Kim Shook

I'll be glad to post the recipe - I'll put it on RecipeGullet tonight - I have to play with it a little bit to make it 'legal'. It really is good. Mr. Kim and I decidedly do not like stewed tomatoes, which is what we thought they were when my MIL served them a few years ago. We took a 'polite portion'. When we tasted them, we were floored - they were so good. I've since made other converts. They are Southern vegetable sweet, though! Kim

Yes, the skillets, Sandy! They are gorgeous and look perfectly seasoned! You cook the 'big breakfast' like I do - all iron skillets, except for the eggs! Thank you all for a beautiful blog - I always think that no one can possibly be as good as the last one - and every single blog, y'all's definitely included exceeds my expectations! Wonderful, job! Kim

Well, apparently I am the only one at eGullet who is continuing to rest on their holiday cooking laurels! Some beautiful and delicious looking food, y'all! dockhl - that prime rib was beautiful and perfectly cooked! Shelby - I love pickle roll ups! They excite me a lot! Matter of fact, that whole meal would bring me running to the table! And I have got to try monkfish! We get it all the time at the store, so there's no excuse. How did you cook it? Do you think you could do the Keller butter poaching with it? Shelby & Marlene - loved the juicy, perfectly cooked pork! tracey - crab salad...lobster....cue Homer..."MMMMMMMMMMM" percyn - gorgeous pots. I truly believe that my le cruset pots make me a better cook! The soup looks fantastic! Love all the floating speckles of seasoning! Bruce - your butt is gorgeous ! You should be proud of yourself! David - your lamb is just perfectly cooked both times! That is how I always hope it will look like on the inside. Do you know what temp you cooked it to? And the stuffed chicken breast is lovely, too! HappyLab - your scallops are perfect! How did you get such a great crust on them? I have a ton of them to cook soon and was hoping to get them to look like that! purplewiz - is that hot and sour soup recipe available anywhere? We love it and I haven't ever found a recipe that we like. Prawncrackers - we just got in from a bar where we stuffed ourselves with fried bar food while we watched football and your photo of the stilton smothered steak still caught Mr. Kim's eye! Well, thanks to chrisamirault, I know how to post images finally, so I'll get caught up. Starting with Christmas Eve dinner for 40- Turkey and Ham: Sweet Potatoes: I am not apologizing for these, either. They are the only ones I like, I have tried other recipes and they all end up tasting like.....sweet potatoes ! Oyster Dressing: I was pretty pleased with this. It was the first time that I tried making oyster dressing instead of stuffing and this was really good! Yogurt Cucumbers, Cranberry Sauce and Fruit Salad: Some gorgeous sourdough that my sister sent for Christmas: My famous gravy (it really is good): White Cheddar/Sour cream potatoes: They look ugly, but they were actually the thing that people complemented most often that night. Desserts are on this thread. New Year's Day Dinner - Ribs, collards, cornbread, scalloped tomatoes, black eyed peas More later - I have a couple of regular meals to post, too! Kim

Well, like Sandy says shopping is it's own reward. That said, I never seem to come home without some new thing. Yesterday I was shopping sick - some upper respiratory thing. Achy, grumpy - just wanted to be home, but also wanted to finish shopping. So I treated myself to a Godiva smooth coconut cream truffle and a strawberry cheesecake chocolate covered thing. Well, my blood sugar was dropping and I was shaky and I needed something. Look, folks I am a diabetic - controlled by diet. I don't want to hear it ! Kim

monavano - you make me want to try scrapple. You know, I grew up in Alexandria and never, ever saw scrapple. Do you think I was just not eating at the the right places or is it a 'newcomer' due to carpetbaggers ? Prawncrackers - OMG - that fryup was spectacular! We are tentatively planning a Spring 2009 trip to England and that is something that is going on my 'find the best place for' list! (looks like the best place may well be your house ) kellytree - those bagels are a work of art! percyn - that was a fantastic looking brunch! How do you do hollandaise for a crowd and have it not fall apart on you. I admit that I cheat and use the mix or just do an easy cheese sauce. demiglace - Scotch chips - what a concept! Did you invent these? Malkavian - gorgeous breakfast! That steak looks wonderful! I have just been able to figure out how to post images from my new camera (thanks, chrisamirault!!), so I'll post a few: Sunny Simmons Steincamp's Breakfast Platter Muffins - bad picture (this photo was from my old non-digital camera before I got my new one), but these were wonderful! Eggs Benedict w/ cornbread, Nueske's bacon, poached eggs and bearnaise. I'll also include our Christmas morning breakfast buffet: Really good bagels that were brought up by my mom and Ted Fairhead from NC. It's amazing, but they get better bagels in their little NC town than I can get here in Richmond! My MIL's beatiful annual candy cane coffee cake! mini quiches and sausage rolls My silly, but traditional Pillsbury canned orange danish Christmas tree ! Kim

Santa (and friends and family) was very generous this year! Everyone knows that kitchen stuff is my favorite gift and so I got: A cookbook holder, a ton of cupcake baking cups, pastel mise cups, mini trifle bowls and 2 pitchers: A panini press, pink melamine mixing bowls, spatulas, a Digital scale , silicone cupcake baking cups and a citrus reamer: A pressure cooker, the Southern Living 2007 Annual Cookbook, the Time-Life Candy cookbook (recommended by lots of eGulleteers), Cupcakes Galore, AB's No Reservations, the New England Soup Factory Cookbook and My Last Supper: My funny gifts include these: That's a 'cutting board' received free with purchase with the SL book ! Other funnies: Pocky, my adored Drake's snack cakes and Mr. Kim's sly poking fun at my new organic phase! I also got a set of Magnum salt and pepper grinders and assorted edible goodies - English candy , cookies, homemade stuff! It was a good Christmas! Kim

Some gorgeous stuff, y'all! I am totally humbled. Now that I finally have a working camera and have figured out how to re-size my images so that I can post them here(thanks, Chris), I thought I'd just use this thread to post all of the stuff that I made for the holidays: Iced Almonds - amazingly easy and really, really good - I added hot sauce to one of the batches and topped with coarsely ground sea salt: The dessert spread on Christmas Eve: Calipoutine's Magic Brownies: Oatmeal Raisinettes and Chocolate Chocolate Chips: Lemon Chess Tarts & Mince Tarts (Ted Fairhead made the mince tarts): Three kinds of fudge: Peanut Butter Cookies & Pecan Turtles: Sugar Cookies: Candied Pecans: I still have some of most of this in the freezer! Items are going every day to work with us to be finished up by someone else ! Kim

In Arlington, Va there was a "Dong Market". Then they expanded into the store next door and the new sign read: "Big Dong Market". No kidding. Ted Fairhead can confirm! Kim

Wait!! You have a choice of how the eggs are made???? Does anyone else get a choice where they live? We sure don't in Richmond! I think I'm glad, though. If I could get runny egg yolks on my Egg McMuffins, I'd have one every morning ! Kim

suzilightning! That Ruby Chicken brought back some memories. I have been making that dish for years! It was from an old Family Circle magazine special recipe issue - I think that it was originally my mom's book! It is one of those recipes that makes a double portion and you can freeze it and cook it from frozen, so I make it for welcome to the neighborhood and welcome new baby meals to this day. It was so cool to see someone else making it! Do you remember where you got the recipe? Kim ← kim- i've been making this for at least 20 years. a coworker described the basic recipe to me and i've tweaked it over the years to include the fresh zest, lessen the sugar, or replace the sugar and spices with Toast Dope. Please, please check the recipe that i entered in RecipeGullet and see if i've violated(inadvertantly) the copyright agreement. what book was your mom's recipe in? can you post it or a link? ←

suzilightning! That Ruby Chicken brought back some memories. I have been making that dish for years! It was from an old Family Circle magazine special recipe issue - I think that it was originally my mom's book! It is one of those recipes that makes a double portion and you can freeze it and cook it from frozen, so I make it for welcome to the neighborhood and welcome new baby meals to this day. It was so cool to see someone else making it! Do you remember where you got the recipe? Kim

I am thrilled! Three of my favorites, as Rachel noted. Sandy's posts are always among the most interesting and educational (in a good way!) on eGullet, I love Randi's feeding the multitudes thread (I vacilate between wanting to come up and cook with you and gasping in horror at the lack of appreciation you get from some of those folks) and I always want to join MizD on her exotic (to me) restaurant visits so she can show another white girl how to eat like that ! The weight loss issue is one I will be watching, too! I had a gastric bypass and lost about 100 lbs. and need to lose an additional 30 and it won't budge. I'm hoping for some inspiration! Looking forward to this week, y'all! Kim

We have a hodge-podge of a trip to DC coming up the weekend of February 9th. Friday night we are hoping to meet up with friends from the area (I am a native, living in Richmond now). These friends are very food friendly and will most likely be working that day. These are old high school friends that we haven't seen in awhile, so talk (and consequently hearing one another) is important. I'd love your opinions. My ideas (after scouring the boards) are: Zaytinya (leaning towards this) Jaleo Zola Cashions Eat Place Montsouris Lunch on Saturday is going to be at Mario's in Arlington - no decisions there ! We are going to a concert (Manilow - Mr. Kim's choice ) at the Verizon center at 8pm Saturday night with friends who are driving up that day to meet us. They are different from the other friends. She eats lots of things, he only eats very plain food, but is happy if there is a plain steak on the menu. They don't like to pay a lot, but as long as mains aren't in the $30 range, we should be ok. The only place nearby that seemed good was Matchbox - other ideas are welcome! AND - if the concert is at 8, what time should I make dinner reservations for? I'd also like to find a place nearby - or on the way back to Crystal City via Metro for fun after concert drinks/snacks. I was thinking of Trio's for breakfast Sunday if they are open and then a wander around the Dupont Circle Farmer's market (or maybe Eastern Market) before we have to head back to Richmond. Lunch may be in Old Town - is there a good fish and chips place anymore (that also serves other stuff - unfishy stuff )? Or maybe Southside 815 - we liked that pretty well and our friends would like it a lot. I know this is a mishmash, but having the second set of friends to consider is putting a monkey wrench in the works. This is also a sort of anniversary celebration for Mr. Kim & me (Manilow is for him and the food is for me ) so I don't want to just do the chains that the second set of friends would be satisfied with. Enough of my novel...thanks, y'all! Kim

kbjesq - thanks so much for directing me there. That sounds and looks wonderful! I'll be trying that soon. BTW, is that the craziest recipe writing method ever? It will take longer to decipher the recipe than to cook it ! Thanks again, Kim

I completely understand why mac and cheese is #1. You can serve it at any dinner except the most fancy (it is a traditional holiday side for many Southern and African American families) and I have yet to find exactly the recipe that I want. I try new ones all the time and have for 30 years and still don't get what I really want. Nothing fancy - funky, interesting cheeses are fantastic, but NOT what I want in my mac and cheese. Creamy, moist, deeply cheesy. I have actually tried the Paula Deen recipe and that's not it, either ! It is an interesting list - many of the dishes are what I actually make and sometimes hesitate to post about on eGullet ! Kim

Yep, Bugles are bad for us. We love them. This happens so much to me ! This is why I love snack sized bags. Crap. It's raining here and I am about to get up and go out in search of one. Thanks a lot, everyone ! Kim

Eeek, mizducky! I think I've just found another contribution to the thread about words/phrases that should never be used regarding food! Kim

This is the recipe I was given by a friend years ago when I was doing a really severe low fat diet. They are called 'Feather Pancakes' and turn out very light, high and sweet. They are still my 'go to' pancake because when you add a teaspoon of vanilla, they taste like an airy white cake, which is just what I like in pancakes: 1 c. flour 2 T. baking powder 2 T. sugar 1/2 t. salt 2 eggs, beaten 1 c. milk 1 T. vegetable oil you mix the dry then the wet, then put them together. I really like using an electric griddle, which I either wipe with an oiled paper towel or use an oil spray. When I eat pancakes I only use syrup (real maple, if possible - but if not available, I don't turn my nose up at Mrs. Butterworth's or Karo) - no butter. I think that butter is wasted when you use it with syrup and just adds untasted calories. This sounds like a perfect post-holiday easy dinner. Dinner in pajamas in front of an old movie. At about 5:30 with bedtime by 9. MMMMM. Just what I need! Kim

I love it when you post addendum to the blogs, Sandy. Its always interesting and new information and it really adds a lot to my enjoyment of them! Verjuice - this is just so much fun - I can't believe you are blogging over Christmas. I can not imaging being able to do that! You are my hero. I, too, would vote for some recipes, food and photos of 'home'! Also, what is "off the grid"? Thanks, Kim

I was up until 4am baking decorated sugar cookies (and back up to go to work at 7) . They were the most boring ones I have ever made! I just scattered the sugar around. I think that Santa was red and Frosty was white, but I can't make any promises ! If the freakin' USPS would bring my new camera , I could show you how crazy they are! zzzzzzzzzKim

I feel dumb. When I read the thread title I didn't think "shooter/gun", I thought "shooter/drink" like Jello shooters. . Actually, I find myself a bit disappointed ! Kim

The one that I grew up with is "tuna fish", as in, would you like extra Miracle Whip on your Tuna Fish sandwhich?" There are no know beasts such as Tuna Fowl, or Tuna Moose, (there is a bad pun in there though) or Tuna Mammal. It's a tuna, full stop. Now on the other hand I can see calling canned tuna "tuna fish" and a beautiful rare hunk of ruby fish "Tuna". ← That's exactly how I use 'tuna fish'. I only ever call the canned stuff 'tuna fish'. The whole stuff is 'tuna'. Shorthand, I guess. Plus, that's what I grew up calling it. Maybe it's regional? Anyone know? Kim

David, that looks wonderful. I love seeing all kinds of food - fancy and 'un'! Makes this place decidedly less intimidating for us totally unfancy cooks when a cook of your caliber makes comfort food! I sure wish I had that waiting at home for me tonight! I haven't cooked a real meal since our tree trimming fondue meal on Sunday and I probably won't cook another one until the weekend before Christmas! Kim

Speaking of potato salad, I have a wonderful recipe for Potato and Green Bean Salad from Cuisine at Home magazine that was wonderful. Kim

Lots of us here have had very good luck with Tony Bourdain's Gratin Dauphinois. and Jacques Pepin's Gnocchi Parisienne. Kim