Kim Shook

Welcome to eGullet, @GaroldCrash22! Looking forward to learning more about you.

It freezes beautifully. So glad you took the plunge and that you liked it.

I love Harris-Teeter, but we don't have them here. They skipped right over us - they are in NC, Charlottesville, Williamsburg, and, of course, NOVA. But not in Richmond. I've found that for some unfathomable reason - even in the deep south - good quality, small batch grits can be really hard to find in grocery stores. But I'm not aware that Anson Mills sells through stores at all. Please correct me if I'm wrong - I'd love to get some.

In our area, at least, Publix is very much superior to Kroger. Wegman's is the best we have as far as non-specialty grocery stores go.

@Dante – I’ve had sauté pan pizza and was surprised at how good it was. Great bottom crust! @TdeV – both of those marinades/basting sauces sound delicious! @Duvel – gorgeous lasagna! @Shelby – all looked good, but the meatloaf, potato, green bean and GRAVY plate got me drooly. Last night: Havarti and ham on dinner rolls.

@Paul Bacino – love the mortadella. I’ll take @rotuts pistachios if he’ll eat the peppercorns😁. After church brunch at our favorite local deli. Mr. Kim had the British burger: I had shrimp salad sandwich and a knish:

@Ann_T – I never thought of doing individual Shepherd’s pies, but I have some of those lion’s head-type onion soup bowls stashed up in the attic and they would be so perfect! Thanks for the idea. Yesterday: I just love stuff piled up on buttered toast! This morning: Peaches, toasted dinner rolls, IP eggs.

I say this (much less eloquently) all the time about many things.

Well, I can only say that these look and sound fantastic. I loved the idea of the broccoli one and would probably do the cheese add in with that. I'm also thinking about how good roasted cauliflower would be. I understood the "dessert" reference (perhaps with a little smile?), this looks like nothing I've ever seen before and a big thank you for posting it.

@Toliver - I've never seen that brand, though we do get Utz, but I'd love to try them. I'd be interested in seeing what malt vinegar does to a chip. In case anyone is interested, I finished those vinegar treated strawberries yesterday morning which means that they lasted just over a week. I'm good with those results. They were a little surface dry, which showed the age, I think. But inside they were sweet and juicy: I made a batch of brownies from an Aldi mix and topped the batter with some PB chips and white chocolate chips: I wouldn't dare put these on one of the baking topics, but they were a tasty snack, so here they are! I am a brownie mix devotee and Ghirardelli is my favorite. These weren't quite up to that level, but they were very good. I underbaked them a bit, for my taste. I like really chewy brownies, but wanted to see how moist these would be if I cooked them until "done". They were very, very moist.

Something along the lines of this.

LOL! Us, too. I've been cussing those slippery pits while I flip them all over the kitchen.

@Tropicalsenior - Jessica was thrilled that you made her pineapple casserole. How odd that it reminded you of mango. Last night was bacon jam cheeseburgers w/ fried onions, Brussels sprouts, @patti's oven fries, and the first of the season’s marinated cucumbers. We’re eating a lot of @patti's fries. They are really good.

Not sure if this counts as breakfast or lunch. We ate at noon, but it was the first thing we had that morning. @CantCookStillTry made sausage McMuffins the other night and I got a taste for one. We only had one English muffin in the house (I can’t keep them long – I love them too much), so I made one sausage and egg muffin and one grilled sausage, egg, and cheese on bread. I did the eggs in a ring: Done: So good! The grilled one: Cutaway view: This was one honking sandwich. Got eaten, though. We also had some fruit: This morning: Strawberries (bought on Sunday), peaches, toast with my favorite Tiptree Little Scarlet preserves, hard cooked eggs, and sage sausage.

I just told Mr. Kim this story to illustrate something (I've forgotten what).

What's the old joke? Reservations. Seriously, 75% of the time in that situation it's restaurant food at some level. If we can't face going out, breakfast for dinner, sandwiches & soup.

I've always marveled at the fries in Greek restaurants (in the US). Why are they so good? I've seriously never been to a Greek place where they weren't excellent.

I know I've gotten better at plating over the years, but I still sometimes look at a photo and realize that I've got a blank space in the middle of the plate. I really think that taking a picture and looking at it is a good exercise in truly "seeing" what you've plated. I will see things in a photo that I miss looking at the actual plate. I sometimes end up with an "all brown" food plate, too.

I grew up with a mother who was the daughter of a lousy cook who was also the daughter of a lousy cook 😄. Because she liked good food, my mom grew into a good, plain cook - meat, potatoes, vegetables. But nothing that really required much "mixing". No casseroles, no sauces, no baking. And her gravy, under the influence of an English husband, was always Bisto, even with chicken (no chicken Bisto in those days).

I'd guess for most of us, there is an overlap between what we want to be remembered for and what we will be remembered for. And another one between our recipes and family/friend recipes that we've been a conduit for. I know I'll be remembered for my turkey gravy, my PB cookies, and my Dream Cookies. The turkey gravy is a group project between my MIL, my own experiments, and everything I've ever read about making stock and gravy. It's special because I started out as a newly married cook (age 23) making truly lousy gravy. Over the years, with help and practice, I've developed gravy so good that I actually brag about it. My PB cookies are things that I've worked on since I was about 14 years old. Dream cookies are from a Family Circle magazine cookbook series and they aren't really mine at all. Other than sometimes adding chopped nuts or cinnamon, I haven't changed the recipe at all. But I remember making them with my mom when I was a little girl and they are the favorite cooky of our household. They somehow mean something. I'd like to be remembered for my spectacular fried chicken or my perfect cake. But I'm not there yet with either of them, so I'll keep working on them. Of course, in some circles I will forever be remembered for Taco Dip. Taco dip is simply the slow cooker Velveeta/Rotel/ground beef dip that I, years ago, made "My Own" by using a bottle of salsa and adding a tube of breakfast sausage. I took it to a gathering and the little girls, who are now adults, still remember it and request it. 🙄😄 You can't control things like that!

Thank you so much! I adore handwritten stuff and would keep all of my recipes like that if my hands would let me get by with so much writing! I have a few things carefully tucked away in my grandmother's, greatgrandmother's, Jessica's, and my niece's handwriting. They are treasured. This sounds delicious and I can't wait for my next ham dinner! 😁

Here's the pineapple casserole recipe. I have to say that this is SWEET! There is some argument on the original website about the correct amount of sugar - the video says one thing and the recipe says another. I think perhaps if you don't have Southern USA DNA, you might just treat it as a dessert and top is with ice cream or a little yogurt. Of course if you are, like me, in possession of a South of the M/D line palate, you'll like this just fine, as is 😄. To be honest, I've never quite gotten what the shredded cheese brings to this dish.

I had to get up and get something to eat after looking at that menu. One of everything, indeed! I was surprised to find tartar sauce on offer at the places we had fish and chips, since I grew up with English people who distained it. I'm middle of the road about it. If it is well made, I'll use it. At home, I'll alternate between tartar sauce and malt vinegar. I'm happy with just the vinegar if the tartar sauce is just mayo with relish added.

I adore corn dogs and would absolutely eat those potato coated Korean ones - without the spicy Cheetoes.

She finally sent me the recipe and I'll be posting a link soon. But I'd love to have that scalloped pineapple recipe you mentioned. It sounds like it would make a great dish to serve with/after a ham dinner.