Kim Shook

Kate – how mortifying. I have no idea how in the world I mistook you for David Ross . Nice to meetcha <slinking off>. Dinner was salad <sigh>: and pork loin chops w/ Tulocay & Co. Three Chiles Citrus Yucatan Marinade & Dipping sauce. Great sauce – lousy pork. Dry, tasteless and tough. The pork was from Omaha Steaks – a Christmas gift. I served it with red cabbage and fried apples:

David – your tarte is gorgeous. I love the look of the on-the-vine tomatoes – do you just pluck it off before eating? Also love the rustic croutons. They look perfect. Mr. Kim has had the week off and yesterday made a pot of his good chili. Dinner last night started off with nibbles leftover from New Year’s Eve: Cheddar shrimp nachos and Marlene’s pizza puffs. Mr. Kim’s chili: with cheese, sour cream and fresh jalapenos. Jessica’s: with cheese, sour cream, hot sauce and a sprinkling of cinnamon. Mine: with just penne – we were out of elbow macaroni. What can I say, I’m a chili mac girl from way back!

Steven - I serve 35-50 people turkey and the works every Christmas Eve. Doing everything required for that many people is impossible, so a few years ago, I experimented on doing turkey ahead of time. I end up with tender, moist breast meat every single time. I never got the reactions that I do now when I roasted a whole turkey. I use whatever turkey breast they have at my regular store - nothing fancy and I'm guessing that they are mostly the so-called 'pre-brined' ones. I roast mine in a Nesco, which you probably don't have and don't want to run out and get for this. I'd just use a covered roaster with a little chicken broth in the bottom. 350 degrees until JUST done. Cool slightly and slice. Store in a plastic bag with a little chicken broth. I reheat it in a slow cooker (again, with a little chicken broth) before serving. This turkey is good hot or cold. Extremely simple - BUT I almost never have leftover turkey!

I agree with whoever it was that said that this is one of the most interesting and entertaining foodblogs ever! It is familiar and foreign all at once. I am loving your food and your home and your good humor! The idea of pheasant salad is really wonderful!

I used to use Duff's Hot Roll Mix years ago, but haven't tried the Pillsbury ones. I always liked the Duff's a lot. I'll give these a try soon. I've never seen any problem with using a convenience product if it tastes good.

Hello, my Diet Dew sister! It is my caffine of choice, too! Everything is fascinating, Shelby! That is the best of the foodblogs and why I've missed them so much - seeing how folks manage their lives/food/cooking/living. The BBQ 'sandwiches' looked delicious. I often do cornbread waffles served the same way, but I will have to try the fire roasted poblano addition. Jalapenos are too hot for me, but I never thought about poblanos! I am boggling at the thought of what it takes for you to get such gorgeous, interesting meals on the table - processing the meat, shopping once or twice a month, etc. Truly heroic! And I don't know if I've missed it or not, but do you also work out side of your home? How about your husband?

percyn – thank you – it took me years to realize that the reason I didn’t care for scrambled eggs was because my mother’s were overcooked. She’s a good cook mostly, but terrified of any egg moisture. Once I started cooking them at a low, low temperature to that glisteny stage, I loved them. Guests are usually surprised at how early in the breakfast prep I start my scrambled eggs. Yours are lovely and glisteny, I see! And those smoked sausages remind me of DC half-smokes and make me hungry and homesick at the same time! emmalish – that oatmeal looks so good that I might just have to give it a try. I am an oatmeal hater, too and wonder if your ‘cure’ would work for me! Breakfast this morning: Tomato, sausage and cheese omelets.

That is just one of the most special and wonderful things I have seen in 2011. Thank you, Rico! There's just something about a gooey egg, huh?

Happy New Year, Miss Shelby! I’m so happy to see you blogging. Can’t wait for all the goodies to unfold. And happy anniversary, too. My parents and an aunt and uncle have NYE anniversaries – a good way to make sure you never forget the date! I didn’t ever realize that you lived on a farm – I love your house.

You folks have been seriously busy. I am embarrassed to post my meager meals! Bruce – thanks for the directions for the pork chops – I’m pretty sure that I have the Bittman book around somewhere – I’ll search it out after we get all the decorations tucked in for the year! PopsicleToze – that pork sounds truly awesome! And I LOVE the imprint on your pie crusts! Mjx – I’m sorry that your crepe experience was such a disaster (WHY do people insist on blathering when you are trying to concentrate?), but I’m afraid that it gave me the giggles. I SO identified! Soba – I love your food shots, too! They are what I’d LIKE to have mine look like. I’ve decided that I need a digital photography class – to get all I can out of my camera. Not just for food – actually my food shots turn out better than my people shots! David – crab au gratin! One of my very favorite dishes! Shelby – girl, that pizza is amazing! I am still stuffed from dinner, but would love a piece of that. Lola – Welcome! And what a beautiful first outing on eG! Everything looks delicious, but that Pavlova is truly gorgeous! And you write good, too – are you a blogger? Catching up with some meals that I’ve made since I’ve been MIA – Marinated London broil: With (of course) salad: Fries and Dorie’s luscious brioche rolls: Taco spiced panko fried chicken breasts, Spanish rice (from a microwave package – I SERIOUSLY did not actually cook more than a few things in December) and a quick black bean/corn/salsa side: Our decorate the tree fondue dinner – Veggies and dips: Beef, potatoes and sauces (béarnaise, horseradish, BBQ, Daddies and steak sauce): Asiago bread and horseradish-cheddar spread: Chocolate fondue for dessert: Salad, chicken cordon bleu subs and green beans: Breakfast this morning: Sausage and egg on a buttered, toasted bun Dinner tonight was our traditional New Year’s day meal: Ham, black eyed peas, collards, scalloped tomatoes and cornbread. The tomatoes looking a little more attractive: And a salad for Mr. Kim who is not overly fond of black eyed peas:

I really want to try almost everything in this book, but the only thing that I’ve had time for is the brioche rolls, which are fabulous and very easy, I thought: My only problem was that some of them didn’t get very dark on the bottom (the part that is inside the pan): Don’t know what the problem would be. My muffin tin is seriously old – very dark and ‘seasoned’. But they tasted wonderful and the texture was heaven. I tried an experiment and froze a few of them. A few days later I thawed and heated them gently and they were great. I thought I was going to get all proactive and make a couple of batches for Christmas dinner, but unfortunately that never happened. Now that the holidays are over I can’t wait to get to more of these recipes!

I’ve been MIA – due to being busy at work and with holiday prep, but just dropped in real quick to see what everyone was doing. Wow! Some amazing food, folks! Prawn – everything is gorgeous, as always, but that pastrami was astounding! So juicy and rich looking. Dakki – wonderful looking chorizo quesadillas! And the salsa sounds great. Bruce – how about a little explanation of the sherry-garlic sauce on those delicious looking pork chops? It sounds like something that we’d love. dcarch – love the chorus line of quail! And the bread???? – kilt me DAID!!! Rico – your panini is PERFECT!

Breakfast this morning (all but the biscuits are leftovers from last night): Country fried steak sliders and mashed potato cakes.

Dinner tonight: Country fried steak, mashed potatoes, butter beans and my MIL’s incomparable yeast rolls. With gravy: There ARE leftovers, so I’m thinking steak biscuit sliders for breakfast tomorrow!

Breakfast looks great. I never have much luck with muffin tins –EVERYTHING seems to stick in them. I even use cupcake liners when I make corn muffins. And the rolls look fabulous. From the dark and crispy ‘shoulders’ to the pale part where they meet (my favorite part – soft and tender) they are exactly what cinnamon rolls SHOULD be!

Just thought I’d finish up the description of my gravy for anyone who is interested (still got Christmas coming up, too). The beginning of the roux: All browned up: Finished gravy: It will be much thicker when I get it out of the freezer and I’ll need to thin it a little with some chicken stock.

Bruce – your slider is what I’d choose for breakfast almost every morning. What could be more perfect? Seems like I’m doing nothing but projects lately, but I did make breakfast Thanksgiving morning: Scrambled eggs with ham and cheese and toast with the last of my beloved Little Scarlet strawberry preserves (are you reading this, Santa? ).

Gorgeous stuff, everyone! Rico – your cookies looks fantastic and I love the composition of your picture, too! As everyone says ‘ganache’ means chocolate, but I make something that is a ganache of sorts with Reeses peanut butter chips and cream. It is heaven. Genkinaonna – love your fake bacon! dystopiandreamgirl – as always, your work is awesome! I made this cake for an auction to benefit the Food Pantry: It’s a gingerbread layer cake with cranberry-orange filling and cream cheese-orange icing decorated with sugared cranberries and gingerbread men. It was the 2nd highest bid - $63! That was very gratifying.

kayb – thank you so much for the links – but, I can’t get anything but an ‘oops’ when I try the link to the cheddar scones? Are you getting to the recipe when you click it? If so and it’s my problem, would you just post the actual name of the recipe and I’ll search for it on the site. I am definitely making those things for Christmas morning! Your desserts are gorgeous and I think that the noshy lunch would suit me right down to the ground this weekend!

Fantastic meal! It all looks delicious, but I am especially enamoured of the scones and bacon jam (maybe because I am still full of turkey and trimmings)! Did you make that yourself? If so - would you share the recipe?

Mr. Kim came home with this as a surprise last weekend. I was so glad and am really looking forward to cooking LOTS from this book. I am in the midst of some projects and starting my Christmas cooking, so I'll have to wait until the new year to really get into it, but I DO have some duck breasts in the freezer that I need to use to free up room and it IS kumquat season. Hmmmmmm.

Janet and Maggie - the two smartest ladies on eGullet! Thank you, thank you!!!

David – that veal looks amazing! Scottyboy – I want that hamburger. The onions are especially calling my name. dcarch – Your scallop/pumpkin dish is gorgeous and I am intrigued by the sound of black garlic – must see if our Whole Foods carries it. I cooked all day today and somehow, we never had breakfast or lunch! I guess we just snacked! I did some Christmas cooking - this morning I made Sour Cream-Cheddar potatoes for 50, Brunswick stew for Mr. Kim to take to work for a soup sale to benefit the Food Pantry and started my Christmas gravy. The wings, carrots and celery – tossed with Bell’s Seasoning, pepper and a tomato paste/olive oil slurry. All roasted and gorgeous: Then they got covered with broth in deep stock pot and simmer for a few hours to make stock: When I get home from work tomorrow, I’ll use the fat to make a good, dark roux, the stock to make the gravy and then I’ll add in the shredded wing meat to ‘heft it up’. I also made croutons for the salad (it’s the only green vegetable allowed on MY Christmas table ) and cornbread for the oyster dressing. The stew: Brunswick stew is just plain ugly, but SO good! Jessica came in and borrowed the kitchen for two hours to make some things for a ‘Friendsgiving Dinner’ potluck. Corn casserole: Sweet potato soufflé: And a gorgeous apple galette: She is definitely the pie queen in this family! We actually did have dinner (there was some doubt after all the other cooking today): Grilled chicken with BBQ sauce, rice pilaf (from a bag – you nuke it for 90 seconds and it’s done – it was pretty good, too) and some stuffed delicata squash that Matthew might (or might not – those raisins got a little dark – though, not QUITE as dark as they photographed!) recognize. Mr. Kim really loved the squash and I would eat it to be polite (this is saying a LOT for me – I don’t eat ANY kind of squash).

Gorgeous, inventive and fun. In fact, exactly what I would expect of a Matthew dinner!

So it's not just me! That's a relief. Yes! This is me, too (three)! I almost dread having to reduce things. At least I am experienced enough now to feel fairly comfortable eyeballing it. When I was a new cook, I'd pour it out into a measuring cup every couple of minutes. This is fine if you have a cup of something, but a big, giant PITA when you have a GALLON!!