Kim Shook

Blissful Glutton - I bought cherries tonight - I'll be making the crisp tomorrow. Marlene - the souffle looks heavenly (meatless and bacon - fantastic ) - but those cinnamon buns ! I have requested that book from the library today & I can't wait to get it! Ann - I love the idea of onion rings with the fried chicken! The is some restaurant somewhere that cooks sliced (but not battered) onions in the fat with the chicken & I've always been intrigued by that. I have managed to re-injure my hand that I had the surgery on - so what I cook depends heavily upon Mr. Kim's kindness! Tonight started with olive tapenade (store bought, but dern good) on crostini: Then we had Ina Garten's Shrimp Salad on potato rolls, baby cucumbers & Alexia oven fries (surprisingly good!): Shrimp salad bite:

I am making a trip to the city in late March for a memorial service for a friend who took me to the coolest store the last time I visited him. I want to go back to the store, but cannot remember the name. It was a store that specialized in tableware from defunct restaurants, hotels, diners, etc. Is this ringing any bells? Hope someone can help me! Ta! Kim

Wow. Your food is just beautiful! Any chance of getting a recipe for the crisp - I have a bag of frozen peaches in my freezer & it would love to look like that! Also - great blog - I bookmarked it! Kim

David - that salmon on the crab bisque sounds fantastic! I have never had dungeness crab, but other kinds of crabs are my favorite foods - so I know I would love them. Dianne - you popovers are absolutely gorgeous! Tonight was Pork Tenderloin w/ savory sauce, baby cucumbers (yep, I thought of Megan - does anyone here eat cucumbers w/out thinking of her?), ramen & cornbread:

Must watch this: 'Pocky' ad

I read this on another board that I frequent: "after hearing over and over on the Food Channel (from everybody on it, it seems) that baking required unsalted butter, I stocked up on it for the holiday baking...Unsalted butter was all I had on hand when I made my wonderful fudge this year. Be warned: you gotta use the regular salted butter for fudge. My goodness, but it made a frightful concoction that sat in the 13 x 9 pan with pools of butter floating on the top, and butter grease oozing down the sides. I tossed it in the garbage, sent DH for the right butter (and more chocolate), and got a good batch the second time--smooth & creamy, with no butter puddles. Guess that unsalted butter isn't good for everything, and that a little knowledge really is dangerous." At first look, this seems silly. Why would unsalted butter act like this? But I am not too sharp in the science-type areas, so I thought I would check with you smart folks. Whaddaya think?

Ann T - gorgeous fries! And I wish that I could take such pretty close ups. When I try to do that my pictures just turn out wierd looking. Marlene - I have made lots of bread and I would have been so proud if I'd made those rolls! You can almost taste how good they are! I am checking that book out of the library again soon! Which recipe is it? Tonight was burritos, Spanish Orzo (I can't digest rice ) and black beans:

Now this makes sense to me, Jaz. This describes me so well. And goes with what I had always heard about supertasters, too. It really doesn't mean much to list taste preferences - those can change with age and you can even 'train' yourself to adjust these - I have 'trained' my tastebuds to enjoy darker chocolate. It seems more meaningful to talk about 'tolerances'. I truly cannot tolerate hot/spicy foods - I find eating them (including some bbq sauces that aren't considered 'hot' by 'normal' people) actually painful and they block my ability to taste at all. The 'endorphin rush' never, ever kicks in for me - I just experience my mouth getting hotter and hotter. Much better and more interesting info, Jaz. Thanks!

Oh, dear. I can't seem to move beyond this. Scallops. Bacon. Pizza. Garlic cream sauce. I really, really want to eat this soon. Any chance of a recipe, Jason??

Marlene – that is some beautiful Onion Soup! Bruce – the baked pineapple looks divine! How many points is THAT?? Ann T – as usual, your bread is gorgeous! A question, though. When you are making that much bread, are you making it for others or are you freezing/saving somehow? Dinner tonight was Tomato Canapés & Rioja: Lumas’ “Fake Fried Chicken”, Broccoli, Garlic Smashed Red Potatoes & Cornbread: We are still using the Valentine's dishes, as you can see!

Thanks Bruce. Yeah I explicitely gave away my age didn't I? Actually I am not 48 quite yet because my birthday is in June. But that would be soon enough. These foodblogs are great ways to learn a culture. All cultures evolve around food. After all, we all need to eat to survive. I haven't met a culture whose social activities do not involve food. To understand any ethnic food, it's best to have the history/cultural background explained. ← I turn 48 in July - just after you, Ah Leung! So this is our year, huh? Those paper placemats at crappy Chinese restaurants always said so, but I wondered if it was correct for me since CNY and European NY aren't the same!

OK, you are making my one day in NYC harder and harder. Now I want to make time for Patsy's!

Mr. Kim says that he would like to buy one, but they aren't big enough for his bananas ! You know this thread is going to be deleted, right?

We have to take one of these back to the store today. I'm feeling very lucky that I somehow didn't eat much of it. I am a big peanut butter eater. It helps when my blood sugar drops and is a good protein source when everything else is making me nauseous (gastric bypass sometime side effect) and besides peanut butter is...the best - like my Momma says - if God made anything better He kept it to Himself. When I hear about manna, I always assume it big old plops of PB raining down !

Don't know if its justified nutritionally, but this is some seriously good tasting stuff. I also like the name. Its not claiming to be health food. It is admitting it's own 'evilness' - it's just...less evil. Funny, and like I said - tasty, too.

Ok, I have the giggles now. Yes, I am 8.

Wow, y'all! These are some fantastic meals that you are making. I actually have two egullet sessions open so that I can look and respond at the same time! Marlene - it always occurs to me that were we to have an egullet progressive dinner, you would have to be in charge of the meat. I am always ready for a roast when I see your beef or lamb Nishla - that chicken skin was amazing. It is really sad that there is no one in my 'real' life that would understand a dish of chicken skin on the table ! And your scallops are gorgeous! Doddie - I like the idea of the crab and ham salad! I make a country ham and crab dish and I think the two flavors are perfect together. Would you mind sharing the recipe? Judith - our dinner out was not as good as everyone cooked here, either. We went retro - a 'cool' new place called "Piano Bar" - supposed to be a rat pack kinda vibe - we had steaks, Caesar's, lobster, etc. very, very ordinary . Dianne - your potato gallette is absolutely fantastic looking! And the crosini is just drool inducing! Shaya - ooooh, time to dig out the Beard Pastistio recipe - that looked wonderful! What is the pasta you used. I usually use ziti, but I like the looks of that! Shal - so glad to see your food. That roast pork and the greens were truly tasty looking! Thanks for sharing that! Mr. Kim is on a diet, so I won't be cooking much for awhile, but I will continue to enjoy y'all's meals vicariously! Kim

You know, it's funny because while I totally understand feeling the 'ick' factor (I can't even watch that bizarre Asian food show on the Travel channel), I truly can't understand how people can expose their ignorance and bad manners by vocalizing it! I am probably a picky eater compared to most of y'all (not at all compared with most of my friends/family), but I would at least try most foods that I could think of. And I certainly wouldn't criticize someone else for eating the things I wouldn't try. Growing up, Momma's rule was that if something didn't appeal to you, it was only necessary to say, "I wouldn't care for any, thank you". That was the rule in our house, too. To me 'eeeewwww' is like making fun of someone's furniture or clothing - just unacceptable.

Hot dog! More armchair traveling. I may never actually get out of my own backyard, but egullet is making it feel like I go everywhere! I am really looking forward to this week. Thanks for the 'name' information. Can I expose my ignorance and request a pronunciation guide to 'Leung' (I think I can figure out the Ah part )? Kim

Ooooh - I just remembered. How about a bar - for cocktails that night? Any ideas? Megan went to Death & Co. during her blog - that sounded interesting. Or maybe Pegu? Any others? Thanks! Kim

For the dinner, probably $200 inclusive - - keeping in mind there will be no bottle of wine (I can't drink more than a few sips without getting ill due to the bypass. Mr. Kim may have a cocktail or two.) We're open. Mr. Kim wants to park when we leave NJ (maybe at Port Authority?) and take cabs in the City rather than show everyone how "small town" his driving is. So if we can plan on a hotel near the food and vice versa, that saves a lot of cab fare for tooling around town during the day.

Ok, guys - I need a couple of things. Mr. Kim and I are going to be coming to NYC for a sad visit. A dear, dear friend of mine passed away back in December and the memorial service is going to be March 19 (lots of issues to be dealt with is why it is so long in coming). We are coming up a couple of days early and will be staying with some friends in NJ. Other friends will be coming in for the service and I'm sure that restaurants won't be on everyone's minds then, so I don't need any help for that. But here's the thing. Our 25th wedding anniversary is 3/20. So what I think we will do is to check into a hotel in the city that day, spend the 20th just wandering around and enjoying the city, having lunch and then dinner somewhere. So here's what I need from y'all: hotel ideas (not horribly expensive), lunch ideas, dinner ideas. Lunch could be somewhere fun, not too expensive. Dinner should be special, but I need to keep in mind: I have had a gastric bypass, so tasting menus are just a waste for me - too much food! We love all kinds of food - hardcore Asian and Indian probably not for anniversary, though. Also, no sushi - I know, I know - I am impossible - Mr. Kim loves it, but me - not so much. Thank you all so, so much!!! Kim

Rebecca - if you will PM me your address, I will mail you some toast dope - it is Not To Be Missed! Kim

I really love the green salad leaves in the picture, but I cant seem to remember their name. Anyone? ← Is it mache?

Marlene - please, please do! Those meat pies look amazing! Did everyone see the incredible meal that Daniel and Alicia put together (on a work night yet) for Megan on her blog? Wow. Tonight was a romaine lettuce salad w/ cukes, granny smith apples, candied pecans and currants, Lamb Stew w/ potatoes and cipolline onions and Brussels sprouts sautéed with pancetta: The stew was fantastic and I am so glad to be cooking again!!