Kim Shook

Here are the shopping lists that begin to haunt me this time of the year: Christmas Goodies Christmas Eve Christmas Morning These are the bare bones lists for our Christmas food celebrations. We host a Christmas Eve dinner for friends/family every year (we have done this with only a few misses for 25 years). Most years now it involves 50 -/+ people. You can see why it haunts me just now! I love doing it, but it is daunting! Oh, well, I'll get to it just as soon as I finish frosting my Halloween cupcakes ! Kim

Marlene - those biscuits have this Southerner full of envy! I wish mine looked like that! yunnermeier - are those little things in the back potatoes? It all looks so crunchy and good. Bruce - as usual, that fried rice looks absolutely delicious. And where are you getting such gorgeous tomatoes? I have started the annual clean out the pantry and freezer meals in anticipation of the holidays. It makes for some weird meals ! Last night was: Egg rolls from the freezer that I made awhile ago. I have a bagful, so they will probably be our appetizer for a few days. I am still trying to use up and disguise that boring chicken and potatoes dish from the other day. Last night I used the chicken in a casserole with gravy and cornbread dressing, served with those potatoes (I added cream and butter - pretty good), Southern green beans and some Sister Shubert yeast rolls from the freezer: Kim

I second (third?) poundcake and gingerbread. Also, shortbread. These cookies are similar to shortbread, but very, very simple. They are our favorite family cookies and every single time I have ever served them, people are bowled over and can't believe that they are as easy as I say. Kim

I have a really great microwave recipe for Caramel Corn that uses a paper grocery bag. Think he'd like that?

Doodad - thanks for the report! I have marked that recipe to make soon! Percyn - gorgeous meatballs. Now, I have a craving! Tonight's dinner was much, much better. I started with this: That's bacon from Benton's in Tennessee. Fantastic stuff! Then these heirloom tomatoes: Finally dinner: BLT's with corn and skillet potatoes. The potatoes are those blah ones from the other night that I rescued by mashing them up with lots of salt and pepper and fried up in the bacon grease from the Benton's. Much, much better results! Oh, and another slice of this for dessert: Kim

Not just her baking times. I have had lots of trouble with timing of things with many of her recipes. I tried some meringues recently that called for beating them for something like 20 minutes - I ended up with a very odd texture. The baking/sitting timing was really off, too. Kim

Prawncrackers - gorgeous chop! I would have loved that whole meal! Doodad - would love a report on the pallet du porc. Sound very good! Doddie - Your cinnamon rolls are beautiful. I love 'Ree' - I read the blog every day - I think I found it through you, actually! I will be trying these! Ce'nedra - I, too, thought the prawns looked luscious. Thanks for posting directions! Well, I guess it is only honest to post failures as well as successes. This was a failure: It was a slow cooker recipe for chicken thighs, potatoes & leeks. And it was as dull as it looks. Incredibly bland and boring. I am sorry for the picture quality, but I took the picture after I tasted and I think my dissapointment colored my photo . I am going to bone the mountain of thighs left today to make a good old comforting chicken and dressing casserole. Even the brocolli was bitter and stinky. Kim

You don't like your house smelling like bacon???? If Yankee Candle made a bacon candle, we would have one in every room ! Kim

I am enjoying this so much - I envy your job, your travel and your home country! I am a devout Anglophile - don't know if I'll ever be able to afford to visit, but England is on top of my travel wishlist. I would also love photos of a pub and any other pictures you might like to post from home ! Kim

Thanks! Looking at the recipe, did you find it too sweet at all? I'm wondering if I should cut down on the sugar in the pie--maybe 1/4 cup instead of 1/2 cup. Normally, I'd think it would be OK, but the sugar in the streusel topping plus in the chocolate-covered toffee bars might put it over the top for me. ← It might be too sweet for you. I have a very immature sweet tooth - it developed backwards for me - as a kid, I was not a candy fiend, preferring salty snacks above all others. As a middle aged person, I've discovered a strong urge for sweet stuff in myself. Odd, no? I would cut back on the sugar for yourself, seeing as how you seem to be normal (unlike me ). Also, I usually just use the broken toffee bits, not the chocolate covered bars. Kim

And where's the recipe for that pie?????? That's a fine looking pie, and I really need some!! ← Ditto. Recipe please! I just stocked up on apples at the local apple festival and need to make a pie. Thank you! ← Here you go: clickety! Kim

tracey - I would give my next vacation for that 'shore dinner'! Jamie Lee - I thought your pancakes were lovely. Tasty looking, too! And I was also mesmerized by the short ribs on the magazine cover! I'm glad that it worked so well. David - I am so glad that you posted the directions for that gorgeous Apple, Pear and Parsnip Salad. It is just beautiful and sounds perfect to go with pork (which I am craving daily now that fall weather is almost here). A couple of nights ago we had Pan Roasted Pork Chops w/ Creamy Gorgonzola Polenta and broccoli (the sauce on the pork chops is a nice little pan sauce made with a purchased Caramelized red onion and Fig savory topping): Tonight was crabmeat au gratin, (that same) polenta - pan fried, baked chili beans and sauteed summer squash and onions: Hmmm. Plate was a little bland looking, huh? Kim

Tri2Cook - that glaze is awesome! So shiny and.....glazey ! Mark - that lemon cake looks so good! Is the frosting whipped cream or what? And the red velvet is beautiful. Howja do the little hearts? lexy - I, too, love banana bread and can find all reasons to make it. I secretly love it when the bananas in the bowl are overripe and I can throw them in the freezer for banana bread! I always add chocolate chips to mine, but next time I will use chocolate chunks and top with cinnamon sugar! Thanks! Hosinmigs - I'm with you. I am so envious of the skill that so many here at egullet show in photography. I think that I am going to have to bite the bullet and invest in an SLR digital camera, some classes and Photoshop ! Latest effort was three of these: That's caramel apple pie. All that oozy goo is from a streusel topping that you put on before the top crust: Slice: Kim

This is a rather surprisingly fascinating topic! I have always been a bit voyeuristic about other people’s grocery carts and this is similar. Really fun! Here is the list that lives on the fridge. We add things as they come up, even if they are long term needs (i.e. – the crock pot). Some things stay on the list for weeks. Then, on shopping day, I make a list on the computer and print it out. I divide it up according to the store (we usually have a Costco stop, a Kroger stop, a drug store stop and a Fresh Market (the specialty food store where I work) stop – today I needed to add Dollar Tree, Michael’s and Office Depot: Sorry for the fuzzy pictures! Kim

Thanks so much! Now, one more question (or maybe its two): I assume that when I cook it, I do not thaw - correct? How much longer and at what temperature? Thank you again! Kim

Mr. Kim and the kid did some apple picking while they were in Charlottesville this past weekend for football. I have a big box of apples. I am going to make some pies, using this recipe. The question is: do I bake the pie first, then freeze or freeze it before baking? Note that you slightly cook the apple slices before assembling the pie. Ta! Kim

You can tell that Momma's still gone - that is one huge pasty ! (I know how big those plates are!) Kim

Somewhere in NC or SC: My favorite part is the "II" Kim

Shelby - I love your halloween kitchen! Mr. Kim believes that we are the only people in creation who have multiple boxes of Halloween decorations in the attic. I love your tree. Mine is shiny green, but I like yours better! David - the 'tacos' are lovely! I never fry my own shells, but I much prefer the texture of them when you do! Doddie - Oyster Po' Boys ! I want one right now! The crust looks perfect - thin, crisp and crackly! Well done! The other night I made soup out of the meat that I shredded for sandwiches : I needed some comfort that night, so I baked a loaf of plain old white: Plated up with some of my Grandma's pear preserves: Last night we had a football feast. These are almost always unapologetically trashy (think Costco frozen fingerfood and Velveeta/Salsa/Sausage dip ). Chicken tacitos (sp?): Cheese and crackers (aged gouda, Point Reyes blue, horseradish): And potstickers: I have made my own potstickers in the past and very good they were, too. But I got home from work at 5:30 having missed all the early games and I wanted to just sit and watch football. It was a good evening ! Kim [edited so that all of my pictures wouldn't be identical, after all !]

Percyn, that looks so beautiful! That meat is perfectly fall-apart gorgeous! You photos always remind me that one can plate things beautifully at home without looking 'fiddly'. I have recently started to do a lot of serving the protein portion over the starch portion. I love casseroles and to me, it's just like a deconstructed casserole. I recently did this: Scampi over sauteed mascarpone & roasted garlic polenta. With a Frisée Salad: I like serving leftover shreds of pot roast and gravy over french fries, too. I think it all goes back to my favorite after school snack - fries and gravy at Peoples drug store !

Rachel - A-men! (Pronounced with a long Baptist 'a', of course ) Kim

Hi, Shelby! I'll be glad to share the recipe. Here you go! This time when I made them, I frosted them with lemon buttercream. We like lemony stuff here! Hope you like them! Kim

Bleu Cheese Slaw! recipe, as requested! It really is good. You make the mayo for it with sherry vinegar - nice touch! I am so glad to be back! Thanks for the welcome. Kim

Coconut 'Nana Pudding: Delicious tasting, unfortunate looking. Kim

Finally, after two months of dickering with Dell , our computer is up and running. I'll get caught up with a bunch of pictures and bore you all to death: Mr. Kim's birthday dinner: Cheeses (Uniekaas Parrano, King's Choice Bleu, Piave Vecchio Veneto), crackers and fig preserves: Rib Eyes from the Belmont Butchery in Richmond: With mushroom sauce: Apparently delicious (I have tried and tried and am just not a fungus type), but I have no memory at all what I did with this. Dried mushrooms, wine, then.....??? Shrimp w/ remoulade and cocktail sauce: Caprese: Spinach & Apple Salad w/ Bacon: Pink Lemonade Cupcakes: Another dinner: Ribs: Baby Bleu Salad w/ Spicy Pecans and Cara Red Navels: I also served a delicious Coconut 'Nana pudding that was so good, I posted it in the desserts thread and so ugly that its going in the regrettable meals thread ! I also made a meal for Mr. Kim's Fantasy Football draft. Included were: Potato Salad from Cuisine at Home magazine. It's made with grated cucumbers and yogurt and was really light and fresh tasting. The original recipe included green beans, which I didn't add: and my always popular Bleu Cheese Slaw: BBQ Chicken, spinach fettucine, Southern green beans, biscuits and my grandma's pear preserves: Pan fried Haloumi cheese on pita: This stuff was fantastic. I was inspired to try it by one of the recent bloggers (sorry - anyone remember who? I have been speed reading them to get caught up lately) and we are hooked! Chicken Fricassee w/ Figs & Port Sauce, Polenta w/ Mascarpone & Roasted Garlic: Roasted Green Beans w/ Shallots & Hazelnuts: Even I liked these and I do not usually like my beans to crunch (reference above 'Southern Green Beans' )! Store boughten desserts : Shredded beef sandwiches w/ shaved Parm. & red onion and fig compote, tots and Winter corn (frozen sweet corn heated up with no water and a small can of creamed corn): Well, that's all right now. I truly hope that I haven't bored everyone to death or broken any site rules about how many pictures you can post at one time! I promise the next post will be more restrained! Kim