Kim Shook

robirdstx – thank you so much for finding the risotto recipe and bringing it to my attention. I found the issue of Bon Appetit, but couldn’t find the risotto recipe, so I didn’t buy it! I’m so pleased! roundrollingobject – I DID, however, find the Leek Flower Sauce at our Asian grocery and can’t wait to find a million things to do with it! Your pancakes are gorgeous and sound delicious! I don’t know that I’d be ready for them for breakfast (referencing the Cultural Standards of Breakfast thread) - but I’d love them for dinner!

Ann – Mr. Kim looks over my shoulder often here and ALWAYS notices your pictures. He would like to know if Moe would like a breakfast buddy. pastameshugana – hope you are all better now! Your breakfast looks lovely and I agree Gruyere and tomatoes have a special affinity! Katie – that risotto sounds fantastic. Alas, it isn’t on epicurious.com yet, so I just put Bon Appetit on my shopping list. I have to make that dish! rarerollingobject – ok, I just added Leek Flower Sauce to my shopping list, too! Breakfast this morning: Fried eggs, sausage and frozen croissant. I get these croissant from The Fresh Market – they are much better than any ‘fresh’ ones that I can get from a store and don’t have to be thawed – just baked from frozen.

Corinna – thanks for the advice re: cheese to use with the lobster mac and cheese. I’ve printed out your notes and added them to the recipe in my ‘to try’ file. Dakki – I had to Google Cochinita pibil and it sounds and looks delicious! What combination of citrus do you use? Make sure to let us know when you’ve posted the recipe – I’d really like to make it. rarerollingobject – Your salad sounds delicious, but those lentil eyes do look a bit sinister . Soba – I really love the idea of broccoli pesto! Prawn – your Dover sole looks so amazingly good. I pray that I can find a restaurant that will do it justice when we come to England next month! Dejah – the steak and kidney pie looks fantastic – great browning on the pastry, too! My stepdad used to make it when I was a kid and I wouldn’t even try it – because of the kidneys, of course. Sigh. I would try it in a second now and he never makes it anymore! Dinner last night was shrimp tacos (I’ve been craving them for weeks): Made with Salt & Pepper Fried Shrimp, homemade Pico de Gallo and the same wonderful sauce that robirdstx had on her catfish tacos recently - mayo, drained yogurt, lime juice and pickled jalapeno brine. Delicious! The shrimp were darker than they look in the picture and very crisp. Served with black beans and corn: With salsa, cumin and Ancho chile powder.

This has been a wonderful trip! Thank you so much for being so generous with your time and sharing your days with us. I'm sorry that your lamb and vegetables didn't turn out like you wished. Lamb shanks can be tricky little boogers. My mom used to dust them with flour, S & P and pop them in the oven to roast and they were delicious. Must have been different lamb back then (1970's) because I ended up with lamb jerky the last time I tried that! I loved the kitty peeking into the fridge, too. We once had to keep a bungee cord on our fridge because we had a cat who learned to open the door and help himself to what looked good. Once while I was on a trip, poor Mr. Kim forgot the cord and came home to an open fridge door with a clay pot on the floor and chicken bones strewn about the house. I hope none of your friends learn that trick!

Dejah – the stew looks fantastic and I love your beautiful tureen (AND the story behind it). Bruce – that beef sounds truly succulent! MiFi – I’ve never been a huge fan of beef salads, but that meat looks so incredibly tender that I know I’d love it – especially with the bleu cheese. toolprincess – no need to apologize for Rice-a-Roni! I had microwave Uncle Ben’s tonight! Bring on the pictures! Shelby – was the theme of the week in your house ooey gooey? Every single dish looks incredibly delicious and wonderful! Corinna – that picture of the lobster mac and cheese sent me over the edge. I’ve been interested in that dish since I first heard about it (c’mon…lobster, pasta, CHEESE sauce – what could be wrong with THAT?), but your photo made me hie myself to Google to find the recipe! Wow. I still had all the makings for it, so we had Marlene’s Beef Stroganoff again tonight (plus the inevitable salad) – this time with rice: I let it simmer for longer tonight and it was darker. Very, very good – I didn’t mind at all eating it twice in 4 days (not my favorite thing usually). The rice was one of those Uncle Ben’s microwave bag things – Whole Grain Medley, with brown rice and red and black quinoa. We really liked this.

I do this fairly often - I have a toaster oven that sits right beside the sink and I usually have it turned on. I just stack the plates on top and they are warm in a couple of minutes.

Going to grocery stores is an important travel activity for me. And to get to know a place, check out the pre-packaged and junk food as cultural research (that's my story and I'm sticking to it). I do this exact same thing! Drug stores, too! We are off to a first time trip to England and Paris next month and I can't wait to see the stores!

These are one of my favorite candies - I eat them a lot! They do have a small tunnel of PB in them still, but I don't think that it is a much as there used to be when I was younger. If they are kind of cold and you can almost break them apart longways, you can see the tiny bit of PB.

Cass – that is some wonderful looking sushi – that it is your first attempt is amazing! Soba – gorgeous pasta and mushrooms. Mr. Kim loves mushrooms and while I don’t, I appreciate the beauty! I need to try this one for him! rarerollingobject – what a beautiful crust on the chicken! And I love the idea of tomato/ginger chutney. Ann – those clams look so lovely. Steamed shellfish with lots of bread for sopping is one of my favorite meals. Pre-dinner snack last night: Lesley Stowe Raincoast Crisps fig and olive crackers, honey from a friend’s hive and goat cheese. Bite: These crackers were maybe a little TOO rustic on their own, but the combination of them with the cheese and honey was fantastic! Dinner was Marlene’s Beef Stroganoff, green beans w/ Italian dressing and some good sourdough rolls from The Fresh Market: This was so good and so simple to make and I appreciated the lack of fungus ! This is my new favorite stroganoff recipe!

I am thoroughly enjoying your blog, Evan! And your wonderful, large kitchen!

Corinna – glad to know I wasn’t the only one with layering problems with the coffee cake. I didn’t think that the filling tasted too sweet (I thought it was balanced by the cake layers), but felt that the topping had a bit too many chocolate chips for my taste. Next time, I’ll probably eyeball it and use less. rarerollingobject – Mr. Kim would adore those zucchini fritters! He’s the chilehead in the family. I am decidedly NOT, but I will be stealing the halloumi idea! Yesterday’s breakfast: Scrambled eggs w/ chives, sausage and English muffins with my favorite Little Scarlet strawberry preserves.

dcarch – that crunchy pork skin is just amazing – I could make an entire meal of just THAT! And the Aebleskivers are lovely! Dinner last night was a cheese plate with crackers and French bread: Clockwise from 12 o’clock: Cowgirl Creamery Buckaroo, Drunken Goat and Robiola. Whole Foods has a section with small bits and pieces of cheese. This is a great way of trying out new cheeses and it makes a great 2 person cheese plate. Ham, turkey, radishes with sea salt and assorted pickles and olives: And Brunswick stew: Not homemade, but a locally produced brand that is almost as good as mine!

janeer – what kind of icing is that on your angel food cake? It is so beautiful and glossy! ET – oh, you should definitely try angel food cake – it’s very easy to make and the perfect spring/summer dessert with all the good berries coming in soon. Here’s a slice of that angel food cake: Nice looking crumb, I thought. Good flavor and texture. Served with warm caramel sauce.

Oh, the cathedral is definite! Really the main reason that we are going to Winchester. We will be going to the cathedral Tuesday morning (the 24th) - are there any good places nearby for breakfast?

Thanks for the clothing advice. He's thinking chinos and a button up shirt with a sweater, if it's chilly. That sounds alright?

Thanks so much! So maybe dinner at The Chesil Rectory and drinks at Wyckeham and/or the Black Boy?

Shelby – every single thing looked fabulous! And that burger is just incredibly juicy and delicious looking. By the way, your photographs just get better and better all the time! Country – I love that you noticed that charring in Shelby’s kitchen and cared enough to mention it. I used to call my daughter’s online friends her ‘imaginary friends’ and posts like yours make me realize how wrong I was – we are real friends who care about one another!

ET – your marshmallows are bee-you-tee-ful!!!! chocoera – that is some amazing work! And that cheesecake is my calling to me. I wish someone could explain how a place like Algona, Iowa has an incredible bakery like yours and the capital of Virginia has NOTHING comparable. DeliciouslyLekker – gorgeous crown on that loaf! I made an angel food cake for one of Mr. Kim’s co-workers: It looks perfect and he’s promised to bring me a piece tomorrow.

dcarch – Mr. Kim’s chin hit the floor when he saw your gorgeous pork and quinoa! Dejah - Here is the couscous recipe. And, by the way, those clams are perhaps the most beautiful I’ve ever seen! Dakki – I have to echo Patrick. Your tacos are gorgeous. I have never eaten tripe. I’ve never had or wanted the opportunity. But that picture is so wonderful that I’d try those tacos in a second! rarerollingobject – the picture of the oysters is beautiful! Also, your shaved zucchini salad is lovely. Ann – your ‘old standby’ looks delicious! Dinner tonight: Egg, ham and cheese muffins w/ sliced pears and not really photo worthy vegetable soup:

Well, I am MUCH farther along in my planning thanks to all of YOU ! I've created a Google map with just about every location of Ottolenghi, Sofra, Leon, Gail's, Lisboa Patisserie and polpo! We have 8pm reservations for Quo Vadis for Saturday night and The Wolesley for Sunday night. And we are going to Master's Super Fish on Monday night after a whirlwind bus tour (I know, I know, but we only have 2 1/2 days in London and my mother and English stepdad would KILL me if I didn't see EVERYTHING). The tour ends up at Victoria Coach station and I'm hoping that we can figure out how to get there with a combination of the tube and walking! My most recent question is re: dress at The Wolesley and Quo Vadis - does Mr. Kim need a coat and tie?

Dejah - Thank you! How I got that colour: Step 1 - preheat cast iron skillet to medium heat on my electric stovetop. Step 2 - add safflower oil to skillet. Step 3 - add chops to smoking skillet. Step 4 - have DH disable smoke alarm! Step 5 - open windows on multiple sides of house to allow smoke to dissipate (lame exhaust fan that sends exhaust back into kitchen!) I could make those lamb chops because I have that same stupid exhaust fan ! I wish someone could explain to me the point of an exhaust fan that doesn't, you know, CONNECT TO THE OUTSIDE SOMEHOW????

Thanks, again! We just ordered a gift card from Alchemy!

Thank you both so for the ideas (and the LINKS - incredible time saver for me). I'll look at all of them as soon as possible. I really don't know where he's going to be living - and neither does he. He's become this major rolling stone since he ditched the corporate world. He sold his house in Phoenix and rented an apartment there and then went off to New Zealand and Patagonia, came back to AZ and decided that since he'd spent the last few years weekending in San Diego anyway, he'd rather have his home base there. So he hasn't actually moved there yet, but will be doing that over the next couple of months. (Yeah, I know...I have to hold my mouth closed in order for the phrase "Must be nice" to stay in my head). Thanks again!

Is the fish and chips place you like called "The Beer Fish & Chips Shop"?

What an amazing trip, Nikki! Thank you so much for this! Greece is on my list of dream destinations, so I am thoroughly enjoying this report.