Kim Shook

I am talking about the paper label that is pasted on the side of the pan (the outside). The first pot we got, we assumed that it was supposed to come off. So we peeled most of it off, scrubbed off what we could, scraped off some more...you get the idea. Years later there is still a smeary, sticky place where the label was. I just got a new pot for Christmas and I am wondering - is this supposed to come off or not??? It looks like it should come off - its not even completely pasted down - the edge is coming up! Help, please!!

I just made a huge, huge haul ! Everyone was very generous and I didn't get any clunkers at all!!! 9 qt. Lodge cast iron dutch oven 2.75 qt. le creuset pot Best Food Writing 2001, 2002 & 2003 Mark Bittman's 'The Best Recipes in the World' A hand mixer (my old one heats up when I mix egg whites!) heavy gauge set of graduated biscuit cutters stacking cooling racks Marion Cunningham's 'Lost Recipes' 'The Silver Spoon' cookbook A 14"x 20" Henkels cutting/carving board A 4 cup Oxo side/above view measuring cup Sur la Table gift certificate 1/2 dozen plain white waffle weave 100% cotton side towels and the coolest of all: A laser thermometer like this: laser themometer I just love this thing!!! I made a batch of peanut brittle yesterday and used it instead of a candy thermometer and it worked wonderfully. We measured the temperature of everything in the house, including body parts !

I adore that cranberry thing. In the South, we call them 'congealed salads' - I love that dowdy name, too! I like the sweet ones and shrimp mold, but not vegetable ones. And tomato aspic (people sometimes act like this is different from a congealed salad and better, somehow) gives me the shivers!

Years ago, I used to make a recipe from the back of the Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild rice package for a Chicken casserole that we loved. I hadn't made it for at least 10 years and just recently tried it again. I guess our tastes have changed, because we found it really dull and bland!

Thanks for all the advice. I took it and did a little judicious stirring and it didn't burn ! Still tastes like crap to me, though ! I have to tell you that chefette emailed me a recipe and a wonderful set of directions for similar fudge that actually tastes good and I made that today. It is just amazingly good fudge. Rich, complex, creamy. Mr. Kim, who likes his family's fudge LOVED this - and so did I! We'll see what the rest of the family says, but I know this is good stuff (and I am not even a dark chocolate fan). I keep likening it to good wine when you are not a wine connoisseur - you KNOW that you are drinking something different and special, even if you can't articulate what exactly it is. Does that make any sense at all? Anyway, here is chefette's recipe (in my words): Chefette's Fudge

We have done various things throughout the years - going out, having a party, etc. But I've never been able to have a great time with all of the build up and expectations, so we toned it down a few years ago. Our daughter was young and another couple who are close friends had little ones and with the dearth of babysitters on NYE, we just decided to have a quiet evening at home. We go to their house relax, play cards, watch the ball,maybe shoot off some fireworks and have a good old white trash pig out (not sure that the other couple realizes that its a white trash pig out ). The menu always includes: crab meltaways, Bisquick sausage balls, Knorr spinach dip, Velveeta/Salsa/Sausage dip and leftover Christmas sweets. I usually try to make a few interesting things (potstickers one year, a huge antipasto another year), but they don't usually get much attention . This year the added sparkle will be me and Mr. Kim freaking out because our 22 year old daughter has decided to drive to NYC (we live in Richmond, VA) with a friend for NYE in Times Square ! Don't know how relaxed this year will be with us on the cell phones every 3 minutes ! Happy New Year, everyone!

Made a goose with a friend as a cooking project a couple of years ago with Julia's recipe. We were all underwhelmed by the flavor, but agreed that it was worth the trouble of roasting a goose just to get that incredible rendered fat to roast the potatoes in. They were the BEST roasted potatoes that I have ever eaten. As a sideline, we also made a wonderful red cabbage dish that I have made time and time again. Here's the recipe for that, if anyone is interested: Red Cabbage Braised with Vinegar and Bacon

Word.

K8memphis, the rock candy fudge actually sounds like what these crazy people like theirs ! I actually make a delicious fudge. Creamy, moist and firm. It isn't hard to make, either! It is an old recipe that my great aunt made forever. Foolproof! But its not the kind that my in laws like .

I am trying to make the world's most irritating fudge. It is the traditional fudge of Mr. Kim's family (why am I making this???). It is not my kind of fudge at all. It calls for lousy chocolate (Baker's), it is gritty, bitter and when considered perfect by them, very dry (to get it dry enough, I actually have to cut it and let it sit out, covered with wax paper for 3 or 4 days). So I hate this stuff, but am trying to make some folks happy for Christmas and I am making it (it is such a PITA that no one in the family has made it for years and when I surprised them with it last year, they were thrilled). Anyway, here is the question. The recipe calls for mixing the chocolate, evaporated milk and sugar in a saucepan, bringing to a boil (I do this on medium heat), stirring. Covering with a lid for a couple of minutes and then uncovering, boiling to soft ball stage - WITHOUT STIRRING. This part obviously takes a few minutes. Lots of recipes call for this. My question is: How do I prevent it from scorching while it is hot enough to boil for that amount of time without stirring??? I am using a good, heavy saucepan. But at the end of the cooking time, when I stir in the butter and vanilla, it is always scorched on the bottom. Is this normal? Here is the recipe, if you want to see it: Kenny's Fudge Thank you for your help!!

This is the recipe that I use. It turns out a fairly thick, light, crunchy and pretty airy brittle. Peanut Brittle 2 c. shelled raw peanuts 2 c. sugar 1 c. light corn syrup 1/3 c. water 2 T. butter 1/4 t. salt 1 t. baking soda 1 t. vanilla Spread nuts in a 15x10 pan, bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, stirring once - set aside. Combine next five ingredients in a dutch oven, cook over medium heat stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally until it reaches hard crack stage (300 degrees). Remove from heat. Stir in nuts, soda and vanilla. Working rapidly, spread mixture in a 15x10x1 jelly roll pan. Let cool. Break into pieces. VARIATION: To make chocolate brittle, spread 6 oz. chocolate on the brittle while still hot and then spread when the chocolate melts. Peanut Brittle

Maybe a little bit more baking soda. You have to mix it up thoroughly.

My stepdad is English and got us addicted to English candy early on. Our favorites have always been Crunchies, Flakes and Jelly Babies. I just made a candy that is amazingly close to a Crunchie. Sponge Monkey Candy Named in honor of those creepy little characters that Mr. Kim is unaccountably fascinated by. Foamy and crunchy, with tiny little bubbles, these candies are not overly sweet despite being made with sugar and sugar (corn syrup). These are very good, but if you melt Cadbury Dairy Milk (two 4.5 oz. bars) and dip each piece in the chocolate you have almost a perfect confection. They taste very similar to a Cadbury Crunchie bar. Amazingly good. 1 cup sugar 1 cup dark corn syrup 1 tablespoon cider vinegar 1 tablespoon baking soda Heat sugar, corn syrup and vinegar to boiling in 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved. Boil, without stirring, to 300 degrees on candy thermometer (or until small amount of mixture dropped into very cold water separates into threads that are hard and brittle): remove from heat. Quickly stir in baking soda thoroughly. Pour mixture into ungreased rectangular pan. 13x9x2 inches. Do not spread; cool. Break into pieces. Makes about 3 dozen candies; 50 calories per candy. Sponge Monkey Candy

Chef Salad - you've got three customers right here in Glen Allen! My husband, daughter (a VCU student funnily enough) and me. We don't even bother to try to get bbq here in Richmond, we just buy a ton of it when we go to NC to visit family and stock our freezer. Mr. Kim says that Bill's is a monument to the Richmond credo that just because something has always been here, it must be good! We sometimes go to the Boardwalk for dogs and like that place very much. But it would be so wonderful to have a place like you are talking about near us. We are near the intersection of West End Drive and Hungary Rd., so we end up in Short Pump a lot. Keep us posted!! We are very interested!

I had the surgery in August of 2003 and my daughter had it in Spring of 2004. I have lost 100 lbs. and she has lost 150 lbs. I have been surprised at what I can and cannot eat. I was worried about cheese, one of my favorite foods and I can eat any kind of cheese that exists. I still have problems with steak - one bite is enough for me, more makes me sick. I cannot eat even one bite of rice. Go slowly on new foods. If you have a child, feed yourself the way you started your baby on solids - a bite of a 'new' item until you see how you react. If you have a spouse/partner watch out for getting them to finish up what you can't - my poor husband has gained a LOT of weight eating meals that we can't finish ! In restaurants, I generally order an appetizer - the higher end restaurants work better for this. I am aware of the problems that have occured with this surgery and know that it is a last resort, but it is the best thing I have ever done for myself. I was a diabetic, on blood sugar meds, blood pressure meds, colesterol meds, etc. - I am now off ALL my meds (except for Previcid, which I will be on for the forseeable future) and my last blood tests indicated everything in the normal range. My daughter and I were 370 lbs. and 277 lbs. respectively and were well on our way to killing ourselves with food and associated health factors. Please email me if you have any other questions that you would like to ask.

This is an adaptation from an Ina Garten recipe and calls for cashews, but I think it would be wonderful with pecans. We thought that the amounts of the red pepper and the brown sugar could have been increased (and I have a very tender mouth), but the amount of the rosemary was right. I added the salt to the butter before melting to dissolve it. Very easy recipe. Spicy Rosemary Cashews 1 – 1 ½ lb. lightly salted cashews 2 T. chopped fresh rosemary ½ t. cayenne 2 t. dark brown sugar 2 t. kosher salt 1 T. melted butter Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake nuts on ungreased baking sheet for about 10 minutes, until warmed through. Meanwhile combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Add warm nuts and toss until the nuts are thoroughly coated. Serve warm or store in tightly covered container. Spicy Rosemary Cashews

All those Christmas commercials get me in the spirit, for some stupid reason. We always compete to see who sees the first commercial of the season. For years it was the Norelco (sp?) Santa! The Folger's one always chokes me up, too.

pamjsa, what a wonderful story. I love that you honor your family that way! I think that food traditions mean a lot, even to people who are not food obsessed like us! Everyone has something that must be on the holiday table, even if no one eats it anymore or just takes a token spoonful - it has always been there, so it must always still be there. My Christmas Eve menu: turkey, gravy, oyster stuffing, bourbon sweet potatoes, stuffed cheese potatoes, fruit salad with Miracle Whip is the same one that my grandmother served starting in the 1930's. I add a few things every year, but those items always appear. I love the history in that meal and I love knowing that my daughter is sharing the same meal that I remember as a child. If I could find those tasteless little butter cookies with the jujubee cherry in the middle of them, I'd serve them, too! Thanks for the post!

I have been searching for years for the perfect Chocolate Chip Cooky. Big, fat cookies with a chewy (not cakey) interior and a sugary crunch on the outside. These are great! I requested help from the folks at here egullet.org and at cyber-kitchen.com and got lots of suggestions. I tried 3 different recipes. After an exhausting and thorough baking marathon and taste test , making a couple of adjustments to the recipes, this recipe was the winner. We tasted all the cookies cooled down and then again the next morning. (By the way, Mr. Kim thinks I am insane). The only things that I did differently were to use bread flour (Alton Brown suggests that for chewy cookies) and to omit the nuts (not a big fan of nuts in cookies or fudge). I used a 3 T. cooky scoop and so my cookies took almost 20 minutes to bake. These are beautiful cookies – high and crackly, they look like bakery cookies, but taste SO much better. The chips are key. I used Ghirardelli, but am going to try chunking up some better chocolate some other time. I am a big milk chocolate fan, but have realized that with such a sweet cooky, semisweet is better. Thank you so much, Abra - and you don't even LIKE them!!! Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies 1 c. softened butter ½ c. granulated sugar 1 ½ c. packed brown sugar 2 eggs 2 ½ t. vanilla extract 3 c. AP flour ½ t. salt 1 t. baking powder 1 t. baking soda 9 oz. semisweet chocolate chips 9 oz. chopped pecans Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix as usual and bake for about 11 minutes. Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I make peanut butter, chocolate chip, & decorated sugar cookies every year plus a few wild cards and I always freeze them. I put them in large disposable loaf pans (so they don't get smooshed), double wrap in heavy duty foil and then put that in freezer bags. As long as I make them in Nov or Dec., they don't seem to suffer. I also freeze my fudge and candied pecans.

I am going to start my chewy chocolate chip cooky experiment today. Can't wait for the smell - I can depend on an amazing chocolate aroma even if the cookies flop! Is anyone else cooking ahead for the holidays yet?

andiesenji, my dad made the same suggestion about the metal shop and I think that I will try that. Thanks! Kim

Thank you, everyone! I cooked a ton of bacon in the pot yesterday and reseasoned on top of the stove and it is beautiful now. I am going to tackle the lid again today. I also saved the de-rusting info because I have a rescued saucepan and lid that I found in my grandparents' barn a couple of years ago that is my next project. I can't wait to give the soup pot back to my mother-in-law and show her how to PROPERLY keep cast iron ! Kim

I have read everything I could find here and elsewhere, but my particular question was not answered. Ok, here's the deal. My mother-in-law owns a wonderful and huge old cast iron soup pot with a dimpled lid. I borrowed it to make my gravy (I was making a lot of gravy). When Mr. Kim got it home, it was obvious that it hadn't been seasoned in ages . Well, it was tough, but I managed on the pot itself by just scrubbing with salt, drying on the stove and rubbing with oil a couple of times, but the lid was more of a challenge. It was a little orange (traces of rust), so I scrubbed with steel wool and following directions, I rubbed with Crisco and put it in a 350 degree oven for one hour. I don't think that is going to do it completely. It's not totally cooled off yet, but it seems a little sticky still. So, do I start from scratch? Scrub again and then put in the oven with shortening on it? Or do I skip the scrubbing step and just go straight to the oven?? I am going to inherit this some day (I am the only one in the family who would use it) so I want to treat it well while I have temporary custody ! Thank you all in advance!! Kim

"an unhealthy obsession with all things garbanzo" If egullet had tag lines, this would be mine. It's 6:50 am on a Sunday morning and I just blew my caffine all over my keyboard!!