Kim Shook

Love Craisins in chicken salad - especially with toasted walnuts or almonds. And I share your MW love - I grew up with it. I don't use it for everything like my mother did, but there are some things I love it with - Waldorf salad, fruit salad, some chicken salads and ham salad.

I like the consistency of chicken salad that is made with a couple of different "cuts" - especially if its going to be on a sandwich where a big dice would result in losing a bunch of it every time the sandwich was picked up. I do a really fine dice - really a mince - with probably 1/4 to 1/3 of it and a 1-inch dice that I then "smush" a bit with my fingers. The bigger pieces end up being a mix between a chunk and a shred, but not long shreds. This all gets mixed together with what ever ingredients and dressing I am using. Great. Now I want some chicken salad. 😁

Just freaking gobsmacked. Poached egg. Wow!

I'll add my thanks for taking us along. What you are doing was my retirement dream for years. MY darling wasn't enthusiastic, though. So the vicarious travel through you is wonderful!

@Shelby - I’ve always wondered something about ceviche. How do you “deactivate” it? I mean, once the fish or whatever has reached the perfect stage, do you have to gobble it all up right away? I assume you can’t rinse it because that would rinse away the flavor of the sauce. But if the sauce continues to work on the protein, doesn’t it get mushy (fish) or rubbery (squid)? @patti – those onion rings are absolutely perfect! Just exactly how I like them. @MaryIsobel – what a good guy you have! Dinner last night was shortcut veal Parm: Fixed up sauce, angel hair, and frozen veal patties. Served with garlic bread made from the last of the sourdough and a salad: After this meal and what I’m serving tonight, I think someone from eG may show up to rip off my epaulets. Dessert was frozen custard and a girl’s night out drive with Jessica:

I've been wanting one of these for a long time: Victorinox flexible 6-inch boning knife

From the freezer: Sausage rolls originally made for Christmas breakfast with HP on the side.

Thank you for posting this. Utterly fascinating and truly touching. The funny thing is that almost none of the food appealed to me, yet I was riveted by his story and so happy at the end when he got to give his mom the "biggest hug". Universal feelings about food and family and the appreciation of what one has.

Mr. Kim's Dagwood: Hard salami, American cheese, ham, mild sopressata, bologna, turkey, arugula, and sandwich pickles with spicy brown mustard.

Corn cakes (purchased) and one gigantic egg: (wince)

I think the quality of individual Aldi's varies wildly. I belong to an Aldi FB group and the things that people find in their local Aldi regularly astound me. Our stores are good, basic small grocery stores. They actually remind me of a local chain that I grew up with (Magruder's in the Washington DC area, if anyone is familiar with them) - small personal, but complete as far as products go. You could do all your shopping there, but whether you would or not would depend on your ability to travel.

Hi, @ximena! Welcome to eGullet. Look around at all the different areas and you'll be sure to find places to ask the questions you have. We're a pretty friendly bunch!

@blue_dolphin - I may not be the best person to judge saltiness. I've got something called Burning Tongue Syndrome that has impaired my ability to taste to a certain extent. But Mr. Kim didn't find it overly salty. @Anna N - I'm guessing that you mean that one would expect pies with hot water crust pasty to have more of a layered and precise filling rather than a super thick mixed filling (rather like beef stew actually). I think that the fact that that type of pie would normally be served room temperature/cold and this was intended to be served hot (American audience?) might explain that. Though, I have to say that every hand raised pie I've ever had in the past (made by my English dad or his English/Irish mum) was more casual like this.

Trader Joe's Steak and Stout pies for dinner last night:

Welcome to eG! I think you will have a good time here and am looking forward to your contributions!

@CantCookStillTry – I had to laugh at your words, but that quiche really looks good. When you use leeks in your quiche, how do you prepare them? @Shelby – that squid looks very good. What is their texture like? If they are really marinated to the point that they have a “cooked” texture, I’d be happy with them. Night before last was burgers. Since I’ve been having so much trouble with my burgers, I bought some already formed Angus burger patties. I was curious to see if I did a better job on pre-formed ones than on the ones I packed by hand. These turned out much more cohesive, though thicker than I like. Sautéed onions for the burgers: Mine with American cheese, onions, mayo, & BBQ sauce. Also, frozen French fries, and fixed up baked beans: I don’t know if this is the right place for this comment, but I have noticed (not so much here as in media mentions) that folks seem to have trouble differentiating between the two main types of American cheese. One is the sticky type, individually wrapped in plastic (because otherwise it would meld into one large chunk) that Kraft calls “pasteurized processed cheese product”. The second is similar, but not the same taste or texture. It is “pasteurized processed cheese” (no “product”) which Kraft calls “Deli Deluxe”. If you get American cheese sliced for you from the deli, this is the product you get. To my mind, it is a much better product with actual flavor. American cheese lecture over. Mr. Kim chose gorgonzola dolce, onions, and steak sauce on his burger: And some pretty-good-for-April corn: Last night was Trader Joe’s Steak & Stout pies: With a little Bisto and my first try at oven-cooked potato wedges, which we liked a lot. Inside view: With gravy: We liked them quite a lot. The filling was tasty and had plenty of pieces of beef. The crust was a little soft on the sides, but not unpleasant. It wasn’t really dry, but we were glad of the Bisto. They are calorie/carb/sodium bombs, so a once-in-a-while indulgence, but I only ate half of one. And it’s nice to know that I can just pick these up nearby when I have the urge – our good pie shop is still not open regular hours and I know I’ll never make a hand raised pie. Served with sliced tomatoes and salted radishes (for me) and an arugula and tomato salad (for Mr. Kim) and some of Jessica’s friend’s good sourdough:

Well, I'm glad to know I am misremembering! I always thought that New Yorkers scorned toasting bagels. I know that there is a bagel place in Charlottesville VA that says they are "NYC Style" and they refuse to toast. Because it "changes" the bagel🙄. Well, so does putting cream cheese on it and they do that. I think they just don't want to take the time. Anyway, I used up the last of the lox cream cheese on a toasted poppyseed this morning:

Hi, Isaac! Welcome to eG. You live in one of my favorite places in the world and I'm looking forward to your posts. I've been hoping that when things become more normalized we'll all be getting out more and showing off our surroundings. I'd love to "visit" NYC again!

I'm impressed! I love road trips, but tend to use them as self indulgent journeys - especially if I'm solo.

That rattle you're hearing is my eyes rolling right out of my head.

Thank you, @Janet Helm! Can you give us an idea of how many there are? I know I'd love to have some and would be glad to pay the postage, but I'd need an estimate.

Welcome, Janet! Your collection sounds exciting! Lots of us collect the older stuff. Definitely participate in the topic about the booklets and pamphlets that @Smithy mentioned. Not sure about where you would post the cookbooks.

@Shelby – hope your mouth is feeling better. You cook through pain better than I cook through feeling fine! @liamsaunt – that potato cake is a thing of beauty! And re: the Zuni chicken? I’d like to snick the skin off that 8 o’clock piece and nibble it in the kitchen. 😁 @Paul Bacino – both your leftover potato cake and the braised fennel look so incredibly good. MUCH better than anything I’m preparing tonight. Last night’s dinner was inspired by a combination of the gorgeous sourdough that we got from a friend of Jessica’s who bakes and my shrimp craving. Ina Garten’s roasted shrimp and some strong cocktail sauce: I don’t think I’ve steamed or boiled a shrimp since trying this method a few years ago. It’s my favorite way to prepare shrimp simply. The bread: Absolutely fantastic bread. So flavorful and it has a great crumb. I’m having to exert some self-control to not cut off a slice every time I walk into the kitchen. We also set out some of our multiple cheeses out: Cheddar, balsamic Bellavitano, mimolette, and rosemary & olive oil asiago. Salad w/ lime-dressed mango, and pumpernickel croutons:

@patti – good looking sandwich! I always forget that sandwich toast should be less “toasted” than toast-toast and end up with roof-of-mouth injuries. Yours looks perfect. @BonVivant – what course is that gorgeous ricotta thing meant for? Mr. Kim had a free Yelp pizza from &Pizza – so, lunch: This is the “Buffy” with tomato sauce, mozz, grilled onion, garlic puree, arugula and banana peppers on his side. Yesterday after church we had another pharmacy lunch counter meal. I had a Sailor and fries. A Sailor sandwich, which claims to be a hometown (Richmond VA) invention, is a grilled pastrami, Swiss, and split knockwurst sandwich. I have to say that I never saw it until coming to Richmond for college in 1978 and I don’t think I’ve seen it on menus outside of this area: I always forget that they have those battered fries, which I don’t like a lot. I always expect to get crinkle cuts there. They just SEEM like a crinkle cut kind of place. Good sandwich, though. Not piled as high as some places: …but I actually prefer a sandwich that fits in my mouth. Mr. Kim had the tuna salad: We are so lucky to have access to TWO old-style lunch counters. The south may be deli/diner deficient, but we do cafes and lunch counters very well. I made some soup today to have on hand for the week. Camille Glenn’s Quick Tomato Consommé is a favorite of ours and incredibly easy: It is just V8 juice, canned beef consommé, water, a celery stalk, parsley, a few onion slices, and a bay leaf. All in the saucepan, brought to a boil and simmered for 15 minutes. Then you strain the soup. That’s it!

@blue_dolphin – the waffle and strawberries look so good. Can’t wait for strawberries to start coming in. @Ann_T – the halibut cakes look delicious! I am a big fan of creamy fish dishes and know I’d love that. On Saturday, I took Jessica to get her 2nd vaccination shot and we got brunch afterwards from Salt and Forge. She had the Ham & Jam biscuit: Edward’s country ham, Brie, and house-made jam. Mine was house-made sausage, a fried egg, and cheese: These are easily as big as my hand. We’ve never had anything there less than delicious and this was no exception. This morning was an ET bagel with lox cream cheese: I know that bagel aficionados don’t like the idea of toasting a bagel, but I’m a southerner and I love a well-toasted bagel. But then, I have no problem with sweet bagels, either.