Kim Shook

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

We need a happy dance smiley!! I am doing it right here in my chair in Richmond, VA wishing I was in France!!! This is like a novel you wish would never, ever end! Thank you so much, ladies for your generosity! Kim

Conor - I don't know a lot about NY, but took a great trip there this spring with a lot of help from eGulleteers. Here is my report. We truly loved Degustation. Have a great trip and don't forget to report back, please. I could use a vicarious vacation ! Kim

I don't care for Nonesuch, but Robertsons is very good. Kim

Ellen, thank you so much for sharing your dad with us. I think I can see him! Here I am at my desk at 8am, quietly dabbing away the tears and hoping that no one notices because how can I explain that I'm crying over a story on a food site ? Your story touched me, as it obviously did others. I have realized for a long time that food is so much more than sustinance, but your wonderful words brought that home again in a very powerful way. Thank you, again! Kim

Are we talking about frozen fries that you bake or fry in oil, because, to me those are two different subjects. Baked fries are generally very nasty, I think. Off flavors, textures, very dry, etc. The Alexia fries are the only baked ones that I've ever tasted that I'd make and eat again. On the other hand, I actually quite like the frozen fries that I pan fry. I don't want anything fancy on them - no seasoning and certainly no coating. I usually by just the standard ones - not steak fries or shoestrings, but something in between (of course every so often, I succumb to the siren song of the trashy crinkle cut ) - Giant grocery stores used to sell a house brand basic and cheap frozen fry that was wonderful - don't know if they still do. Lots of salt and some vinegar or ketchup from a squirty bottle and I am happy. Kim

Last night was our annual fondue/tree decorating dinner. We started with beef fondue (tenderloin) with bearnaise, horseradish cream, curry sauce, Bobby Flay's sherry vinegar steak sauce & crudites and dip (Seven Seas Green Goddess - very traditional for this meal in Mr. Kim's family ) and crusty rolls. Dessert was chocolate fondue (I experimented this year and did Tolblerone - amazingly good!) with pound cake, angel food cake, macaroons, bananas, maraschino cherries, dried fruit and blackened marshmallows . Kim

This is just the best idea ever! Thank you so much for doing this. Early Christmas, indeed. How I wish that blogs were available verbally somehow. I listen to books on tape while I do my cooking, decorating, etc. This would be a great narrative for those chores! Kim

I have barely cooked meals this month (too busy cooking for the Christmas freezer ), but evidently I am the only one! Y'all have been cooking up a storm. I am going to start serving Mr. Kim his take out in front of this thread - maybe it will fool him ! Miz Ducky - those short ribs inspired me! They are just perfect for Dec/Jan meals! Bruce - that cabbage looked lucious. Funny, I really don't like cooked cabbage - but last week Klary made some that I drooled over, too. Guess I'll have to try it again! AlexNoir - I gotta try that 'Kit Kat' - gorgeous Marlene - that gravy shot was for me, too! I could eat gravy like soup! And I want that souffle! Prawncrackers - that 'Spanish' meal was really wonderful. I wanted to pull up a chair! No pictures, the camera is definitely dead and the company that I ordered my new one from may be giving me the run around , but tonight's dinner was a pretty good, if a bit of a cheat casserole. I marinated and grilled some boneless chicken breasts (I know, I know, but they were quick and I came home from the store at 7:30), topped them with some frozen artichoke and spinach dip and cheese and baked for a few minutes. Served with orzo, a salad and some heat-and-serve la brea bread. The family raved . Kim

Reading over all of these hilarious posts, I think that everyone just needs to assume that if there are animals are in a house you are eating at, animal mouths have touched what you are eating. I know that I have consumed to-numerous-to-count cat/dog hairs and cooties! Kim

Thank you, ladies! I think filet it is - we'll see whats available at Costco this morning! This is a really great tradition started by my MIL to make decorating the tree even more fun. We start with beef fondue with a bunch of different sauces (this year I'm doing curry, horseradish, bearnaise, steak sauce, & chimichuri), crudites and dips and good, crusty bread. Dessert is chocolate fondue with lots of dippers - macaroons, pound cake, dried fruit, etc. I'm doing Toblerone fondue for the first time tomorrow. Ta, again! Kim

Getting ready for the decorate-the-tree fondue feast on Sunday. We have done this for years, using NY Strips or whatever lean steaks were available. What is the best cut to use for fondue? Oh, and should I marinate? Ta! Kim

Rachel, I wish I was one of the children who is going to get your book. I can’t imagine anything dearer. They will treasure that the rest of their lives. Congratulations for getting it done – especially this time of year! Fantastic stories. I am laughing like a manic. Pebs, I loved the picture of Daisy carrying her bowl to the basement! And the Massengil story had me howling! suzilightning, we used to have a cat who did the corncob thing with salted watermelon rind! I love the bread eating cats, too. Why do they do that? When I was a kid, we had one that would just chew through the plastic bag! And the butter lickers – only other cat people understand why the butter plate has plastic wrap over it when they come for dinner. I can think of three stories, off hand. The first was my first ever entirely self cooked Thanksgiving dinner. I was in college and my mom, step dad (Ted Fairhead, here at eGullet), his mum and my dad came down for the dinner. That morning, I had set the turkey on the counter in its roasting pan to get ready to stuff. Got called away for some reason. I heard this incredible metallic thud/boom in the kitchen. On the way back into the kitchen, I was passed by our two cats zooming out. The turkey was on the floor. There were little tooth marks down both breasts . It wasn’t really a disaster because I washed that sucker and cooked it. WHAT? It was Thanksgiving, every grocery store was closed. What was I supposed to serve, 7-11 burritos? I had a guest all the way from England, for Pete’s sake! Erm. I did tell you that story already, right, Ted? I washed it really, really well. And probably overcooked it, too. The second story really was a disaster and involves my dearly departed ET, the cat who wandered in to our lives from planet Nutjob. ET could open any refrigerator that wasn’t a side-by-side with his mighty paw. We learned to keep something in front of the fridge or keep a bungee cord on it (seriously, we did this – for years, he lived a long time). He would pop open the fridge, then presumably jump up inside and knock out anything that looked interesting. Then he and the other two cats would feast. I have hilarious pictures of one memorable occasion when my then one year old baby got involved while I went for a private bathroom break for (I swear) like 5 minutes. The disaster story took place when we lived in Indiana. Daughter and I came back to VA for a visit, leaving Mr. Kim to work, cat sit and do his shift on the volunteer rescue squad. I had given him precise directions on preparing a clay cooker roasted chicken, which he did. This large chicken, in various forms was going to be his meals for the week. Just as he was taking the aromatic pot out of the oven, his alarm went off. No dummy he, he put the pot in the fridge. Being in a huge rush to get to the fire station, he, however, forgot the bungee cord. He came home to find the pot on the floor, NO chicken and two very blissed out fatcats. He also found chicken bones strewn about the house for the next week. He ate a lot of canned soup that week. ET would eat anything, as a matter of fact he would eat all of anything and then yak it up. One time he knocked a pyrex dish of brownies off the counter and cut and broke his leg. While we were racing hysterically around getting ready to take him to the vet ER, Otis the Pug (a sweet, but not smart breed, the pug) ate up all the brownies, including some glass. That was our first time taking two animals to the vet ER at the same time. Kim

I watch a lot of cooking shows and read a lot of food magazines and sometimes the 'hints' that they give are just dumb or don't make sense. The one that I notice all the time is when they are using a food processor and suggest putting your finger in the bottom to hold in the blade when emptying the bowl. This is just dumb. Its fine if what you have processed is liquid and will actually pour out, but anything any thicker makes no sense. The blade is still in the way, if you use a silicone spatula you'll cut it up. And you can't get everything out! Any other dumb chef tricks to add? Kim

I have a couple of different systems, too. Recipes that I want to try go in one of two different places. If I want to try them soon, they go in a pocket file on a shelf in the kitchen with my cookbook collection. These are not arranged any special way, because there aren't that many of them. If they are something I just want to try sometime, they go in files in my file cabinet, arranged by type (fish, poultry, veg, etc.). For recipes I have cooked and want to keep (sometimes because I liked them, sometimes because I think I could work on them and make something of them) I use this site. I'm sure that there are lots of sites like this, but this was the first one I found, it's free and I like it. I have printed out each recipe and keep them in page protectors in binders. I also keep a kitchen/restaurant/entertaining journal with menus of meals that we served and what worked and what didn't. The recipe keeping is all business, the journal is a labor of love. Kim

As a matter of fact, I have the kitchen reserved tonight for making the turkey gravy to put in the freezer for Christmas. I roasted the wings and made the stock on Sunday and Mr. Kim hauled the giant cast iron stock pot down from the attic last night. It should take about 4 hours. I will play a Mitford book on tape and wrap presents in between stirrings while it cooks on low, low, low! I have to buy a tree and box up gifts for the post office, so I'll be up late! But my house will smell so good. Kim

I have hand 'issues' - weakness, numbness, pain, etc. and I know that some fellow eGulleteers do also. Opening jars is really hard for me. I have one of these, and it works really well, but only on jars that thin 'lips'. Things with fatter or deeper lids don't work at all. Question is do any of the other ones work? The motorized one seems like a lot of counter space to give to something like that. I was hoping to find that one of the handhelds work as well. I really have a hard time with the jars - sometimes I just have to give up and not cook what I was planning on when I am home alone. Ta, Kim

I am only talking poultry gravy here. I still look with longing and envy at Marlene's beef gravy . That said, I learned to make gravy before I left for college - don't remember exactly when. I learned how to make GOOD gravy after I got married about 25 years ago - from my MIL. I had the whole equal parts fat and flour + stock down, but somehow it never worked for me. She taught me to use an iron skillet and to take my time and suddenly, I was making good gravy. Then about 15 years ago, after I started getting really serious about cooking, I taught myself (with lots of recipe reading influence) how to make very, very good gravy. Most people who taste it say that it is the best gravy they ever tasted:blush: . I am very humble about my abilities - when I see what others accomplish, I realize that I am a pretty good home cook, nothing spectacular. But I make seriously fabulous gravy . I don't trust it, though. I am convinced everytime that it won't 'work' this time. Does anyone else have this issue? Kim

Thanks so much, everyone! I'll be making these tonight for the Christmas freezer! Kim

Say I want to make a regular cooky chocolate. Can I just add some cocoa to the flour mixture? I was thinking it might add an interesting layer of flavor to chocolate chip cookies, but didn't want to go all the way to full fledged chocolate chocolate chip with melted chocolate. If I can do this, do I need to make any adjustments to the amount of other stuff. And how much should I add to a cooky made with, say, 2 c. flour? Ta! Kim

I haven't had time to post for awhile, so I have a jabillion observations and questions! Tracey - I your stove! Peter - loved the salmon. I have a bunch of cryovaced (much nicer word for it than we use - we call it sucked) salmon that in laws brought back from their Alaska cruise that I will be cooking after the holidays. I will remember the teriyaki idea! The smelt looked perfect. I haven't ever found good smelt here in Richmond - I love it and used to Marlene - oh. that. cake. And, as always, the queen of roast and gravy! Your Yorkshire pud looks perfect - did you have directions/recipe posted anywhere here - I thought I remembered that you did? Also, just so you know, the gravy shot of that prime rib meal made my head hit my desk - I swooned! One more thing, "bacon, carmelized onion and gruyere tart?" is there a recipe somewhere? David - I received the book and it is great. Lots of interesting stuff to read, plus recipes I want to try - thanks for recommending it! And the frisee salad was lovely. I made a note of your description and am going to try that! Bruce - the crust on your Pollo con oregano is beautiful! I will have to try that method: simmer, rub, grill! Klary - wild boar! I don't even know where to start to look for that, but it sure looks good! Even the cabbage looks wonderful...but, but I don't like cabbage ! monavano - ok, your cabbage looked good to me, too. Maybe I need to try cabbage again, huh? Pille - I have always wanted to try making Arancini - how hard is it? I have a number of meals to post, since I have been neglecting it, but these might be the last for awhile - my camera refuses to open suddenly and needs to go to the ER this weekend . Halloumi cheese, pita, hummous, salad: My mom and dad (Ted Fairhead from these boards) came up to celebrate Thanksgiving with us. They arrived on Wednesday and I made ribs, winter corn, cheesy noodles, brocolli slaw & corn bread: Dessert was Gingerbread cupcakes w/ orange cream cheese frosting: Next up was Thanksgiving dinner. Ted made the fantastic meal. I contributed the cheese plate that we munched on while everything was cooking. The cheeses included L’explorateur, Layered Cheddar and Stilton, Boursin, Carr Valley 6 yr.cheddar & Manchego & Mebrillo: Dinner was Roast Beef w. port wine sauce: Roast potatoes: Roasted Brussels spouts with Dijon, walnuts and crisp crumbs: Momma's wonderful Yorkshire pudding (she sometimes has difficulties with them and they were great this time): Pecan Chocolate Tart: Just a fantastic meal: Ted also worked all day Saturday making us dinner while we were in Charlottesville yelling our lungs out (go 'Hoos) and ultimately being disappointed and defeated . It was lovely to come home from a sad day in a cold stadium to this: A warm, comforting and delicious Steak pudding. and this: Spotted Dick. With Golden Syrup. MMMMM Sunday night was Baby Bleu salad, Italian pot roast, wide egg noodles, Southern green beans and yeast rolls: I'm sorry for the massive post, y'all! I probably won't be posting pictures for awhile, so I guess this could be considered 'banking' them ! Kim

Just gorgeous, everyone! I am sitting here at work, sans breakfast and starving! Utter torture! Viva & apronstrings - I am stunned by your menus! Viva, how did it all come off and did you take any pictures? apronstrings, your desserts looked fantastic! Was the 7th photo the dutch almond cookies? Would you be willing to part with the recipe? dystopiandreamgirl - your desserts were just beautiful. I can make a pretty good tasting dessert, but beautiful is just beyond my reach. I especially loved the little mince tarts! My mom and dad (Ted Fairhead here at eGullet) came up for the holiday and Ted made a gorgeous and delicious Pecan Chocolate Tart: Kim