Kim Shook

That's so odd. In the US there were LOTS of shortages in the baking aisle in the early months of the Pandemic, but I haven't noticed anything really missing now.

@BonVivant – those rhubarb/chocolate rolled up thingies are so gorgeous that I’m sure they must also be delicious! Sir Patrick Stewart recently spoke of his affection for beans on toast. I share his taste in toast toppings: Today: Leftover marinara and mozz tossed with some hot angel hair pasta.

@robirdstx – that breakfast of yours is absolutely perfect. The white is what a white should be. The yolk has the target viscosity that I’m after every time I try poaching. And even your toast is perfectly and evenly toast. I would happily sit down to that every morning. I admit, I’d add a smidge of pork😊. On Saturday Mr. Kim and Jessica brought breakfast home from a local biscuit place. Honey chicken biscuit and cheddar tots: Sausage biscuit: Country ham and strawberry preserves biscuit: Crème brûlée doughnut:

Hi, @jamgirl! Welcome to eG! How about giving a little more info about yourself? In general - where are you? What kinds of food do you enjoy? Etc. I'm looking forward to your contributions!

Oh, yes! Carry on! If you stop, you'll still need to PM them all to me. 😄

I was actually thrilled to read about Arby's starting to carry crinkle cuts. I don't care for either the curly fries or the potato cakes, so I usually ended up with a baked potato. Which, though probably better for me, was not really what I wanted. But our local Arby's seems not to have gotten the menu. When we asked for them on a recent visit the result was a more-than-usual slack-jawed stare. You'd have thought I asked for foie gras. 🙄

So, I lost it here for a little while. Honest to God, @patti – did you spend half your time at work looking for the hidden camera? 🤣

Stunned at all of these! They are gorgeous AND they sound delicious. I am in awe of your piping skills (especially the St. Honore).

I've watched that video! It is absolutely hypnotic! Thanks for posting the link, @cteavin! Very professional. Bravo.

Hamburger steaks are what @patti showed. And I'd like to place my order now. I thought they were common in US cafes, diners, etc. I know that I used to see them at all the little cafes I went to in NC with my granddaddy and every cafeteria I ever went to in VA. Maybe they are particularly southern US? Salisbury steaks have fillers - more like a slice of meatloaf as far as taste goes.

Hamburger steaks are not common elsewhere in the US? Or were the queries from people "from away"?

General question re: Air Fryers. We got Jessica one for Christmas – a Gourmia 5 quart model. She brought it over and we used it one time to make fried shrimp. Our biggest take away was that the basket was small and that food would have to be cooked in batches. Cooking enough shrimp for the three of us ended up involving lots of waiting. Were we doing something wrong? Are you supposed to pile the food up in the basket? I’ve never heard anyone else complain about this aspect of an Air Fryer. My only contribution to the grilled Romaine discussion is this: This was a tiny little heart of Romaine (probably 3-4-inches long) that was perched on my main course at Café Constant in Paris 10 years ago. It was lightly grilled, with no color at all – just a remarkable flavor that the grill imparted. And 10 years later, I still remember the flavor and texture. @heidih – I literally like raw pieces of russets or boilers. I’ve always liked them. My mom would cut her potatoes for French fries the night before she was planning to serve them. I would come home after school and, despite knowing it meant I’d not have any fries at dinner, nibble and nibble until my share was gone. I was a weird kid - my mom kept a "goody basket" full of small candy bars on top to the fridge and I stole raw potatoes 🤪. I still nibble a few when I’m peeling and cutting up potatoes for something. The folks in Australia have me searching locally for good sausages. I’ve put Toad in the Hole on next week’s menu plan, @CantCookStillTry and @Captain! @liuzhou – your potatoes remind me of what I got when I tried making “Melting potatoes”. I never got the crisp outside I was promised, but cooking in the broth/sauce gave me an incredible flavor. Well, I have been making some pretty questionable meals lately. Lunch yesterday was Velveeta nachos and frozen Jamaican patties! Night before last was fish sticks: These are called The Ultimate Fish Sticks and they’re sold at Costco. They really are so much better than the usual frozen ones. Mr. Kim said that if he’d had these as a kid (grew up a RC), he wouldn’t have thought he hated fish for as long as he did. Also broccoli, fries, and tots. Served with sliced Campari tomatoes and Jiffy corn muffins (per another topic): The muffins rose oddly in the CSO but were fine when pulled apart. And last night was hot dogs: Along with fixed up Bush’s baked beans, pickly stuff, and “chippy dip” (family slang). And some yellow squash for Mr. Kim: It looks a little odd because I used a purple onion.

I agree with you. I used to like an easy stove top mac n cheese made with just Velveeta. Now, I add a little hot sauce and shredded Cheddar to it. I still use the Velveeta because I like the creaminess.

I belong to a British Expat Food Group on FB. Not because I'm British or an expat, but I love Britain and lots of British foods. Yesterday a bunch of them were trashing American Cheese - Velveeta in particular. So I had no choice but to have this for lunch: 🤣🤣🤣With these supposedly mild Jamaican patties: A tad too spicy, but nicer than my usual brand.

I'd say go for it. If it is deemed inappropriate, they'll let you know.

I'm thinking we need a super-sized "Pissed Off" emoji for this topic. This is where you need someone with the power to say, "OUT! Out, out, out! Here's your refund and a ticket home. OUT!!!". Wow. And re: the first story - please know that spouses/family members/friends are often cringing at their antics. Substitute “Italian” for “Jewish” and add some patronizing “sweetness” and you have my maternal family.

@Duvel – thank you for the recipe. I’ve put breakfast for dinner on the menu plan for next week and those will be perfect! @rotuts – never thought to put hummus on anything but pita-type bread. But that looks great. This morning’s breakfast build – toasted sub roll and ham: With a couple of eggs: After the squish: Sandwich turned into a fork and knife affair.

I haven't tasted Sonic's. All I can say is that someone who has eaten and loves mine didn't care for Sonic's version at all. Not much help, I'm afraid. I can say that I agree with @jmacnaughtan that it is more of an onion/bacon chutney than the name "Jam" implies.

This just reminded me to get up and feed the murder in my front yard.

I love that your dad had everyone's bacon roll preference down pat and that folks are honest about your mother's cooking! I had a great grandmother that everyone talks about like she was an angel on earth - you could hardly believe that she was real. You think that they are romanticizing her until cooking is mentioned. Then they all shake their heads and say, emphatically, "Oh no, she was a horrible cook!". 😄

@patti – I’m going to post both of the recipes for you – this is the spicier one and this is the less spicy one. Note that while the first recipe calls for canned corn, I use frozen. I cannot abide canned corn. We had a couple of lobster tails left from a Xmas gift in the freezer. I bought 4 more tails from Tom Leonard so that I could make 3 lobster rolls. The pictures tell the story of the comparative sizes. These are the ones from Tom Leonard: Three of them fit on a skewer cattycorner on the CSO pan (I steamed them all at 210F). These are the Xmas gift ones: They each had to have their own skewer. They all tasted good and were equally tender, though. Gently warmed in butter, lemon juice, paprika, and some of Mr. Kim’s Italian parsley: I served the lobster on small, soft sub rolls rather than hot dog buns: Served with salad and (what else?) corn: It is still a little early here for corn and so it’s hit or miss. Jessica’s and Mr. Kim’s pieces were fine, mine was a little tough. Jessica is dying to know the answer to this question and I didn't want to start a whole new topic for something that is of such narrow interest. She is very into ASMR and wants to know if these "Lava Cakes" are any good. So, does anyone in China ( @liuzhou?) or who has been to China had any experience with these? Are they as good as the girls eating them in the ASMR videos make them look? Are they really just four bites or are the girls in these videos like the Tardis (bigger inside than outside)? Thanks!

@Duvel – that is a lovely potato pancake – just how I like them to look. Would you share your recipe? This morning: Finally did some hard cooked eggs (I’ve been missing them), pineapple, bacon, and toasted pita bread. Not hard to tell which egg is from my SIL’s free range chickens, huh?

@Anna N – thank you for the recipe. It sounds wonderful. Like something that all three of us would like. @weinoo – yes to Cantler’s. My parents lived in Edgewater (just outside of Annapolis) when I was in college and it was a favorite. I loved crab stuffed shrimp back then! Still do, but not many places do it anymore. @Captain – your Toad in the Hole looks gorgeous. Our stores have recently started carrying tallow, so I can try that again soon. @gfweb – your twice bakes look great. Wish I had a couple of those to go with our dinner tonight. @patti – Happy Anniversary to you and your husband! Your dinner looked fantastic. And like you, I’m not a huge fan of bread pudding, but that chocolate version is speaking to me. @Shelby– @rotuts likes the reds and oranges. I’m the one who detests all manner of bell peppers, no matter the color or size. I find that one tiny piece will pollute an entire dish 😁. Also – I need both chicken strips and scallops SOON, thanks to your meals! Your peonies are gorgeous – one of my very favorites. I love how you used “our” dish – putting salt in one of the sections is smart! @Paul Bacino – your beautiful soft shells have made me intensely envious. I always try to make it to at least one restaurant to have a sandwich during the season, but I’ve never cooked my own. My mother’s best friends family owned a seafood restaurant in Washington DC in the 1950s and we spent many weekends at their house on the Chesapeake Bay. I remember being a little girl and sitting in the kitchen watching her father prepare meals. I was fascinated with everything, but I confess that the soft shells freaked me out a little. He assured me that cutting their eyes off killed them instantly, but I was bothered a bit. Not enough to refrain from eating my share, however 😉! @cteavin – those potatoes are just astonishing! Would you be willing to describe how they are done? Dinner on Wednesday was Beefy Noodles (from IP beef leftovers) and corn: On Thursday we had our first dinner party in over a year. Our former next door neighbors came over so we could celebrate one of their birthdays. Started with cheeses, crackers, olives, and Dorie’s Sweet & Spicy Cocktail Nuts (peanuts this time and not-so-spicy): Kalamatas, castelvetranos, Gouda, Cheddar, and lemon & honey Wensleydale. The birthday girl requested shrimp burgers: A cooled down version of a corn dip a friend makes: I served tortilla chips with this, but it really served as a corn salad. One of our friends made a Napa and spinach salad: There was a ginger-sesame dressing and almonds and fried rice noodles to go on top. I also did @Marlene’s Crispy Smashed Potatoes, but somehow missed getting a picture of them. On Friday since Mr. Kim was off work, we drove up to Fredericksburg to do some antiquing and stopped on the way home at a favorite place in Ashland for dinner. Mr. Kim had the Trackside burger – Cheddar, bacon, caramelized onions, and sautéed mushrooms and potato salad: Truly great burger, but the potato salad was basically cold mashed potatoes with some pickle relish and onions. I’m not a fan of potato salad (I don’t really care for cold potatoes unless they are raw), but Mr. Kim is and he wasn’t crazy about it. I had a cup of the chili and a chicken salad sandwich: I love their chili. It is one of the only places where I order it. I find most places make it too spicy or else they load it with bell peppers. Really good chicken salad – I brought half of this home. Night before last was short cut veal Parm: Frozen veal patties and fixed up Rao’s sauce with angel hair pasta and Brussels sprouts. Served with salad and garlic toast:

I really like Dave’s bread. Mr. Kim balked at the price and I stopped buying it. He almost never does that, so I just let him have his way this time 😉. I know a lot of folks – even American folks – find supermarket bread in the US very sweet. I’ve never noticed it especially. Or maybe I like it. Not sure. I don’t have the most sophisticated palate. I can say that I normally don’t care for whole wheat bread, which I find bitter, so maybe I’m reacting positively to the sweet flavor in some supermarket breads without realizing it. Mr. Kim was off on Friday, so we drove up to Fredericksburg. We had lunch at the 2400 Diner: I had the Gyro Platter: Fries, meat, salad, pita, and tzatziki. So good. And tons of meat slices. Mr. Kim had the Greek omelet and fruit: Feta, olives, tomatoes, onions: Yesterday drove up to Northern VA to pick up a couple of bookshelves from a store and stopped for lunch on the way back at the well-known and beloved Allman’s BBQ in Fredericksburg: It was fine. Not outstanding. The leftovers will taste better with some Short Sugar’s (NC) sauce 😁.

Bacon Jam is terrific. And that recipe looks really good. I use @kayb's recipe. My niece recently tried Sonic's version and called me to say that I needed to go up there and teach them what Bacon Jam is supposed to taste like. 😄