Kim Shook

Brooks, the promise of hearing more from you is the only thing that makes you stepping down at egullet bearable. Your posts are always full of fun, information and history. Can't wait to see what you write about next. And, yes, CAKE! Kim

Daniel - I'm glad to see you, too! You and your lovely meals have been missed! Judith - the trout is gorgeous! Drooling, here! Marlene - thank you for the 1 millions clarification. I read it as posts and thought my computer was broken ! (And those biscuits ) Gruzia - beautiful shrimp! I love that recipe and like the idea of adding tomatoes! Susan - I am finally convinced. I am going to make potstickers as a family project when my 'baby' comes home from college this spring! I figure the three of us can make a few billion. They are just inspiring! Also, I think I said this to someone before, but no one in my house eats liver, so I want to have dinner at your house!! Dinner tonight was Doddie's Ham and 'Crab' Salad on a croissant (and pretzels & carrots just to fill up the empty space). Thanks for the recipe, Doddie - even Mr. Kim liked it and he's not a 'Krab' fan!:

I was thinking the same thing and was going to suggest a birds and bees theme, poultry and honey, like a honey-glazed chicken. ← me too but I felt to silly to tell hehehehe ←

This looks a lot like the recipe I've used with the exception of the Sugar Babies. I add a cup of Ginger Baking Chips from The Ginger People. (Ok, sometimes I add 3/4 of a cup and 1/4 cup of teeny tiny mini-chocolate chips. Because...chocolate and ginger.) ← ooooh! Thanks for that info. I just bookmarked their website to order some of those chips. Ginger is Mr. Kim's very favorite flavor in the world and I'm always looking for ginger recipes - those sound incredible!

Marlene - I am making that ice box cake this weekend for a dinner party. Any hints to pass on to me? This should probably go on the pastry board, but since here was where you posted about it, I thought I'd post here. Kim

Susan, why don't you just PM Dorie and ask her if she has the recipe you want in her files? I'm sure she'd be glad to help! Kim

The problem is that, especially with home freezing, cooked chicken tends to get really tough and spongy. Does anyone have a solution to that?

Well, the squirrels are loving it. And, of course, I am sitting here at 1am jonesing for something sweet . I swear I would eat a Little Debbie if we had one. Guess I'll have a bowl of cereal. Guess that's another thread ! Kim

Here you go! Tried and true. And make sure to notice the Sugar Baby option ! Kim

Fantastic - I just got that from the library yesterday - I will flag that one to try! Ta!

Marlene - when I saw those gorgeous brioche, I thought this post was Ann's - until I saw the carrots ! (It is Ann who hates carrots, right?) You are really working the breads! And - OMG - I really, really would love for you to share the recipe for the cake - that is amazing and I love, love, love icebox cake! Kim

With our crazy family, it might just have been possible! Well, we had 'the talk' (no, not that one ) and she's decided on a Mexican theme. Beef/chicken tacos, turned on grill for DIY quesadillas, black beans, "Spanish Orzo" (she had a gastic bypass, too, and doesn't do rice either), 'Mexican' cocktails, Chile-Cornbread salad and all the attendant fixings. Thank you everyone for your help! FYI, it was down to Tapas, BBQ and Mexican at the end!

Doddie - so glad to see you blogging! I always love your posts, so I am really looking forward to this. By the way - I went out the other day and got the ingredients for your ham/crab salad and am making it for today's lunch! Kim

Ann, both of those are just beautiful. I am so grateful that you take the time to share your meals with us. Kim

Am I the only dork in the world who can't see the phrase 'carne asada' anymore without thinking of the lion trying to get the other lion to pronounce it properly in that commercial ? ← I don't know that one! ok, let's just called it grilled flank steak than! ← Go here. Then click on "See the Big Game Commercial" bottom left. Then click "See the Big Game Commercial" again on the right. Goofy. But I can't help laughing.

Fantastic ideas. Thanks everyone! Can't wait to present to the youngun tomorrow! I think I'd like all of these parties! Am I the only dork in the world who can't see the phrase 'carne asada' anymore without thinking of the lion trying to get the other lion to pronounce it properly in that commercial ?

Thanks, Randi, I will! Kim

I hate rotary graters - even really hard cheeses just seem to gather in the rotary part and gunk up the inside rather than falling out. I just use my microplane for small amounts and my husband for larger amounts .

Well, Randi, I think that I won't try this again, then, after reading your blog. Pity, it sure was a good looking cake. What I may try to do is to make a lemon pound cake loaf and then do the simple syrup and glaze treatment. That part was good. It was the cake that was 'meh'. Really amazing that we cooked exactly the same thing at exactly the same time. I didn't even get the recipe from her book, but got it off the tv awhile ago and just noticed it in my 'to try' file and thought I'd give it a go. I really liked your blog! I just love reading stuff like that. Kim

Pam - probably an early dinner The bbq idea is a good one - so is the antipasti. I will pitch both ideas to her tomorrow.

Well, then, I think that I will make the effort to go get some full fat yogurt and try it again. Because it was so easy and pretty!

I had a really disappointing experience last night. I made this cake by Ina Garten. It has received rave reviews on the Food TV website and other websites I've been to. The cake is beautiful: But I really didn't care for the taste or the texture. The lemon taste is very pronounced, but there doesn't seem to be much other flavor. And the cake is a little heavy with an almost chewy texture. Here's a shot of a slice: The only change that I made in the recipe was to use fat free yogurt (the store didn't have full fat and I didn't feel like going to the Mediterranean Deli). Has anyone made this cake? Or, looking at the recipe, does it seem like it should be better than it was? I was wondering about the oil as the only fat in the recipe. Thanks, Kim

I need some help. Daughter is graduating from college in May. She had originally said Indian food, but has changed her mind. We finally got together regarding the guest list and it was much larger than either of us anticipated! It will probably be about 70 people. So I am looking for something to feed that many people that will not be terribly expensive, fairly festive, not overwhelmingly 'fancy' and not 'fiddly' (I will be about 6 weeks away from carpal tunnel surgery on my hand - I had the other hand done in January). I do want to cook it myself – not cater, if possible. Daughter didn’t have any ideas the last time we talked and we are getting together tomorrow to exchange ideas. So I need some ideas to throw at her. Hope you can give me some help! Ta, everyone! Kim

Oh, God! We don't have any little girl relatives/friends/neighbors anymore. I'll have to start driving by the grocery stores to check for the sales. Samoas, Thin Mints and Tagalongs. Did I mention Samoas?

I do this all the time. I never, ever eat cereal in the morning. That would require me actually putting milk in my "morning mouth" <gag>! But I love cold cereal, so it makes a great bedtime snack.