Kim Shook

I'd bet good money that the Japanese would not tolerate such programming junk. -Dick ← You are kidding, right? Haven't you seen some of the original Japanese programming that airs on Spike TV (I think it's Spike). The stunt shows that make Fear Factor look like Masterpiece Theatre??? I know that it is cool for Americans to trash ourselves, but keep in mind that we didn't create crap entertainment. Karaoke is, I think, a Japanese creation and Reality TV is a British import.

It's not a slur any human being worth anything should make on OR off camera. ← In the South, publicly calling someone 'white trash' is something that trashy people do (privately doing it is, however, another matter ).

Hot bacon dressing is Southern, too????????

I am sometimes surprised when I discover that something in my life is considered particularly Southern. For instance, I was an adult (transplanted to Indiana) before I realized that Yankees don’t have hissy fits or that, to a Northerner, being ugly had something to do with your looks. I guess you don’t know what is uniquely yours until you learn more about other cultures. Anyway – I noticed on some other board that under a ‘Southern Tea Party Menu’ was spinach and strawberry salad! I have eaten this forever and had no idea that it might be ‘ours’. Is this true?? I know all about fried chicken, collards, candied sweet potatoes and actually edible green beans , but what else am I ignorant about?

My families (current and 'of origin') are sharers. Chinese, French, Greek - doesn't matter. We share it all. We almost never order the same dish, because then sharing would be pointless. If someone at the table doesn't share, we don't say anything to them, of course. We just mock them mercilessly later when they are gone.

What H. du Bois said.

ummmm...culinary school anyone?! i just loved how many classmates (and current students, and recent grads, etc.) thought they knew more than the chef instructors...isn't there a reason why you're paying $15K+ to the school?! ← Yeah. I won't tell you how much my school cost, but it was a hell of a lot more than $15k, and we still had the same issues. There was a guy who started out in my class, and ended up being suspended because he was constantly arguing with the chef instructors over various idiotically nit picky things. He made a HUGE point of informing us all that he worked at The Slanted Door in San Francisco, to the point that we doubted the veracity of this claim. In Protein class, every other time chef said anything he would pipe up, "Well, Chef, at the Slanted Door we did it differently." or even worse, "That's not the way I was taught. I think you're wrong." Then on smoke breaks, my fellow students and I would be regaled with tall tales of what a bad ass he was, how he should be teaching the class, etc etc. Chef (bless his little heart) finally lost it one day, kicked him out of class, and had his butt suspended. I don't think that guy ever came back, but I'm sure when asked about why he never finished culinary school, he makes up some sort of nonsense about knowing more than the chef instructors did, so what was the point of finishing. ← Um...was this guys name Steven??

But Fress, is she Southern???

See, I thought Jason was making fun of me for not knowing how to deal with large garlic ! I am of Italian origins and eating it whole would still make my head explode. Also, Mr. Kim has allergies and cannot smell much anyway - I have to do visual stuff to chase him off !

Thank you, ma'am. I think I will do just that! (Jason thinks I am an idiot )

I haven't ever used this stuff before, but found it recommended on some thread somewhere. I decided to give it a try and bought the fresh garlic and basil version. When I open it up and pour it out there are maybe 5 or 6 whole, humongous garlic cloves in it. What am I supposed to do with them?? Mush them up (they are firm - like raw, not roasted), fish them out when finished cooking?? Please advise. Thank you.

I could not agree more with all the comments about the ridiculousness of this 'challenge'. My fantasy was that the final five called bullshit on this insane challenge after learning about the 16 hour time limit. I would have loved for them to actually get together and to say "this has nothing to do with being a chef and everything to do with your television ratings. We all quit, fuck you and your ratings." Wouldn't that have been awesome????

Oh, wow. I am drooling. We are having guests over tonight for burgers and stuff, but I so want to change the menu now!! We have breakfast for dinner all the time - sometimes very elaborate, sometimes just pancakes and sausage. We used to do waffle night every Friday, until our daughter complained!

Ok, report time! We finally had the Croquettes and the baked eggs. They were both very, very good. The croquettes were really different, but we liked them a lot. The eggs, I just cut in half and topped with a cheese sauce - a bechamel with a little cheddar, parmesan and fontina. Then I baked them until they were hot. I wasn't sure I'd like them, but they were great - rich and cheesy, but still eggy.

Not to be at all argumentative (and I don't like Reggie much, myself), but he makes a big thing about being 'Southern' (I don't really see it). And 'girl' is very much a Southern thing (see the GRITS thread on the Southern Food Culture board) - 70 year old women having lunch call each other girls. We don't mind being girls at all - in fact we call those other folks 'boys'.

Yes, Long John Silvers works wonders too! ← Snort! Ok, now I lost my morning caffine nostrilly! (Hey, Katie girl!!)

Um...Mr. Kim came home wanting Mexican. So we went out. I'll cook it tomorrow and let you know. (I'm so embarrassed, after all that help and all and I go out for tamales ).

Well, the croquette mixture is in the fridge. I about tripled the ham because 1). I wanted to use up what I had and 2). I wanted ham croquettes not white sauce croquettes - when you add just the amount called for in the recipe, you can barely detect ham in the mixture. The mixture has to sit for 2 hours. So, a late dinner, I guess. Loved everyone's ideas - I will save them for later - its getting ready to be ham dinner season in my family (traditional summer Sunday meal) and they will come in handy. (I still have leftover gouda/garlic potatoes and they will go great with the croquettes, too).

Hmmmmmmmmm. Croquettes? How about this: Ham Croquettes I think I have everything in the recipe. I could just do the eggs in a little cheesy bechamel casserole. I already made some slaw and with the cauliflower that might be great. Thanks!!

This is probably heresy, but I bought the disposable sea salt and peppercorn filled grinder at Costco and they work amazingly well (better than the $25 one that I just threw away (sorry, don't know the brand name - I bought it at Bed, Bath & Beyond). I will continue to use until I can save up for the Magnum.

"I wasn't born in the South, but I got here as soon as I could." Momma, in a moment of pregancy-induced insanity, gave birth to me in Washington, DC, but brought me across the river home to Arlington as soon as the drugs wore off. This has been my personal motto ever since !

I am sick of ham sandwiches, boiled eggs and egg salad. I was thinking of doing roasted cauliflower tonight (I made a salad with it for Easter) which we LOVE (thanks to egullet for the introduction) and trying something with the ham and hard boiled eggs. How about a casserole with them and a sauce - a bechamel with some cheddar/swiss added??? A little hot sauce and dry mustard in the bechamel, maybe? What am I missing? Thanks, y'all!

So will the Southern belle of my dreams allow me in the kitchen to cook? I've been cooking for Mama Fresser since I was 7 years old. ← Law, yes! Shiksabelles love being served!

Hush, you! We know your wife! But you are forgiven. Southern girls and Jewish boys can't resist each other. Just ask Florrie King. Both raised to believe that we were the center of the universe and adored by our opposite sex parents.

I went ahead and used both the vanilla and the coconut. I am very leery of subtracting vanilla from a recipe. I always think that it adds depth and don't want to lose it. I might try it as an experiment, but I was making this for company and didn't want to take any chances.