Kim Shook

Thank you all for the wonderful welcome! And for the compliments - hearing I'm a 'hottie' is music to these almost 49 year old ears! Mr. Kim is a treasure. He supports me in (almost) everything I try to achieve (he wouldn't go for chickens or bees when we lived in a more rural area ) and is willing to be my prep partner, dishwasher, editor and photographer this week - not to mention the object of my culinary endeavors at table 1 Chez Shook this week. Good or bad, he still eats it and when I am tired of it (I always make too much and hate leftovers), he takes it all to work and eats it for lunch every day! Sandy, I do love reading. I don't even have a particular genre that I stick to. I am all over the place, but my two favorites are mysteries (of the 'cozy' variety) and culinary and when they merge: BLISS! My favorite mysteries are the Agatha Christie types that take place in small villages - they are always having scones and strawberries and tea sandwiches. I have always been an Anglophile (Ted Fairhead - who posts here is my stepdad and is English - so that helped) and can remember as a kid absolutely craving tea sandwiches and trying to make my own without really knowing what I was doing. We are going to England in 2010 and I want afternoon tea every day ! I have the I Hate to Cook Book somewhere around, but not the second one. Even though I love to cook, I loved her whole casual, cooking is a choice attidude. Because if she could choose NOT to cook, I could choose TO cook. As with a lot of issues, it's all about having a choice - not making one choice better than the other. Being such a throwback, I always felt a little embarrassed by my passion for domestic things - so you can imagine my joy when cooking became cool ! I was suddenly involved in something with cache! Back in college, when I baked my own bread, people thought I was some sort of hippie leftover (of course, being in acting school didn't help with that perception!). It's funny, but my mom, who is a born business woman always felt guilty for working and I always felt guilty for not being a real career woman and giving my daughter a role model! If you come back to Richmond, please let me know - I'd love to meet you and talk! Randi is right - this is my first blog, but I've done a couple of regional reports - NYC and DC. Practice! Chris - I cannot believe that you are here bright and early after your herculian task in your blog last week. I expect to be comatose next Monday morning! Ted - He was probably under my feet and therefore invisible until I tripped. Yes, that dern door is open again. Until I started taking so many pictures in my kitchen, I didn't realize that happened so much! This is what Ted's talking about: Charming, huh? Yep, we have a 'powder room' directly off our kitchen. Yet another thing that I hate about this room . Dr. Teeth - there will definitely be pug pictures. He spends his life in hope in the kitchen, so there will be at least a couple. I might even manage to get an action shot of him eating !

Yes, it’s me – I’m amazed at how quickly I was ‘outed’; I’m awful at guessing! The title is a bit of a misnomer. I am not a housewife, but wish I was. I always say that I was born in the wrong decade. My ultimate dream is to stay home and cook and take care of my home and family. Circumstances haven't allowed that very much in my life, but I still love doing all that stuff! Mr. Kim promises that I can retire in 3 years (but he's been saying that for at least 5 years....hmmm). We live in Richmond, VA with our daughter, Jessica who is back home after graduating from college last spring. The first teaser picture was of our summer house. I kid, I kid - it's the state capitol. I cannot believe that I have to follow Chris. I feel especially grotty and slobby when I look at the pictures of his beautiful, bright, CLEAN kitchen. The things that normally show in my house aren't as clean and tidy as the stuff that normally doesn't in his! Please know that while I am messy and my floor might be questionable, I keep all surfaces and objects clean. I promise. I've decided that my 'angle' for this blog is going to be new stuff. I am an incorrigible recipe/cookbook collector (hence, my second teaser picture). I have them stashed all over my house. Here are some in the island that Ted Fairhead made: In the last picture is also our ‘bar’, some storage and ‘my’ drinks (more anon regarding that). I have a file drawer in the family room full of recipes that I’ve torn out from magazines and printed out from the internet: Here’s a shelf and a half in the living room: Upstairs in our bedroom, I have cookbooks under the TV: and beside the bed: Oh, crap, there’s some more: So for this week (at least for dinners) I will only cook new recipes that I have collected – some from my fellow eGulleteers. If we eat out, it will be at new restaurants I have wanted to try. In my files I have a 'Richmond restaurants to try' file stuffed full of newspaper/magazine articles and print outs of internet suggestions. I'll tell you right now that, except for the weekend, breakfast will be boring. I am not a breakfast fan, so you're going to see a banana and a Special K bar or yogurt most days. I love breakfast food anytime of the day and if I can have it an hour or so after getting up, I do. But that doesn't happen on work days. Lunch is more varied. Sometimes I have leftovers and since I work in a doctor's office, we have drug company reps that sometimes bring us lunch. This week we are supposed to have lunch brought on Monday, but that’s all so far. I only have 30 minutes, so eating out doesn't happen very often. One thing that you should know about me (some already know) is that I had a gastric bypass in 2003. I lost about 100 lbs. My before and afters: Before: After: In the before picture, I am the large flowered object on the left (amazing amounts of self delusion were going on that day), my daughter is in the middle (she also had a gastric bypass and lost even more than I did) and my momma (Ted Fairhead's wife) is on the right. Ideally, I would like to lose another 40 lbs. and I am trying to lose another 20 right now. I am told that if my insurance company would just approve the skin removal, that would be 20 lbs. right there (which just skeeves me right out to even think about - the idea of 20 lbs. of SKIN <shudder>). I would never, ever recommend the operation to anyone else - that is a completely personal decision, but I haven't ever regretted doing it for one minute. I weighed almost 270 lbs. and was getting fatter every day. I had tried every diet in the world and couldn't seem to get a handle on my food intake. I was on diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol meds. Except for cholesterol, all of that is gone now. Because I eat less now, there is a chance that I won’t get all the nutrients in my food, so I take a lot of supplements. Here is my daily dose: from left to right – flaxseed oil, multi-vitamin, calcium, vitamin E, vitamins A&D, low dose aspirin, Nexium and Lipitor. The Nexium is for acid – a common consequence of a little stomach and the Lipitor for cholesterol. My blood chemistry tests are always good now. I walk for exercise and feel good. I am 48 years old (49 in July), so I won’t ever be toned and buff, but I look good for my age and my former weight. Flab is ok - I just cover it up and Mr. Kim is a kind man! I eat so much less now that it is just unimaginable to think about the amounts of food that I used to consume. I can eat most any kind of food that I want - as long as I watch portions. There are only two things that really bother me - I can only eat a bite of steak or rice. Some days my tummy is fine. Other days, nothing seems to 'sit' well. Or something gets stuck in the little exit from my stomach. Bad days (which are not very frequent - once every few weeks) I live on cheese, pretzels and Tic Tacs (they settle my stomach without being overly sweet). I hate my kitchen. Square footage-wise it seems pretty good, but I have terrible cabinet and counter space. The pantry is one of those pantry/laundry room things. The top shelves are almost impossible for me to get stuff down from even with a ladder. Thank goodness Mr. Kim is 6' tall! Ted Fairhead made me the island when we moved into the house: It adds much welcome storage, counter space, an eating place, etc. He does nice work, huh? Since I have such crappy storage space, we have stuff all over the house: Living room closet, attic, even under table skirts. It's insane - I try to keep a list on the computer of what is where, but I still lose stuff. I’ll post those pictures later. Richmond has a pretty active food scene and some very good restaurants. We live out in the 'burbs - Glen Allen if anyone knows the area. My favorite area in Richmond is actually in town - the old neighborhoods known as the Fan, the Museum District and Carytown. You can read about them here. It is where VA Commonwealth University is located and where I lived while I was in college and right after we got married. It has a cool city feeling without being too raw-ly urban - very diverse as far as age, ethnicity and even economics. It was always our intent to move back there after Jessica graduated from high school, but they priced us right out of the market! So I live in suburbia and shop, eat and walk the city when I can. I'll probably get down there during the weekend and both the restaurants that we plan on going to this week are there, too. So here I am - I am so nervous and scared that I will disappoint/bore y'all! Everyone who has ever done a blog, will, I'm sure recognize those fears! If anyone has any questions, please ask! My favorite blogs are the ones that are like conversations! Mr. Kim’s two cents: So, if Mrs. Mike is nervous and scared just writing about her food this week, imagine MY trepidation as I look ahead to trying to keep up with her this week. You should just TRY being the only person in the house WITHOUT a gastric bypass when Kim starts working her kitchen magic. I mean, someone has to eat what she can’t. So I wage a constant battle not to eat myself into a fleshy imitation of a Macy’s balloon. Okay, battle may be too strong a word – I don’t resist Kim’s culinary wiles too vigorously. I am glad to be along for the ride this week, and based on the menu and Kim’s likely portion sizes, I look forward to a new wardrobe by the time she’s through blogging. Do they even MAKE grown up clothes in Size Husky?

Wait, wait!! Aren't you going to post pictures of the finished pork?? I need to see that bbq, Chris - please!

I am just slack jawed with astonishment. I'm just going to go to bed now . Chris, this is so much freaking fun!!

David - that lamb is just lovely - I love lamb, but can't seem to find any with much flavor. Gotta get some from my wonderful butcher lady that I visited today! From Belmont Butchery, I got some of their fantastic house-smoked brisket: Look at the gorgeous red ring ! This is just a great place - they do a lot of charcuterie in house and are involved in the Richmond slow food movement. We then went to our local hippy dippy natural/organic foods grocery and got the makings for the rest of the meal: I made some slaw with savoy cabbage, which I hadn't used before and made some of Marlene's crispy smashed potatoes (our new favorite way of having potatoes). I also got some 'Billy Bread' a great local crusty bread.

David - here is the recipe. It's from Cuisine at Home magazine and the sauce is just amazingly easy and really complex. Next time, I think I'll double it and pour only half on the pork when it goes in the oven and save the rest to pass at the table, there wasn't quite enough for all the pork. Thanks for the kinds words. I, too, love tropical fruit and grill it a lot!

monavano - that Bucheron, Serrano Ham and Date Tart looks amazing. I can get Bucheron and I'll be making that! Thank you!! A couple of nights ago I made asian pork tenderloin (another Cuisine at Home recipe - I am trying to slowly cook through issues to get rid of the magazines that are threatening to smother us ), grilled pineapple (I've been craving this since I saw David use it in a fantastic dessert on the 'Sweets' thread - though, my grill marks aren't as pretty as yours, David ) and stir fried bean sprouts: Tonight Mr. Kim is hosting a poker party and so I am snacking on what I made for them - buffalo chicken dip and crab meltaways (so tacky, but everyone scarfs them up!).

Please can I get some recommendations for hip, very good restaurants for my single, late 40's, hip brother in law with good taste? It's his birthday month and we want to send him a gift card. He likes all kinds of food - quality and someplace fairly cool is what is important. I'd love to earn cool SIL points! Thanks so much!

Chris - this has been a crazy week and I've been stealing minutes from my work days and chores to dive into your blog all week! Thank you so much for blogging. I am so enjoying your narrative and gorgeous photos. Thanks, also for the shots of the outside of the places you are visiting - I am a architecture fan and always love pics of the 'nabe!

Lindsay Ann - Here's the recipe. You do use frozen ravioli (you can use meat or cheese stuffed), but you do all the breading and frying yourself, so they are Semi-homemade, I guess . It's a Cuisine at Home recipe. The pretzels were the grilled cheese ones. They were wonderful! I woke up the other morning thinking of them and wondering if I had time to make one before I had to get to work! Thank goodness for my counter top convection oven !

Dr. J - I love crab rangoon. It gets bad press, but I confess to a deep love of gooey, crabby fried stuff! And yours looks so good! Chris - love the idea of tilapia with grapefruit! Inspired choice and it looks lovely! Sabrosita - your gnudi or gnocchi look terrific - I don't care what they are called ! mizducky - ooooohh, BBQ (cue Homer voice)! I have some in the freezer from my most recent NC run and a gallon of sauce that I preserved in qt. jars - time to do some thawing!!! I haven't been cooking a lot lately, but here are a couple of recent dinners: pot roast soup, made with leftovers from the pot roast that I made a few days ago: It was great, as usual, but I wish I'd seen Pierogi's post about pot roast hash in the Recipes that Rock thread before I made it. I would have so tried that recipe!!! Also - Bean sprout spinach salad (odd name, good salad), pecan chicken casserole, butter beans and Irish freckle bread (another odd name, but good, sweet and dense bread): Oh, and some dessert: chocolate poundcake with Italian meringue buttercream (my first attempt at that) - really good and easy!!

Just beautiful stuff, everyone! Renka - the Strawberry Mousse Cake is just lovely! It's a celebration of spring! AmritaBala - your macarons are just gorgeous! I love the little decorations on them! David - the Toasted Coconut Cake with the grilled pineapple really, really attracts me - one of my favorite flavor combinations! Rob - happy birthday!!! You are just getting better and better with each new creation. I am so impressed and happy for you! Mette - no apologizing! The cupcakes are adorable, as is your sous chef! I love that proud/greedy little smile! I really love the colors and the smoothness of your frosting! What are the little pearl-like decorations on the ones closest to the camera? Are they just dragees? Well, here's my contribution - less along the lines of Renka and them and more along the lines of Mette ('cept I'm not FOUR !!): It's a recipe by Warren Brown of CakeLove. From Cuisine at Home magazine. Chocolate Pound cake w/ Italian Meringue Buttercream. I was very proud of my Italian buttercream - this was my first try and it turned out beautiful. I'll be making this stuff often!

Bruce - your guacamole is beautiful - I am not a purist, it sounds wonderful. A breakfast from last weekend - just scrambled eggs, sausage, and store bought brioche and croissant, but it was good! I don't know why my bacon and sausage always look burnt! They aren't, but sure look like charcoal, huh?

Lots of wonderful looking lunches, folks! I am so jealous - I work in a dr's office and have only 1/2 hour. We have drug reps who bring lunch in, which is really nice, but it tends to be chain restaurant fare - lots of Olive Garden pasta and faux deli sandwiches ! Here's a lunch from back on Saturday, the 5th that I made. St. Louis Toasted Ravioli w/ roasted tomato sauce, Cheese stuffed pretzels and Salad:

Chefs Blais and Dale seem to have the most talent and imagination, but I prefer Blais' businesslike, get it done attitude. It's like he's so into thinking about the food that he doesn't even register the posturing and drama of the others. I wish they would show more cooking/prep work and less personal interaction. I get bored and start to read my book when they go into personalities. I guess I am a drone !

Ok - beautiful biscuits, of course. I would expect no less ! But that lovely, pillowy mac n cheese!! So good. I would like some of that right now instead of the deli sandwiches that were just delivered! The little Wicked Witch of the West melting bunnies made me laugh. We do a marshmallow topped bourbon/sweet potato casserole at Christmas and have the same melty little green trees and red bells (?), but I like the pastels better! Your table is beautiful and I love all your glassware - I have the same deviled egg plate! Thank you, again! Yours is the house that I want to spend Sunday afternoons at! Or the one I am trying to emulate on those Sundays!

Since cold weather and cold weather cooking are my favorites, I was enjoying the last couple of unseasonably cold days that we've had here. Dinner was pot roast, noodles, southern green beans and some sweet potato yeast rolls:

Lovely, my friend! I was just in the midst of an email to you and decided to check w/ eG and found this wonderful celebration. Thank you for inviting us, Rachel. You are a more hospitable virtual hostess than some actual hostesses manage! More anon!

Ann - your biscuits and gravy looks perfect - I just finished breakfast and now I want that!! And the biscuits in the next post are just incredible - so high and light looking - I wish this Southern girl's biscuits looked that good! Percyn - that syrup sounds really intriguing! Can you describe the flavor? This morning we had crumpets and bacon w/ fried eggs. The crumpets were a Jamie Oliver recipe - you do them like French toast - really good:

Bruce - the stir fried shrimp sounds wonderful! Percyn - your wings and pork both look delicious! I will be trying the wings sometime - we love the sweet stickiness of hoisin Tracey - I am very impressed with your hubby's meal! I'd love that recipe, too! Dr J - crab, pear and ricotta?? That sounds inspired! Not only would it work on pasta, but, thickened up, would make a great spread on crackers or cocktail bread. This is what we've been eating for breakfast, lunch and snacks this week: So you can imaging our joy when our daughter served us this last night: salad, chicken enchiladas and refried beans - mmmmm!

I just got the mango splitter and that thing is amazing. I am not a huge gadget fan - I would usually rather use my knife, but mangos are a PITA. I needed to peel and split 2 mangos for a grilled fruit salsa. First, I peeled them with my ceramic Y peeler (another amazing product, but not Oxo) and then split them with splitter - one move and they were lying there, neatly split in half. I will be eating mangos much more often now.

Here you go!

The salsa was fantastic! It goes perfectly with the ham. The recipe calls for a jalapeno, which I blackened on the grill to make milder. Everyone loved it and we are looking for ways of using it up, since the recipe made so much! Here is the recipe.

Doddie - I got it at Target. And if I thought they had anymore, I'd run right up and get you one and put it in the mail! But I'm pretty sure that I got the last one ! I loved it, too. What you can't see until some of the eggs are eaten is that every depression has a different decorated egg design in it! So cute!

They are both in the appetizer section. The cheese dip is listed as "Marlene's Warm Cheese Dip" and the shrimp mold is "Momma's Shrimp Mold"!