Kim Shook

← Thank you so much, Pal! I think that even though it didn't specify, this recipe was meant for the larger sheets. I've got a ton of phyllo left, so next time I'll just use a lot more sheets! It did taste good - it just needed more flakiness in the pastry .

Ilana and Percyn - Thanks for the good wishes, I'll pass them on. He's just been amazed at all the eGulleteers that have sent wishes for his recovery! He's doing very well considering that he had major surgery just a couple of weeks ago. He's up and around and all the results of the tests have been good. I haven't been cooking much since then, but I did manage breakfast yesterday. We had Cheddar-chive scrambled eggs (with that lovely bacon salt you recommended, Percyn ), Benton's bacon, fruit and chocolate croissants from Trader Joe's (we are very, very happy to have a Whole Food and a Trader Joe's open near us in the last month!): Percyn - Mr. Kim would lose his mind over that corned beef hash! It is his absolute favorite breakfast and what he always orders. Usually it's just ok, but occasionally at a really good brunch, we'll get a good one, but never as lovely as yours! And with a perfect poached egg on top! Happy Thanksgiving to all the Canadians! Have a wonderful, delicious day!

Plating of meals in restaurants seems to change as often as styles in the rest of the world. I remember when everything - apps, mains and desserts was stacked as high as possible, with swords of something edible stuck through the tower so that it could make it to table without toppling. Visually stunning, but hard to eat. I don't know what chefs are doing everywhere else, but in my area everyone seems to be doing the same thing and I'm tired of it. Big giant plates with a squiggle or smear of sirachi (does sirachi really go with everything?) and a littering of anonymous vegetable and herb bits. I'm ready for the next thing. So, restaurant folks, stylists - what's up? What are people in NY and SF and elsewhere more cosmopolitan than Richmond, VA seeing? Maybe a retro plate? A lemon half in net panties and a big wad of curly parsley?

I just bought Bittman Takes on America’s Chefs. I haven't finished reading it yet or cooked anything from it. From my perusal, it seems interesting and well written and the chefs are wonderful ones. All good. Except for the photos. They are distractingly bad. Bad color, not in focus, etc. Sometimes you can't even tell what you are looking at. In one shot, I was convinced I was looking at chicken with butter beans and they ended up being olives. The photos reminded me of the ones you find in those old series books. This is a $25 book by a famous, accomplished cookbook author involving chefs who are established and very much the real deal. How do you put out a book with such lousy pictures? Did I end up getting a flawed copy somehow? The text is fine. Anyone else seen this book and notice this?

I found some fun stuff at a local antique/junk store yesterday. They had lots of the Time/Life “The Good Cook” series. I got Hors d’Oeuvre and Snacks and Sandwiches for $3 each and Bittman Takes on America’s Chefs for $4: I’m planning to go back every week and get a couple more of the T/L series each time. Hope they last! I also found a pyrex insert for the hammered aluminum decorative server that I found at the Farmer’s Market this spring. $4: These were my favorite finds, though: I got 4 of each – they didn’t have 8 of either one. But I don’t mind mixing – actually, I guess mixing styles is my style . They are wafer thin, etched with lovely designs and have a musical ‘ting’ when touched together. The glass on the bottom is the prettiest. The picture doesn't show off the design - little star shapes and the round depressions - the edges of the cut glass are sharp and crisp. I am imagining them filled with mousse, pot du crème, strawberries and cream. They were $16 for all eight. I have no idea where I’m going to put them, but I love them and will find somewhere.

Abra - thanks for the recommendation and the link. We all adore toffee in our family! So far, I am making little cheese/appetizer picks from turkey lacer needles and beads. Hope they turn out well. I'll post pics if they do.

David - oh.my.goodness!!!! That salad with the big crouton and the melted cheese??? Wow - that looks amazing! I am very jealous of the whole huckleberry thing! And those meals that you posted yesterday seemed to reflect some yearning to be further south . Chicken pie is in my near future - that looked wonderful. Daniel - that ribeye looked so good, but I missed an 'inside' view! My dad loves his egg! Also, it's 10:55am and I want one of those speck pizzas for lunch! And I loved the expression of perplexed disgruntlement on the one that missed her (his?) bones because the humans got them instead - "Meat iz urs, bonz iz MINE" . Pille - that pumpkin loaf looks sooooo good! petite tête de chou - that pizza made Mr. Kim gasp out loud! Gorgeous! MiFi - I'll add a slice of tart with some of Daniel's pizza to my lunch order! Not cooking much lately - we are still eating out of the freezer and what everyone has so generously sent to us. But last night I needed to COOK something. To chop and season and...just make something. I tried out a recipe I'd found for the pressure cooker. It was Pork Loin Chops w/ Red Cabbage & Apples from a book called The Best Pressure Cooker Recipes by Cinda Chavich. Someone on another site recommended Lorna Sass as someone who tests her recipes, so I got one of her books from the library and will start experimenting with those. Both of the Chavich recipes that I've tried have been less than successful - which, I admit, may be my fault, rather than the fault of the recipes! The BBQ chicken I tried scorched really badly and the advice I was given was that there was probably too much sugar and not enough liquid called for. This recipe was a little bland. The sauce that is made from reducing the cooking liquid was good, but the cabbage was a little blah. Next time, I'll add some of the ingredients that are in the braised red cabbage recipe that I use and that we love so much - thyme, red wine, brown sugar (just a touch).

Percyn – that corned beef is gorgeous! What did you do with it? I’d love to see a slice. Ilana – that omelet sandwich sounds great. I often do similar things with leftovers from weekend breakfasts for quick weekday breakfasts. You’re right, they are better hot, but not bad at all room temperature. Well, I’ve hardly cooked a thing since Mr. Kim had his surgery, but I did make breakfast this morning. Eggs Benedict with biscuits and Benton’s bacon instead of English muffins and Canadian bacon. Also hash browns: Mr. Kim is doing much better, but feeling worse in some ways – itchy, sore, reactivating nerves, less narcotics. So he’s better, but tired, bored, and miserable. And as Mr. I’ll Handle It, he feels guilty and weird having to accept help.

I tend to cook "to the crowd" - roasted beef or pork for non-adventuresome MIL, all out for anything goes MIL, experiments for friends who are close enough to say that it didn't work and not mind breakfast for dinner in that case. That said, here are some links for dishes that I've served over and over again to raves and requests for recipes. They are particularly suited to the cooler weather, too. James Beard's Pastitsio is a huge, satisfying and delicious casserole. Braised Lamb Shanks w/ Caramelized Onions Grilled Leg of Lamb w/ Feta-Herb Salsa is unusual, impressive and really easy to make. Short Ribs w/ Caramelized Onions and Hoisin Chicken w/ Marsala, Figs & Goat Cheese Hope these are of some help! Let us know what you do and how it went!

This is reminding me of something, but since I probably wouldn't have read a book on wine, maybe it was a magazine article? Food and Wine or Wine Spectator, perhaps?

Just finished this last night. I have to agree with the two of you on both her strengths and weaknesses. Like Fatguy, I really agreed with her conclusions about 'authenticity'. I also liked her apparent appreciation for ethnic-American styles of cooking and how it is really a separate food from what people actually eat in the countries that have inspired them - different, but often very good, so good that they count as comfort food for Americans, especially those living abroad where that style isn't available.

My grandmother's recipe for pear preserves works just fine with unripe pears as long as they still taste ok.

I adore my Nesco and wouldn't part with it for anything. I haven't cooked a turkey or ham any other way since I've had it (10 years, or so). Giant amount of stew, chili, soup, etc. Warming rolls for a large crowd. As a warm server for bbq. In mild and dry weather, I've even put it outside to cook and that really frees up the kitchen space. If someone made me choose between that and my food processor, the food processor would be out the door (but please don't make me choose between my KA and my Nesco! ).

Randi - you can make angel food cake in a loaf pan, too. You just use 2 loaf pans in place of a 10" tube pan. Easy to portion, too! Thinking of you a lot these days and hoping things are going better for you.

I hope the surgery went well! Your pasta looks soooooooo good. ← Thank you, Shelby! The surgery went really well and he's already out of ICU - feeling very groggy and sore, but improving. On topic - his dinner last night was turkey, gravy, stuffing, green beans, cranberry sauce and vanilla wafers. Ever single thing tasted exactly the same. I'm glad that I made him the pasta. He was talking last night about how good it was and how glad he was that we had a freezer full of it!

Bruce - while you're PM'ing the recipe for the crab soup recipe to Dejah.... ??? Mr. Kim's surgery is tomorrow so he got to pick dinner: pappardelle with meatsauce, salad and garlic Asiago bread. Then Jessica took him out to Krispie Kreme for doughnuts!

MMMM, how I wish I could take you up on that offer! I'm not a heart eater, but fried livers are one of my very favorite foods. Here's my recipe for the soup, if you like.

Alexus - gorgeous dumplings - I'd love that recipe! Shelby - I want some of them Ducknuggets!!! And liver, too. No one at my house eats liver, so I never get any ! percyn - that is one awesome chicken! Was that skin as good as it looked? Bruce - crab soup . My favorite thing in the entire world!! Ce'nedra - that crab dish looks wonderful. We'd love that! I made my chicken soup this weekend. We ate some and froze some. I realized that I developed the recipe with a lot of help from folks here a couple of years ago and I don't think I've ever shown it. I start out with the scraps (wings, backbone, neck and giblets) from a chicken, salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, celery, carrots and onion. I make a slurry of tomato paste and olive oil and toss with the other stuff and roast. Here's everything before roasting: and after roasting: Then I simmer all that junk in low salt chicken stock to make a good, chickeny stock: I strain and defat the stock and add the chicken pieces and simmer until tender, cut up the chicken, add some cooked carrots and kluski: It really is good soup - I've tasted better, but never homemade.

Some lovely breakfasts, everyone! Leftovers in omelets (a popular idea, it seems) is genius! Shelby - what's German breakfast sausage like? And where do you get it. Fantastic looking hashbrowns, BTW! Rachel - that grilled cheese breakfast sounds exactly like what a weekend breakfast should be! Bruce - more lovely rice <sigh>! RAHiggins - Wow. That vegetable frittata is a thing of beauty! Soba - your little potatoes and omelet look lovely - and I don't even like mushrooms ! Sunday breakfast: gruyere and chive omelets, Benton's bacon and MIL's hot cross buns (from the freezer - they were still so good!)

I have a couple. Bomo's Chuckwagon Stewhas been my go-to beef stew for at least 20 years. It was my grandmother's stew and the only thing that she cooked well! It only has 1/4 c. of flour and that's used to dredge the meat before browning. Also, have you thought about doing beef bourguignon? That recipe is very good and can even be done in a slow cooker. I've always done it in my large le crueset, but I was originally given the recipe as a slow cooker dish. Hope these help!

Shelby – that is some gorgeous chicken, girl!! Since next week is Mr. Kim’s surgery and we’ll be inundated with friends and family, we decided to have a family night last night. Just Mr. Kim, Jessica and me. Pizza and Bob Hope in “The Lemon Drop Kid” on the DVD player. I purchased the crusts which were ordinary, but this was kind of spur of the moment, so I had to improvise. We had just a regular pepperoni pizza and a shrimp pizza with fresh mozzarella: the sauce for the shrimp pizza was ricotta and a nice pesto sauce that one of Mr. Kim’s coworkers made.

I'm curious too. They were tender without being cakelike, the struesel topping is part of the muffin and doesn't crumble off. The lemon taste is a gentle and almost elusive. Not too awfully sweet, but not one of those sawdusty healthy specimins either. Just wondering what you hated about them.

Merstar - yep, those are them! Really lemony and good - I love the combination of lemon and blueberry!

Thanks, all! I used a little sugar and chicken stock like you suggested. I changed out the chicken stock a couple of times and it worked fine, but I boiled all the sidemeat flavor out too! So I cut another piece of sidemeat, stuck it in the microwave to get it going and boiled it with the beans for awhile and they tasted fine. Thank you for your help, folks!

I made my green beans like I normally do - salt pork, pepper, a little crushed red pepper, a little hot sauce - boiled like hell for an hour and then simmered for a few more. They are hot as fire. Mr. Kim loves them, but I won't be able to manage them. Is there anyway to reverse the heat? Can I boil them in more plain water (my poor firey pot likker)? Will that help? Or do I just get to have frozen butter beans tonight while Mr. Kim makes mmmmmmmm sounds over the green beans ?