cantaloupe and just-picked blackberries and some corn. We had the corn with dinner last night and we a little disappointed. It tasted good, but was a little mushy. The corn that we had on the boardwalk was fantastic – sweet and with a pop when you bit into it. We had some tomatoes from our local farmstand, so I made BLT’s with cheese: Corn and marinated cukes:

That's probably one of the few responses so far that I can agree with. Ditto.