Kim Shook

Underbowler here. I love the feeling of abundance you get from a brimming bowl. And I have the Southern hostesses' horror of portions seeming skimpy.

Bruce – I sure wish I had someone like you to introduce me to Indian cooking. I am SO ignorant about it that it is embarrassing, but your food always looks so delicious! Soba – everything you make looks gorgeous and perfectly seasonal! Your gnocchi dish is exquisite! And the next meal is beautiful, too. I have never had roasted radishes! What are they like? Taste, texture??? nickrey – the crust on your chicken is perfect! I am so impressed (and envious)! Rhonda – Wow! I am amazed and impressed at your impromptu dinner party! I don’t know that I could manage grilled cheese and a salad in that amount of time on a work night! And, yes, now that you mention it, they do look like those legs ! Dealing with being out of town last weekend with my dad in the hospital and work and stuff, I've hardly cooked at all. I did cook at my mother's on Saturday - no pictures since I didn't take my camera, but it was wonderful - a shrimp and sugar snap stir fry with an sesame oil, oyster and soy sauce finishing sauce. It was from a beautiful book she has called The Essential Wok Cookbook. I'll definitely be making it again and I'll take a picture then! Dinner last night started out great – a Crudités plate with Fleur de Sel and black Mediterranean sea salt: Then it really went downhill. I just did my regular easy chicken enchiladas – shredded chicken mixed with canned enchilada sauce, wrapped in sauce-soaked corn tortillas, topped with shredded ‘Mexican’ cheese: It’s a little pedestrian, but always tastes just fine and it’s an easy, good weeknight meal. These were horrible. I’m guessing that the brand of sauce was at fault – it was some off brand that Mr. Kim picked up – not my usual. I served it with sautéed yellow squash and onions and field peas and snaps: The squash was fine, but the peas were terrible, too ! They were also canned – I buy Luck’s a lot and always have had good ones, but this was some new brand which were labeled ‘seasoned’ – something I didn’t notice until I started to use them. Awful – musty and off tasting. Blah! Can’t wait to do some real cooking this weekend!

That was wonderful, Maggie! The funny thing is that I never saw this until today and my daughter and I had a discussion about soft boiled eggs YESTERDAY! She wanted to know how to do them and I told her the same thing that said - basically: I can cook lots of difficult things, but soft boiled eggs are one of the most challenging things that I've ever tried. I think that I see soft boiled eggs and soldiers for breakfast this weekend!

Thanks so much for the advice. It didn't really feel humid that day, but it sure was the next and I'm thinking that that affected it.

Dinner tonight was Slow Cooker Chinese Orange Beef – this was actually pretty good. Because of being cooked in a slow cooker, it was more like Chinese pot roast, but that was ok with us and the flavor was great. I also served Ramen noodles:

I made a ‘Ho Ho Cake’ for a birthday at work tomorrow: Devil’s food cake w/ Italian meringue buttercream, decorated with Ho Ho’s. I was completely disappointed in my IMBC today: The taste was fine and it was fluffy, but it wasn’t smooth at all like when I’ve made it before. I have NO idea what I did wrong, but, to be honest, icings have never been my thing – for that matter, as much as I love it, baking is a huge challenge for me. Oh, well, better luck next time.

Breakfast this morning was cantaloupe, scrambled eggs w/ chives and Fontina, more of that Wellshire bacon from yesterday and leftover pancetta biscuits:

For dinner tonight I made Rachel Ray’s Blue-rugala burgers. Stupid name, great burgers! I used WF grass fed ground beef. You add garlic, parsley and Worcestershire sauce to the beef and then caramelize some onions adding brown sugar and brown mustard to them. When the burgers are done you top them with Cambazola cheese, the onions and arugula. I served them on brioche buns. Really terrific burgers. Alongside, I served corn and slaw”:

Steve - thank you for this - I'm going to print out your advice and put it with the butterscotch recipe, so that I can try what you suggest! I really appreciate the help! Tri2Cook - I think you are probably right! I'll be doing this again because Mr. Kim loves butterscotch pie, but I'll be making some adjustments!

Ilana - I'm not sure that I'm the one to answer, but I can tell you what I understand. In the US, as far as candy goes - caramel is chewy and smooth, toffee is crunchy and butterscotch is a hard candy that is very buttery. Here are some pictures: Caramel, Toffee, Butterscotch. I hope this makes sense! Butterscotch pie, on the other hand, seems to be a custardy type pie made with eggs and brown sugar. Actually I need some help here - could someone describe a perfect butterscotch pie to me? As I said, I'm not familiar with it and was expecting something firmer, but most of the recipes that I am finding seem similar to the one I used. Thanks!

Ann – I just put peameal bacon on my wish list (I have a birthday coming up), but have a question. The Real Canadian Bacon Co. offers whole peameal roasts or slices. I am leaning towards a whole roast, but which would you suggest? Breakfast this morning was a drippingly, sweet, floral cantaloupe: At least that’s what Mr. Kim said. I’m not a fan of cantaloupe. I can manage bland, not-so-good melon, but a good one is somehow too fragrant to me – they always taste almost rotten to me. We also had banana pancakes and new (to us) bacon that I found at Whole Foods - Wellshire dry rubbed Black Forest bacon. The bacon was very good, much better than anything usually found in a regular store, but we still prefer the flavor of Benton’s. The pancakes were fantastic – we can’t wait for blueberry season to try them in the pancakes!

I made Paula Deen’s butterscotch pie today: I’m not a big fan of butterscotch, but Mr. Kim loves it. He liked the pie, but thought that the flavor could have been stronger and that it was a little ‘loose’ and puddingy. I don’t know if I’ve ever had butterscotch pie, but I did expect something firmer. It was more firm than pudding, but not a lot. So – a mixed success, I guess.

Menuinprogress – your Char Siu Bao looks wonderful. I’d love to try making them sometime. Shelby – lovely shrimp alfredo and a beautiful picture!!! Tonight’s dinner was a salad, a baked pasta w/ Italian sausage, spinach, tomatoes, pesto, ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses and pancetta-Fontina biscuits: The pasta was a recipe that I got off the food network. It was very good. I adapted it a bit – used shells instead of ziti, shredded the spinach instead of leaving whole, used fresh mozz instead of…whatever the processed stuff is called – aged? But it was really good and we’ll be eating a lot of it in the next few days – the recipe said it would serve 6-8, so I halved it and ended up with enough for 8 – 10 people !! The biscuits are another food network recipe. They were wonderful. The recipe called for serving them with a vanilla/cinnamon/sugar butter, but I thought that sounded weird, so I left it off. Dessert was a disappointment: We stopped at a new cupcake place near us. The chocolate frosted one is called ‘Chocolate Covered Strawberry’ – strawberry cake filled with strawberry puree frosted with chocolate Buttercream, the other is key lime – graham cake filled and frosted with key lime Buttercream. Both were bad – sour, off tasting fillings, tough cake and the chocolate frosting was crusted and overly sweet. Cupcakes finally get to Richmond and they are no better than supermarket ones – just ‘fancier’ and $2.75 a piece!

I am ashamed to admit (HERE of all places) that it was canned fluffy white frosting! I was asked to make it the night before and worked all day that day and just didn't have time for anything else.

I was so busy last night (out of town guest coming by to visit our daughter, end of the week chores, etc.) that I had no business EATING much less cooking , but I NEEDED to cook (y’all know what I mean) so I made some fries: with some cool black Mediterranean sea salt that I found. And tried out a new recipe for hush puppies that a friend sent me: Much, much better than last time! These were lighter, much more flavorful and just better all around!

schneich - those petits fours are gorgeous! The blueberry one just speaks to me. I adore the tiny little sugar sprinkle across the top! Rob - your mousse is just incredibly lovely. I love the little yolkish dollop of puree on top and the sprayed on white chocolate effect. How I wish that we had something even approaching the quality of what you do! Um...er...ah...down here at a WHOLE 'nother level , I made this coconut cake last night for a party that my MIL is giving:

All I know is, about half the time that I try to make this damn fudge, I end up with Tootsie Rolls. I actually like Tootsie Rolls a lot better than the fudge !

Growing up in VA and NC, I've always had macaroni and cheese as a side dish. Just to show how ingrained this is, when I used to inspect day care homes and vet menus for the USDA, no matter how many times I reminded them, every month someone would have a meal disqualified because they counted mac n cheese as a 'vegetable'!

Thanks, Shelby! That meal looks wonderful - I'm very jealous of your mad pasta skills. What really grabbed me was the brussels sprouts! They look amazing! Could you post a recipe?? I want them!!

Nate - Here's the recipe for the tartar sauce and I will trade any amount of fish to you for a soft shell - my VERY favorite way to eat crabs! And that salad is pretty gorgeous, too. Crabs and strawberries - add a couple of ears of Silver Queen corn and you have the perfect summer supper!

Kim, check out this topic on Hush Puppies. I do know that Malawry, who posted, is well-known among folks from a Pig Pickin' for her hush puppies! ← Thanks, Susan! I am trying again tonight and will look at that thread!

Here I haven't cooked in ages and I'm following myself tonight!! Dinner tonight was fish and chips, corn pudding, slaw and hush puppies. I made key lime mayonnaise: So that I could make this: Tartar sauce – I just played with it - worchestershire pepper, tarragon, parsley, grated onion, dijon, sweet relish, dill pickles, salt. It was really good! Fish: I used my regular CI recipe, but subbed rice flour for AP and it was so incredibly crispy. I'm a convert! Chips: Corn pudding and slaw: Hush puppies: These were so disappointing! Unbelievably dry. I like a really moist, oniony hush puppy. Does anyone have a good recipe??

Ann – that steak is just amazing looking and the photography is just as good! I am sitting here still full from lamb burgers that we had out tonight, not to mention a couple of cookies and I want just ONE BITE of that steak! Bruce – I’ll take one fork swirl of the spaghetti with my bite of Ann’s steak!! Dinner last night was salad, hamburgers w/ pimento cheese, roasted potatoes and Silver Queen corn (I found this frozen at The Fresh Market – it was the best frozen corn I’ve ever had and better than lots of ‘fresh’ corn I’ve had):

Bruce – the fish in coconut milk looks so lovely and silky! Soba – the gnocchi is fantastic looking! I’ve never made traditional gnocchi – only the Jacques Pépin Gnocchi Parisienne, but I’d really like to try Ricotta! Ann – gorgeous prawns <sigh> I finally have a chance to post my Mother’s Day dinner. It was mostly a salad/sandwich meal with desserts. A friend contributed her wonderful quiches – one was ham and the other sausage: Rachel’s “Paminna” Cheese: Rachel’s Chicken Salad: My new standard for chicken salad – it really is the best I’ve ever tasted. Egg Salad: Oddly enough, this seemed to be everyone’s favorite thing on the table. I have to thank eG for that, I think! When I was searching for ways to fix my wet, watery egg salad I got a LOT of help here! Cold Cuts & Cheese: Arranged beautifully by my daughter. eG’s Doddie’s Ham and Crab Salad: This has been a favorite of ours for awhile now. Doddie makes it with surimi, which I like quite well. It’s not really crabmeat and I don’t expect it to taste like crab, but it’s a nice, firm, mild fish that I like in a lot of things. But Americans are funny about it, so I made this one with blue crab. It was delicious and very popular. Assorted breads and Petit Croissants: My mother’s vegetable soup: This usually has shredded cabbage and some kind of pasta in it, but some people (especially KIDS) are funny about cabbage and we have a niece who has to have gluten free now so I left those out. Missed them, too. Apple/Manchego Salad w/ Marcona almonds: Chinese Salad with ramen noodle/sesame/almond crunchies: Rachel’s son’s Sweet Piggies: I showed these on the thread about my trip to Rachel’s and they disappeared, just like at Rachel’s . Dessert table: The same friend who makes the quiches also makes a famous and awesome almond pound cake. That’s the cake on the right. Jumbo Cupcakes: Martha Stewart’s Gluten Free Chocolate w/ 7 Minute Frosting: this was very good – a tiny bit tougher than regular cake, but the flavor was wonderful – our niece was very happy and took home all the leftovers!! Coconut: not my regular – I did a shortcut with a mix, but it was very good. White Cake w/ Pink Fluffy Frosting and Polka Dots: the polka dots were sour fruit slice candies, rolled out and punched out into circles – really a cute cake The combination of using my new 600 KA mixer and the jumbo cupcake pan caused 2 of the cakes to fall slightly – they tasted fine, but I need a little more practice with both.

Have you tried Kim Shook's coobook? Some GREAT stuff here: http://www.recipecircus.com/cgi-bin/recipe...login=KimberlynI second the motion. The Hot Bacon and Swiss Cheese dip is absolutely fantastic with broccoli and cauliflower florets. I also made baby tomato "roses" on the tiny wooden fork type picks which went like wildfire with that dip. I have one of the tiny 2-cup crockpots and I think I refilled it at least half a dozen times - 30 people. And, I had a lot of other dips and things but this got the most action.That recipe looks wonderful, but no suggestions as to which potential dippers are best. Does this work equally well with chips, crackers, etc., as it does with veggies?I found people mopping the stuff out of the little containers with chunks of bread after they had been removed from the table.I think it will work with just about anything. Give it a try. Made this last night for a small get-together. It really is delicious, but it's also very heavy and rich, so I wouldn't plan on serving it as an opener for a heavy meal. We had some Ritz Crackers handy, as they were called for in the recipe, and served the dip with that, but also, some toasted baguette slices. Our crowd thought that the plainer bread allowed the flavor of the swiss cheese to come through better than the Ritz. I can really see, though, how it would be superb with broccoli or cauliflower florets. I'm definitely taking this dip the next time I go to a gathering where I'm supposed to bring an appetizer. Thanks Kim, and everyone. ← Well, thank you all! I'm honored! Judging from the ingredients, I think that this is probably one of those Jr. League/community cookbook recipes. It is simple, but really, really satisfying.