Kim Shook

LOL – I know exactly what you mean by “Now I kinda want turkey dinner again…” I thought I was sick of all of it until I saw everyone else’s plates and then I wandered right into the kitchen and nuked a bowl of dressing and gravy. And I honestly don’t believe that it matters much what kind of bread you use for dressing. I just grab the clearance stuff off the cart and then toss in stuff that is a little too old to eat from my breadbasket. I store it up in the freezer and then grab what I need when I’m ready to make dressing. My mom used regular old grocery store white bread (probably Wonder) and added oysters and oyster liquor AND stuffed it in a turkey and it was STILL delicious. I've used the Pepperidge Farm bagged crouton-like things, too. All good!

Oh, my goodness. Texture-wise would they work in a savory bread pudding?

Lunch on Wednesday was a pick up from a favorite restaurant – known for having the best chili dog in the city. Ergo - chili dogs, fries, and a small Caesar for Mr. Kim: Chili is so good that I took a bite in spite of the presence of raw onions. Egg salad, fries, and the other half of the salad for me:

@btbyrd – that cod is gorgeous. I have miso left – hoping I can get to the seafood store soon! @patti – thank you for your concern. Not feeling better quite yet, but should be in a month or so. @liamsaunt – thanks for the response. Mine was broiled, but maybe too far away. I’ll try it closer next time. @Ann_T – Jessica walked by and saw your pizza and said, “why don’t you get her to teach you how to make pizza like that?” 😁 I wanted to quickly let everyone know the latest on my knees. I had the MRI and doctor visit this week. It turns out that I have a frayed meniscus, lots of swelling and arthritis, and a sprained ligament. Treatment is gentle PT, rest, no stairs, and prescription anti-inflammatory. No imminent surgery is the good news. I should begin to see some improvement soon. Monday’s dinner was from 5 Guys: This was last night - I should note that I actually cooked this entire meal. It was a long process and I was exhausted and sore afterwards, but I did it. Brat sandwiches. We got the already cooked ones this time – they are my favorites. They all split in the pan: I don’t remember that happening before. I am watching a LOT of Food Network on the Firestick these days and saw someone slice the sausages for sandwiches. Looked interesting, so I decided to try it: It was a good trick! The sandwich was much easier to eat and you got a taste of everything in each bite. Plate: Sliced brat with sauteed onions and kraut on a bun, Rice a Roni, and green beans with vinaigrette.

Tuesday was another one of those sexy egg breakfasts, except with crumpets - I only have a video, so no picture.

I really like this idea, but what bags do you use? I don't think a ham would fit even my largest width ones.

@liamsaunt – I love the char that you got on your miso salmon. Ours didn’t turn out that color (you can see how pale ours was in the picture back on Wednesday, the 25th). I’m completely sure (having coveted your food and respected your cooking for so long) that yours was NOT overcooked. Was your salmon broiled or grilled? @CantCookStillTry – does your husband’s new job mean a move for your family? Or will he be gone for long stretches? @Ann_T – having been raised in a blended family (US and UK😉), that prime rib and Yorkshire pudding meal is heaven to me. @Robenco15 – I am completely intrigued by your turkey. Did the rillettes not get flattened by the vacuum bag? That just sounds so damn good. Thank you all for the good wishes and the admiration for Mr. Kim. He is certainly willing and insistent on taking care of me – maybe more than is actually good for me😊! If he could smoke every meal, we’d be eating incredibly well. But, he has to work, so he’s trying to do regular cooking. The story continues below. I just don’t have a lot to show lately – we are eating a lot of carry out and extremely casual pick up meals and they are just not worth pictures. I mentioned that Mr. Kim is very willing to make/find/buy me whatever I want to eat. But he just doesn’t have any cooking instincts. Last night he made grilled cheese sandwiches and was disgusted when he cut the first one open and most of the cheese wasn’t melted. I had suggested he use a few different cheeses that we had languishing in the cheese drawer, so the sandwiches were a lot thicker than he was used to. He didn’t take that into account and cooked the first one over high heat. We had a little lesson in grilled cheese and the second sandwich turned out much better. This was my dinner on Friday: A fully tricked-out turkey dinner is one of the few times I truly enjoy and look forward to leftovers.

@CantCookStillTry - either HP or marmalade. Not both at the same time. Though...🤔 Jessica's leftover Watergate salad from Thanksgiving dinner, ET bagel, hashbrown patty, and an egg that needed a Barry White song accompaniment when the yolk was cut open. Wow!

So much fun reading along with everyone’s prep and serving of dinner and your menus. Thank you to everyone who posted them. Sorry for the seemingly never ending post. Scroll on by if you begin to get sleepy😊! @gulfporter – that cranberry cake looks great. I’ve bookmarked the recipe that smithy found. And thank you so much for showing your notes. I love seeing stuff like that. @kayb – bless you for your kindness in taking a dinner to those folks. Jessica took one to a friend whose family had been exposed by a drop-in family member who thought they were safe a week after being exposed themselves🙄. Jessica’s friend ended up spending the holiday alone, so we piled her plate up and Jess took it by. I was hoping to make your cranberry salad this year – maybe Christmas. Nice looking plate of food. I was interested to hear about your response to dry brining. Mr. Kim found a really inexpensive whole turkey at Kroger and put it in the freezer. I’m planning to cook it at Xmas and have been thinking about doing a dry brine. It is fairly small, so I think I’ll spatchcock it, too. @Shelby – I loved it all, from the gorgeous charcuterie and cheese board through the hilarious and delicious looking Piecaken! I am sorry about your eggs – that is such a PITA. I was going to try them again this week, but someone mixed up my new eggs and the ones I was “aging”, so I have no idea what is what. Your green bean tart looks lovely – I’d pick the mushrooms off and get at it! You mentioned frozen pearl onions – they work great and I get them if I can. I’ve used the parboiling method, but you loose a lot of onion that way, I think. Your dinner plate looks great – nice, thick gravy and gorgeous turkey. @liamsaunt – I loved seeing your stuffed turkey. I still think that method makes the best tasting stuffing ever. If that had been my turkey, there would have been some picked off places where I pinched the crispy crust of the stuffing off! I had to laugh seeing everyone who is bored with this once a year meal. We SO look forward to it and usually have some form of it twice – Thanksgiving and Christmas. We always wonder why we don’t make it more often. As a matter of fact, Jessica has asked if I would SV a turkey breast every couple of weeks for sandwiches. Despite trying all kinds, we detest deli turkey, so making my own is the only way we get a turkey sandwich. The day before Thanksgiving – I didn’t take a lot of pictures this year with my knees being in such bad shape and spending most of the time on the couch. This was the beginning of the dressing: Torn bread (yeast rolls, Hawaiian, and cornbread – all leftover and sale bread that I had in the freezer), sautéed onions and celery, pepper, salt, and Bell’s seasoning. This sat out overnight before adding the butter, stock, and oysters on The Day. Thanksgiving Day menu (only got a few pictures): Butternut squash soup – Jessica: SV Turkey This turkey was the best I’ve ever cooked. I described my method in the SV thread, but I’ll put it here, too. I got two bone-in breast halves and 4 drumsticks at Wegmans. I sealed each of the breast halves and 2 each of the drumsticks in bags with butter, black pepper, and Bell's seasoning (poultry seasoning). I set the temperature for 148F and put the bags with the legs in them for 12 to 15 hours. With about 6 hours to go, I put the breasts in. I took them out of the water and let cool slightly. It was all supposed to be seared in ghee in an iron skillet at high heat – after pouring off the liquid from the bag. This was one of the few slip ups of the meal. I didn’t make that clear to Mr. Kim and I wasn’t in the kitchen when he put them in the skillet. When I went in, the drumsticks were merrily boiling away in the juices from the bag😖. It turned out fine. The skin was flabby, but the meat was delectable. Relish tray Gravy My gravy tasted good, but was too thin this year. Oyster dressing I managed to get some wonderful Rappahannock oysters at our favorite produce stand before they closed for the season and they were lovely. Cheese potatoes Sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows Watergate Salad – Jessica Sautéed Shredded Brussels Sprouts w/ Saba Corn Pudding – Jessica Cranberry sauce Yeast rolls – my MIL These are her award-winning (VA State Fair – multiple times) cloverleaf rolls that she’s made for years. I was not trusted with the recipe until she’d tasted my (Julia’s) brioche rolls and then years later I found the exact recipe in a BH&G or Betty Crocker cookbook😄. Pecan pie and pumpkin pie – my MIL They were both delicious – she is an incredible home baker. She used pie pumpkins and processed her own pumpkin filling using the IP we gave her! I love getting confirmation that we chose the right gift. Assorted things from the relish assortment, including pimento cheese, Jessica’s Watergate salad, and my cranberry sauce: We love all kinds of interesting pickly things, but on Thanksgiving tradition rules and I want exactly what was on my grandmothers’ tables – pimento stuffed giant green olives, California black olives, sweet midget pickles, and Mr. Kim's grandmother's (then his mom's and now Jessica’s) sweet pickled green tomatoes. Dinner plate: Between the three of us, and what my MIL brought, we managed a delicious and properly temped meal. It was all a bit fraught at times, but that’s us.

This is fine, as long as the huge, tough leaves are also available. My idea of heaven is porky, long cooked collards with a hint of sweetness, a touch of vinegar and showers of black pepper. If I were confronted with only "baby" collards, I would be tempted to toss them in the face of the produce manager. 😁

I love a plain old cold turkey, mayo, S&P, lettuce on white bread sandwich, but this was my dinner last night and is my favorite sandwich in the world: Hot turkey, dressing, and gravy on white bread. My gravy was a little thin this year, but tasted great.

Thanks so much for asking. Unfortunately pretty much the same. Maybe a little worse since my other knee is starting to react to being depended on so much more. I go to the doctor on Wednesday, though, so I’ve got my fingers crossed that he will have a plan !

I don't have any really good pictures, but our turkey was the best we've ever cooked. I got two bone-in breast halves and 4 drumsticks at Wegmans. I sealed each of the breast halves and 2 each of the drumsticks in bags with butter, black pepper, and Bell's seasoning (poultry seasoning). Dinner was at 6:30. I put the drumsticks in at 3am at 148F. The breasts were put in at noon. It all came out at 5:30pm. It was all supposed to be seared in ghee in an iron skillet at high heat. This was one of the few slip ups of the meal. Mr. Kim is just not a natural cook - he will follow directions to a T, but he has no experience or instinct. He'll read that something should take X minutes to cook. At exactly X minutes, he stops cooking and serves it without finding out if is it even hot. I've been served a lot of cold food since I've been out of commission. LOL. I was out of the kitchen when he put the drumsticks in the skillet. When I went in, the drumsticks were merrily boiling away in all of the juices from the bag. I'd forgotten to tell him to pour off the liquid before searing😖. It turned out fine. The skin was flabby, but the meat was delectable.

The recipe that I use calls for slices of white bread with crusts, and it tastes wonderful, so I'm sure it would be fine.

To bring bacon wrapped dates up-to-date (😊), drizzle with saba after taking out of the oven. Sublime.

@Margaret Pilgrim - mmmm, onion soup. My very favorite soup! Looks so good. @patti– I’m so glad to hear that your knees were nothing serious! @Shelby – I’d give a LOT to have one of your big sandwiches sitting in front of me right now. Last night, I mixed the miso sauce (white miso, sake, sugar, Dijon) to brush on the salmon and advised on timing and Mr. Kim did the actual cooking: Broccoli with lemon pepper, buttered noodles, and the salmon. It was very, very good. And very satisfying.

Much cuter. And they actually resemble bunnies! 😁

OMG - those "bunnies"! Hilarious. I think that food styling has advanced so much in the last 50 years!

Thank you so much, @curls. I've added that to my shopping list.

Yep. I still tell the story about trying to convince my four year old honorary niece this fact when we were eating in a Mexican restaurant once and she was refusing to eat their tacos. She had only had her mom's before and was extremely suspicious of that white stuff. She is now a HS teacher and completely understands the frustration of dealing with intransigent children. This is the same child that accused me of eating COWS while I was eating a burger. When I said that the hot dogs she was currently eating were also COW, she looked at me pityingly and informed me that they were the udders that fell off when the cows didn't need them anymore. She is still the smartest and funniest young person I know.

@patti – you are surely in my thoughts right now. I hope you are feeling better soon. Such gorgeous food, y’all! I want it all. I want @Shelby's big sandwiches, @robirdstx's smothered pork, all those damn pizza’s and crusty breads, @Dejah's and @Shelby's pot pies, lovely rare steaks, LASAGNA, shit I can’t even identify!, scallops, @CantCookStillTry's charcuterie tray and pork, @patti's short ribs, etc., etc. In my head I’m singing, “Don’t care how, I want it NOW!” from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory! Bless his heart. Mr. Kim is doing his very best. He’s working all the hours sent by God, trying to prep what he needs to for Thanksgiving, trying to help our daughter get her apartment really cleaned and tidied for an inspection by the complex management (she’s a complete slob – her living quarters and car look like they are owned by a hoarder, but she’s just a slob), his dad and stepmom’s basement started to flood in the heavy rains last week and THEY WENT ON VACATION, blithe in the knowledge that SOMEONE would handle things (I may end up killing these people). So, most of the time he wasn’t working this week was spent at their house carting things out to a storage container. The thing is I’m kinda starving and I can’t say a thing. Not actually “hungry” you understand, it’s just that what I’m being given is not satisfying me. I feel evil for saying that and would never, ever even hint at such a feeling. So, I’m just venting to folks who will understand and will know that I’m actually being well taken care of (though he did speak of baked chicken with instant rice and cream of mushroom sauce the other night😳). Here’s a few things that we’ve had: Grilled cheese and Mrs. Fearnow’s Brunswick stew: This is a locally produced, canned product and quite good. Another: He made us lo mein noodles, snow peas, and shrimp. This was pretty good. Needed a little sauce is all. Frozen fish and chips and shredded sautéed Brussels sprouts (not pictured but very good): The sprouts will appear again on Thanksgiving day, so this counted as practice. Self explanatory: Dinner picked up from a local favorite Greek place. Tiropita: That amazing Greek bread: I got a sampler of Greek stuff: Pastichio, dolmades, souvlaki, spanakopita, gyros, and tzatziki. Mr. Kim got the baked spaghetti with meatballs: Fingers crossed for tonight please – I got some salmon out of the freezer and am hoping I can stay upright in the kitchen long enough to supervise miso glazed salmon. Please excuse the crappy photos. I’m eating in the family room now and the lighting is awful.

That sounds lovely, @David Ross! Another salad that is perfect for Thanksgiving is your Apple, Pear, & Parsnip Salad.

@CantCookStillTry – those bacon sammies look outstanding. When I was a little girl my English grandmother would smuggle pounds of it over on her trips to see us. I loved them with HP, but also with orange marmalade. @chromedome– that waffle breakfast has me wishing that Mr. Kim was a better cook😊! Yeasted waffles are the very best and the pineapple looks perfect. I find myself craving a hot breakfast lately. I’ve looked for some frozen prepared things that might be a good breakfast for when I’m alone here – stuff that I can microwave quickly (if I sit down, I’m down for a long time without a boost), but I’m guessing that that is the kind of thing that folks are stocking up on because no one seems to have them. How I’d love to have a freezer full of @Ann_T's biscuits! But, between stuff that I’ve made and frozen and restaurants, I’m doing pretty well on breakfasts in the last little bit. I’m eating these later in the day, so they become brunch. Fried eggs, Benton’s bacon, and ET bagels w/ cream cheese. My breakfast from a local favorite deli: They have the best pancakes. Plus, you get 3 to an order – I can only eat one which means I get two more breakfasts out of it. Pancakes heat up perfectly in the CSO on bake/steam. I stood up long enough the other day to make French toast out of the last of the panettone from the freezer. Mr. Kim had to work from the office the next day, so I toasted some for breakfast: Just the best. This morning was more Benton's and ET bagels from the freezer: Please excuse the crappy pictures. I take them in the family room, where I'm being fed, instead of in the kitchen. Much better lighting there.

Absolutely.

Well, I put it on top of a baking sheet. But, to be honest, I cannot remember the last time I roasted a whole turkey in the oven. I've used my Nesco for at least the last 20 years. Turkeys are good and all, but the real culinary point of the day to me are the side dishes and whole turkeys take up to much oven real estate! 😁