Kim Shook

Kim, do you freeze these? ← Yup - they do great. They taste good STILL frozen, too. Make about twice as many as you think you'll need. The first time I made these, my SIL and her 3 girls dropped by and ate the ENTIRE batch. We had to go back to the store to get more stuff.

Take a look at the program description that appeared on my TV the other day: What is wrong with this picture? I don't think I'll be making that drink.

Rob – I would buy that bacon pumpkin pie. Honestly, regular pumpkin pie is a little dull to me. Pretzel Turtles for Christmas: Pretzels, Rolos and Pecans

Regular Hershey's isn't dutched, but is natural cocoa. Using different cocoas (or combinations of cocoa) could account for the differences in your cookies, unless those differences occured in the same batch (I wasn't clear if you had differences in height within the same batch, or between batches). ← Rona - there was a difference in the same batches. I realized that I forgot to say that I got the chocolate-chocolate chip cooky recipe from CanadianBakin'! I got the recipe from her last year and already they are the cookies I MUST make for Christmas !

They're the same dough and the only difference is the chips? The ones on the right are much darker than the others though. Why is that? ← Sorry - I thought I had explained that - must have left it out. I had some Hershey Special Dark cocoa, but ran out. Those dark cookies were made the Special Dark - the medium ones are with a mix of half Special Dark and half regular, the lightest ones with all regular. I like the look of the dark, but honestly the flavor isn't that much different. ← Aha. I just googled and it sounds like the special dark is a dutch cocoa. Is the other cocoa you used dutch as well? ← I don't know. It's just the regular Hershey's cocoa - it doesn't say on the container.

Do you bake with a digital scale? ← I do use a digital scale for chocolate, but not for everything. I know that I should, but haven't gotten up the energy to convert my recipes. Even though with the elements of a cooky, there aren't that many things to remember. ← I think flour is one of the most important ingredients to measure since it's hard to have a perfectly consistent method of measuring with a cup and the weather also affects how it measures. ← But what is a cup? 4 oz., 4.5, 4.625?? I found all those answers in my research. They're the same dough and the only difference is the chips? The ones on the right are much darker than the others though. Why is that? ← Sorry - I thought I had explained that - must have left it out. I had some Hershey Special Dark cocoa, but ran out. Those dark cookies were made the Special Dark - the medium ones are with a mix of half Special Dark and half regular, the lightest ones with all regular. I like the look of the dark, but honestly the flavor isn't that much different.

Do you bake with a digital scale? ← Do you bake with a digital scale? ← Did you put the scoops of cookie dough on an already hot cookie sheet? ← I do use a digital scale for chocolate, but not for everything. I know that I should, but haven't gotten up the energy to convert my recipes. Even though with the elements of a cooky, there aren't that many things to remember. ETA - I just did a little quick online research and I got anywhere from 4 oz to 4.625 oz being equal to a cup. So what do I follow anyway? I never, ever reuse a sheet until it's cool and sometimes if I'm not sure, I stash them in the fridge for a couple of minutes. I never have this problem with my peanut butter cookies - which I make with bread flour - I wonder if that is part of the issue for me?

Ilana – and then I try to make candy and think of yours! It just goes on and on . A Pumpkin Poundcake that I made to take to dinner at a friend’s house tonight: it looks a little like a baked potato, doesn’t it? More Christmas cooking: A chocolate cooky assortment - chocolate-chocolate chip, chocolate-PB chip and chocolate-peppermint chip. All taste very good. The peppermint chips are soft chips by Andes that I found in some discount store. Very odd though, all the same dough, ingredients, etc. and some are nice and tall and some are as flat as pancakes. I will never understand baking .

Not to hijack the thread or anything, but has anyone noticed that guys actually LIKE salad nowadays? My husband and his BF always get salad for their tailgates, Mr. Kim always requests salad when he gets to plan a meal and salad is my father's (not Ted Fairhead - he's my dad ) specialty - what he's known for and what people ask him to bring to gatherings. It is so different from the "Real Men Don't Eat..." and ladies-who-lunch era that I grew up with. On topic: I vote for a roasted vegetable salad or a classic Caesar if you decide to serve a stew .

Didn't say anything about either rare or duck. One cooks the breast until its still juicy which takes less time than most of the other parts. Thus dismember the goose & cook each part as appropriate. ← I think Prawn was probably responding to Ruth's comment about rare goose - it was before yours.

Randi - thanks for posting about those rolls, I'm going to give them a try!

how is the kick..?? i only eat dark chocolate and that combination with candied ginger and wasabi paste is making my mouth water.. i have a package of candied ginger in my pantry that is gonna disappear right after i post this.. ← The kick was not too strong - I've tried and liked chile infused chocolate, but the flavor of the wasabi was strong and just wrong, it seemed to me.

Lisa2k – poor you ! I hope you are better soon and back to impressing everyone with your wonderful creations! One more before bedtime: Very, very weird fudge. Deep, Dark Chocolate Fudge with Candied Ginger. Sounds good, huh? But the 'secret ingredient' is....wasabi paste . Only Mr. Kim likes this stuff. Jess and I think it would be good without the wasabi.

Ce'nedra – love the prawn pizza! I do a white pizza with shrimp and horseradish and ricotta, but I like the idea of all the juiciness of the garlic butter! Percyn – the crust on that chicken cordon bleu is amazing! David – your beef and polenta is gorgeous! Thanks so much for posting the directions, too! I’ll be trying that this winter! tkassum – welcome! Lovely brunch! Dinner tonight: Mr. Kim made some Tonton ginger Japanese dressing and marinade marinated chicken breasts the other night. I used the leftovers tonight to make a stir fry with some snow peas. Really good. I also did some “A Taste of Thai” microwave peanut noodles – they were ok, not great.

Awesome! That looks so amazing! Since I had a dish made with peppered honey at one of our favorite restaurants, I've been addicted to the combination of pepper and sweet. Kerry - what kind of fruitcake is that? Looks good! Some more Christmas cooking: Crystal Candy. Just a fanciful name for hard candy – cinnamon and wintergreen.

Thanks so much, y'all, for the kind words! Here you go: Iced Almonds. I'll start posting the link to my recipes, if you think I should. I considered doing it, but thought it might be a bit pushy .

Rob – that cake sounds scrumptious and I, too, am enamored of your balls . I agree with Erin, that there’s a little too much going on – I’d just lose the tuiles. Everything else looks and sounds wonderful. That perfect layer of pomegranate bavarain has me feeling so incredibly inadequate . Joe – so cute! My office would lose their minds at those hamburgers! Some chocolate chip cookies that I made: I got the recipe from a friend on cookskorner.com. It’s a CI recipe (not sure whether it’s an online or magazine recipe). The flavor is wonderful – very complex. You brown the butter and use dark brown sugar. Mine were flatter and spread out more than I would have liked (and more than his were), but that always seems to happen to me. I also made these: Iced almonds. So rich – toasty, caramel-y, crisp almond goodness.

That is one gorgeous loaf! This bread is my regular, go-to white bread. It is NOT what most people think of when they hear 'white bread' - there is nothing 'Wonder-ish' about it!

Prawn – those are just lovely, gorgeous meals! Thanks for sharing them with us! Dinner tonight: London broil sandwiches w/ caramelized onions and cheese on foccacia rolls and butter beans.

Breakfast this morning was very ordinary, but very satisfying: Fried eggs, biscuits and sausage. That's ginger marmalade on one of the biscuits and cinnamon apple jelly on the other. Both were good, but the cinnamon apple jelly was amazing!

Ilana - ganache with cherries and almonds ! That sounds wonderful! What are you going to do with it? More Christmas cooking – Almost the Best Peanut Butter Cookies w/ and w/out Kisses: another version: this one drizzled with chocolate.

Bruce – the garlic broccoli looks and sound delicious. I’ll be trying that method since we are in high broccoli season now! Matthew – everything looks wonderful, but that bread knocked my socks off – well done!!! Ce'nedra – love the buns! Percyn – lovely burger and the addition of the egg is perfect! I would have loved to see some breakfast thread-style egg porn, though ! Dinner last night: London Broil, tiny roasted potatoes, Southern green beans and garlic cheese bread. Confession: I didn't cook the meat. It is a Costco item that is already cooked and you just heat it up . Mr. Kim likes these a lot and they are tasty, if a bit tough (though, no tougher than the eye of round roast).

This is one of our favorites: Autumn Fruit Salad - Fall fruits, crunchy almonds and a spicy, creamy dressing.

Randi – oh, my, goodness!!! Those look just perfect – gooey, rich, pillowy and crunchy all at once! Must look for that issue! More cooking ahead for Christmas: Puppy Peanut Butter Cookies for the dogs in our lives. Otis liked them a lot !

Randi – I love your maple leaves! That platter is lovely! And I’m going to use your doily decoration on my Christmas sweets platters – I never think of them and they are so pretty. I’ve started stocking the freezer for Christmas! Cherry Almond Dark Chocolate Fudge: Mr. Kim’s favorite. This was a surprise for him last year and he loves it. This year, the surprise is going to be a dark chocolate and candied ginger fudge. Reese’s Cup Fudge: My Aunt San’s Fudge: Just a simple and creamy milk chocolate/marshmallow fudge. Classic and perfect.