Cooking with Allison Mick

I love to listen to music while cooking. It keeps me in a good mood and helps me time things. Today it was raining so I put on a podcast (Why Won’t You Date Me with Nicole Byer) and laughed so much while cookinig that I think it made this soup come out better. Also that podcast’s eps run about 40 minutes which is how long this soup takes from beginning to end, including prep. 

Ingredients:

chicken (I used 2 legs that were hanging out in my fridge)

chicken broth, 1 24oz bottle of Broth Baby chicken broth (I made dis!)

Dragonfly curry gravy, 1 14oz can

shallots

2 green onions

fresh ginger, 3 thick thumbs’ worth, peeled

6 baby carrots

celery, 2 stalks

fresh garlic, 8 gloves

minced garlic, 3 Tbs

cabbage, 1 small head chopped into 1-inch slices

shrimp paste, 2 Tbs

chili paste

fish sauce

lime juice, 4 Tbs

sesame oil, 1 Tbs

1/2 Tbs salt (I love Oaktown Spice Shop’s applewood smoked sea salt)

Mince shallots, carrots, ginger, garlic cloves, green onions in food processor. Heat in soup pot over high heat with sesame oil until softened but not browned. Add bite-sized pieces of chicken, salt, minced garlic, 1/2 Tbs shrimp paste, lime juice, and a few dashes of fish sauce. Sauté until chicken is browned. 

When chicken is fully cooked, dump in the curry gravy and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and add the rest of the shrimp paste, chili paste, and some more fish sauce. Lower heat to medium. Add cabbage and cover. 

These are so good omg. Best part is: no meat. Fried is the best way to eat vegetables and you can also eat these with vegetables and they make the vegetables taste better. Eat these alongside a big salad and you won’t be bummed out about having to eat a big salad anymore.

Ingredients:

1 can or jar of artichoke hearts

1 large shallot (large = at least 2″ wide)

2 celery stalks

3-inch long (at least) ginger root with skin removed. Get a big thicky if you can.

3 cloves of garlic

1 Tbs mustard

2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce [use Amy’s brand for vegan recipe]

1 Tbs A-1 sauce [omit for vegan recipe]

1 Tbs chicken stock powder [omit for vegetarian/vegan recipe]

2 Tbs Old Bay seasoning

1 Tbs curry powder

1 tsp cumin

1 box Jiffy brand cornbread mix

1/4 cup Panko crumbs

1 cup Panko breadcrumbs in separate bowl

3 cups vegetable oil

Drain excess liquid from the artichoke hearts container. Pulse the celery, artichoke hearts, shallot, garlic, and ginger in a food processor on the “chop” setting until everything is minced but not liquidy. The texture should resemble pico de gallo. Dump into a big bowl.

Add wet ingredients (A1 and washahashasha sauce) and mix with a spatula. Stir in dry ingredients one at a time (Old Bay, curry, cumin, panko crumbs, and cornbread mix). If it’s sticky, good. Paste-like consistency is what you’re aiming for. You should be able to form the mix into a ball without it falling apart.

Fill shallow skillet halfway with vegetable oil and put on medium heat-- setting 4 on a gas range is about right. You’ll know it’s ready when you look into the oil and it’s got a slight mirage effect. If you look into the oil and see how you’ll die, lower the heat. 

Roll 1-inch wide balls of wet mix and coat with Panko breadcrumbs. Place gently in oil, which should sizzle immediately but not violently around the crumbs. Let fry for about 90 seconds on each side. Flip when the fried side is between the color of a Cockapoo and a Cavapoo. Goldendoodles need 30 more seconds. Darker is fine too if you like a real good crunch. Remove from oil and set on a paper towel. 

Sour Time Aioli 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mayo (any kind)

1 lemon

10 sprigs of fresh thyme

1 tbs dried thyme

1/4 tbs Kosher salt

I love samosas but I don’t love leaving the house or paying up to $7.99 in delivery fees to order them from restaurants. Luckily a friend gave me this recipe when I was living in Boston in 2007 and I’ve tooled around with the recipe so much that now I prefer my samosas to restaurant ones and mine are way cheaper too.

Ingredients

3 large potatoes

1 can crescent roll dough

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1/3 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup frozen peas

1/3 cup chopped cauliflower florets

1/2 onion

1 Tbs fresh chopped ginger

1 Tbs fresh chopped garlic

2 Tbs yellow madras curry

olive oil

salt and pepper

Boil potatoes until soft and mash until chunky. Add butter, cream, salt, and pepper. Mash well and set aside.

In a small skillet, sautee onions, ginger, and garlic in olive oil. When everything is kinda browned (5-ish minutes on medium heat), add the curry and stir well. SUBSTITUTIONS: I have also done a low budget version where I subbed in onion powder, garlic powder, and ginger powder and it still tasted PRETTY GOOD. If you’re using powders, use more than you think you’ll need and toast them together with the curry in the skillet without oil.

Add the spice mixture and veggies to the mashed potatoes and mix with a spatula. If the mixture starts to dry out, add more butter. Salt and pep to taste.

Pop open can and unroll dough. Use a knife to go over the perforated triangles then bisect the triangles so you have 16 small triangles total. Pull apart a triangle and place a spoonful of potato mixture in the middle. Bring the tips together at the top.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes or until deep golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes.

Cake babies are entremets without mousse. What is an Entremet? An entremets is in modern French cuisine a small multi-layered mousse-based dish whose novelty comes from the variation of flavors and textures. It’s extremely hard to make which is why this is a fucked up version of it but it still tastes good.

Here’s the one I thought should’ve won Great British Bake Off in 2017:

When I first made this, I tried to do it as a tray bake bc I did not yet (1) own acetate collars or (b) know how to make mousse. Both are crucial for a mess-free entremets. Cake entremets include a layer of mousse that goes around the entire cake to preserve the layers. OR you can use acetate collars to make little individual baby cakes.

Entremets has a bunch of different parts that you make separately then put together at the end so keeping all the parts evenly shaped and chilled is important so they’re not leaking all over each other. This dessert has the following components: molasses cookie, buttercream, sponge cake, blackberry jam jello, vanilla mousse, and decoration including blackberry balsamic vinegar and edible flowers. 

Pussyberry Jello

2 cups blackberries

2 cups sugar

2 cups strong peach-ginger tea

1/3 cup lemon-infused honey

3 gelatin sheets (or use a packet of raspberry or blackberry Jell-o)

2 cups ice cold water

1 pinch of your favorite salt

What the shit is a pussyberry? Pussyberry is the flavor of all the things you like mixed together in a sweet but complex ecosystem of flavor. The first time I made this it was a big lumpy black-red mess that looked like the cake perioded everywhere and it’s a running joke between my boyfriend and me that I put period blood in his food to keep him in love with me. 

This cake’s pussyberry profile is a muddled blackberry base in raspberry jello using honeyed peach-ginger tea instead of water. To make your own pussyberry flavor, feel free to substitute your favorite flavor of tea or Jell-o or flavor infused honey. 

Crush blackberries either in a food processor or with a potato masher. Combine in a small-medium saucepan with the sugar, tea, and honey. Bring to a boil, stirring regularly. Add salt and gelatin sheets. Remove from heat while stirring for 2 minutes. Stir in ice water and divide mixture across 3 plastic tupperware containers*. This is to keep this layer from being too thick. Cover the containers and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Overnight is better so you know it’s set.  

When you’re ready to assemble the entremets, cut circles with the cookie cutter the same size as the other components.

If you don’t wait long enough your jello will fall apart but you can still spread that on naked sponge and let it soak in. 

*If you have them, you can also use silicone molds the same size as the cookies. That’s what you should do if you’re on Great British Baking Show but I’m not and I have approximately 7,000 tupperware containers in my kitchen so I’m using what I have. Spray them with Pam or coconut oil before filling them!!!

Panna Cotta Is Just Vanilla Mousse

1 cup milk 2% or whole milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp bergamot extract

2 packets 1/2 oz total unflavored gelatin

1 cup + 2 Tbsp granulated sugar

16 oz sour cream

8 oz 1 cup heavy whipping cream

In a small sauce pan, combine 1 cup milk, 1 tsp vanilla, 2 packets gelatin and whisk together. Place over medium heat and continue whisking until steamy NOT BOILING then remove from heat and cool until just warm.

In a large mixing bowl, beat 1 cup heavy cream until fluffy. Use an electric mixer because I tried to do it by hand and it Did Not Work™,  In a second mixing bowl, whisk together 1 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar and 16 oz sour cream until well blended. Fold in whipped cream then while using the mixer on low speed, slowly add warm milk mixture, scraping down the bowl as needed.

Transfer to multiple GREASED tupperwares immediately because the gelatin will make it set quickly which is good. Put in the fridge for several hours while you make the other stuff. GREASE your containers or it’ll stick like this:

Cookie

2 1/2 cups flour

granulated white sugar

brown sugar

butter, softened

molasses

cinnamon, toasted

nutmeg, toasted

ginger powder, toasted

cloves, freshly ground and toasted

cardamom, shelled, freshly ground and toasted

allspice, shelled, freshly ground and toasted

Preheat oven to 350. Mix wet and dry ingredients until a thick dough is formed.

Using your hands or an ice cream scoop, roll out flattish lumps of dough. Coat in white granulated sugar before spacing evenly on the cookie sheet. These will be the base of the entremets. Dust with white sugar before putting on cookie sheet. Bake on a greased cookie sheet (or use parchment paper) for 9 minutes. 

Using parchment paper and a coffee can, flatten cookies. Use a cookie cutter to make them uniform. Pop in the freezer for 10 minutes to cool. 

Sponge

Do yourself a favor and just use a box of regular yellow cake mix. It tastes good. 

Preheat oven to 350 if you haven’t already. Bake in a large, shallow, rectangular pan. Grease the pan with a generous amount of shortening or butter then dust with flour so the cake will come out in one piece. When done, chill in the freezer for 20 minutes. Once chilled, pop the cake onto a cutting board. Use a round cookie cutter the same size as your finished cookies and cut twice as many cake circles as cookies since you will use the cake twice. 

Buttercream Frosting

butter

powdered sugar

OR just buy the stuff from the store that comes already in the piping bag. I’m not the cake police and I’m certainly not a cake narc. Do what you want. This shit’s hard so cut corners where you can. 

PUT IT ALL TOGETHER!

Combine all your chilly little circles by taping acetate collars around the cookies and layering from bottom to top:

Cookie

Buttercream

Sponge

Jello

Sponge

Panna Cotta

Decorate with a tuft of whipped cream drizzled with blackberry balsamic vinegar and butterfly pea flowers.

I watched Ratatouille over Christmas and the spice shop gave me a provençal chicken recipe with the herbes de provence and I put em together. Not to brag but I cook better than a cartoon rat. 

Ingredients:

4 chicken leg quarters

2 yellow squash

5 roma tomatoes

2 eggplant

2 zucchini

5 garlic cloves

1/2 white onion, diced

1 lb angel hair pasta

To Taste:

tomato paste

olive oil

kosher salt

french gray sea salt

applewood smoked sea salt from oaktown spice shop

fresh rosemary

fresh thyme

black pepper

herbes de provence

fresh basil

preheat oven to 450.

using a mandolin or chef’s knife cut the zucchini, squash, eggplant, and tomatoes into thick slices. save any pieces that are too small to evenly stack and puree them in a food processor the garlic cloves, tomato paste, onions, and a splash of olive oil. pour the puree on the bottom of a big dutch oven pot and layer the sliced veggies in alternating colors til it's covered. sprinkle with olive oil gray salt, black pepper, and herbes de provence. top with a few sprigs of rosemary and thyme. 

pat dry the chicken quarters and toss in a 1:2:1 mixture of kosher salt, applewood sea salt, and herbes de provence. place on top of ratatouille bed. cover dutch oven and put in oven for 1.5 hours. 

oh em gee please try this I have never enjoyed a recipe so much. I’ve been hosting brunch for so long I’m tired of regular shit so this is kind of like a reconstructed avocado toast. You could also mix this up by doing a plate of fried green tomatoes as well. 

DFA’s

Ingredients

Avocados, ripe or just underripe 

eggs, beaten

corn starch

panko breadcrumbs

kosher salt

black pepper

Slice avocados and put on a plate. Chill for 20 minutes. Dip in corn starch then egg then breadcrumbs. Gently place in the hot oil because if you toss them you might get hot oil all over yourself so be careful. Fry for about 2 minutes or until the breading is caramel colored. Remove and set on a paper towel. 

CLH

Ingredients

4 egg yolks

1 Tbs cold water

juice from 2 limes

1/2 cup butter

kosher salt

black pepper

fresh, finely chopped cilantro

fresh, finely chopped parsley (1/3 as much as you use cilantro)

In a metal mixing bowl whisk together egg yolks, lime juice, cold water, salt and pepper. Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Gradually whisk yolk mixture into butter. Continue whisking over low heat for 8 minutes, or until sauce is thickened. Add cilantro and parsley and continue to mix into sauce over low heat. Serve as a dipping sauce for avocados or on some garlic-crusted salmon.

I put so much stuff in here that nothing is really set in stone, ingredient-wise, so trust your instincts and just throw stuff in there. Let it sit overnight bc it’s WAY better the next day.

Step 1: Canned Stuff (The Base)

Ingredients

1 28oz can diced tomatoes

1 28oz can crushed tomatoes

1 14oz can pinto beans

1 14oz can red kidney beans

1 14oz can black beans

1 14oz can sweet corn kernels

1/2 large yellow onion, chopped

2 large yellow squash, sliced thick

4 garlic cloves, whole

2 whole serrano peppers, pureed in a food processor

2 whole jalapeno peppers, pureed in a food processor

I highly recommend having another person cut peppers for you. The first time I made this chili my eyes were tearing up from the onions then I thought I’d washed my hands enough after the peppers and wiped some tears from my eyes. I HAD NOT WASHED MY HANDS ENOUGH AFTER THE PEPPERS. Wear gloves when you cut dem peps and throw them in a food processor so you’re not making any more contact with them than you have to.

Dump all these into a big pot and keep on medium heat until boiling, stirring every 10 minutes or so. 

Step 2: Meat (for Vegetarian chili just leave this part out)

Ingredients

1lb ground beef (you can probably use 2 lbs but I was being cheap)

1/2 large yellow onion, chopped

sea salt

fresh ground pepper

garlic powder to taste

Cook on high heat until the beef is browned and onions are clear. Dump into the big pot. 

Step 3: Spicy Times

Ingredients (add to taste)

Chili powder

Cajun spice mix

Madras curry powder

ground ginger

sea salt (I used pink Himalayan, white coarse, and black Hawaiian salt bc I’m a bougie bitch)

cilantro paste

chili paste

red wine vinegar

Hoisin sauce

some other stuff probably

Mix it all together in a big pot and let simmer uncovered on medium-low until it’s not watery anymore. Add a little corn starch to hurry that process up if you need. Ready to eat in an hour but even better if you let it cook longer and reduce more. Stir clockwise with a wooden spoon, scraping the bottom as you stir.

I’m trying to eat healthier so obviously this was the solution.

Ingredients

3 large eggs

1 tin Pillsbury Butter Flake croissant dough

1 large tomato

1/2 bag of spinach

just a fuckton of fresh basil

2 cloves garlic

salt

pepper

onion powder

garlic powder

milk 

2 tsp olive oil

chives

Pop open the dough tube and use the dough triangles to form a crust along the bottom and sides of a low skillet. Cast iron is best, duh, but as long as it’s oven safe it’ll work. Put in the oven and bake at 425 for 12 minutes.

Chop the tomatoes, garlic, and basil and put in a saucepan with the oil. After this mix is at a low simmer, throw in the spinach and stir every few minutes.

Mix the eggs, milk, salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder together in a small bowl. Pour in a skillet and make scrambled eggs. 

When the dough is done, it’ll be all puffy and that’s fine. Pour in the tomato spinach mix then use the scrambled eggs to press everything down. 

Bake in the oven for another 7-ish minutes, increasing the heat to 450, until the crust is golden brown and the tomatoes are less watery. 

Let cool and garnish with chopped chives. 

Hi I went to the Temescal Farmers Market today and even though I dented the front of my car while trying to park, I had a great time. For the first time ever I got there early enough to pick up some steak from the Prather Ranch stand. Fuckin, say what you want about hippies but ethically raised beef just tastes better.

I got a bunch of stuff and just threw it together in a bowl and it worked. Essentially it’s a salad with grilled steak and fried green tomatoes on top. 

Grilled Skirt Steak

Ingredients

1 lb grass fed skirt steak

1/2 cup canola oil

2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce

2 Tbs red wine vinegar

1 Tbs black sesame oil

1 Tbs honeyed ginger balsamic vinegar

3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

juice from 1 lemon

1 tsp coarse sea salt

1 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper

Emulsify all the ingredients except the steak by beating vigorously in a large bowl. Or use a food processor.  I don’t have one but if you do, save yourself some time and use it. Put the steak in a bag with the marinade and place in the fridge for 1-ish hours, shaking it up every 15 mins or so. The vinegar and acid in the marinade make the beef taste great but also break down the connective tissues, making it SUPER tender. Mine started out as a circle of steak and after 1 hr, had become 3 long strips. After an hour or so, remove the steak from the bag and shake gently so there isn’t a ton of excess marinade on it. 

Preheat a skillet on high and place your steak on it. Don’t move the steak around too much, just let it get like 50% burn-y crust on the bottom before turning. Letting it get that char on it is like a shell on the outside that keeps all the juiciness inside. This shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes total. 

Remove from skillet and finely slice into small pieces. Throw em in your big bowl of salad. 

Salad

Ingredients

Little gem lettuce, one head

spinach

other salady things that you might like, like nuts or cheese or craisins or something?

um, just like wash off your Little Gem lettuce then tear it and throw it in a bowl. Add some spinach if you want. This is literally the least important part of this whole thing.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Ingredients

2 large green heirloom tomatoes (color doesn’t really matter since it’s gonna be covered in batter anyway), sliced into 1/3 inch slices

1/4- 1/2 inch of Canola oil in a cast iron skillet, on medium heat

First bowl (mix together)

1/4 cup all purpose flour

2 Tbs corn starch

Second bowl (beat these together)

1 large egg

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Third bowl (mix together)

1/2 cup corn meal, Panko, or bread crumbs

1/4 cup flour

1 Tbs coarse sea salt

1 Tbs fresh ground pepper

Dredge each tomato slice in the first bowl, coat with the wet mix from the second bowl, coat with the breading in the third bowl, then fry in the oil for about 2 minutes on each side. Place on a paper towel to dry. 

Put a fried green tomato at the bottom of your salad and one on top and it’s like you don’t even need croutons. 

I’m not sure what to call this but it’s basically potato salad without the potatoes or mayo. “But Allison, aren’t those the things that make potato salad potato salad?” asks you, an intellectual. YEAH I DON’T FUCKING KNOW. 

All I know is this is delicious and you’re gonna like it. I put it on top of a spicy polish sausage at a cookout and now I want it on all my spiced meats.

Ingredients

3 red beets

1 large yellow onion, sliced

5 Tbs blood orange infused olive oil (or any kind of citrus-y olive oil)

3 Tbs curry powder

1 tsp ginger powder

Preheat the oven to 400. Coat each beat with a bit of olive oil. Wrap them individually in aluminum foil and place in the oven in a loaf pan in case they spring a leak. Roast for 40-ish minutes. I did this the night before and then put them in the fridge so they weren’t too hot in this compote/salad situation.

Chop the onions into thin slices and sautee in 2 Tbs olive oil on medium heat for like 25 minutes. Don’t believe anyone who tells you that you can caramelize onions in less time than that. They’re good because they take a while.

Chop the beets into small pieces (maybe like 1/4 inch or smaller) and place in a bowl. Pour in the rest of the olive oil. If you’re using regular olive oil, also add the juice from half an orange on top. Mix well.

Add the carmelized onions and spices. Mix well. Everything will turn purple at this point.

PUT THAT SHIT ON ANYTHING! 

Mick Cooks returns! I don’t apologize! Let’s cook some chicken! You’ll like it!

Ingredients:

4 chicken thighs, skin ON

Breaded Crust

1 bag Cassava Pops chips, crushed - I used Hawaiian Luau flavor but if you’re a spice monster, try the Volcano flavor

1/2 cup Bisquick

1 Tbs yellow curry powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 Tbs onion powder

1 tsp salt

1 Tbs chili powder

1/2 cup bread crumbs

Wet Mix

2 large eggs

1/4 yellow onion, diced

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1/3 cup Bisquick

1 clove garlic, minced

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a medium mixing bowl, stir up all the wet ingredients. It’s going to be chunky. Go with it.

In a large mixing bowl, crush up the Cassava chips until the chips are around 1/8th of an inch. Keep it crispy by not completely turning them to powder. Add all the other breaded crust ingredients.

Dip the chicken thighs in the wet mix, making sure to get onion on there. There’s usually a part on the chicken that’s cut open a bit, so shove some onion-y batter up in there. 

Then toss the chicken in the breading and place on the pan. If there’s any mix left over, just spoon it over the chicken on the pan to make a double crust. A mega crust, if you will.

Bake for 40 minutes until crust is medium brown then serve with whatever.

DRINK THIS SHIT AND TRY TO TELL ME KITCHEN WITCHCRAFT ISN’T REAL

Ingredients:

1 gallon apple cider

4 clementine oranges, sliced and quartered

1 orange or clementine, sliced

2 pears, sliced

3 cinnamon sticks

3 star anise pods (pods? stars?)

1 Tbs whole allspice berries

1 tsp ground allspice

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 Tbs vanilla extract

like a whole bunch of whole cloves

In a large cast iron pot, toast all the spices for a couple of minutes. Add the vanilla, clementines, and pears and sauté until the clementines are nice and soft and the pears are browned on one side. Add the cider and bring to a boil. You can also stick cloves in the sections of the sliced orange so it looks all autumnal and gorgeous. 

and just in time for Thanksgiving!

These lil bad boys are super easy to make and are a warm addition to any Friendsgiving or family gathering.

Ingredients:

5 large yellow potatoes

1 lb baby spinach

1/2 large yellow onion, diced

1 can yellow sweet corn, strained

1/3 cup skim milk

1 cup bisquick powder

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp sweet cream butter

1 tsp liquid smoke

1 tbsp sea salt

Pam spray or more butter for the muffin pan

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Boil the potatoes.

Sauté the garlic and onions in the olive oil in a medium saucepan. When the onions are clear, add the spinach (tear leaves into bite-sized pieces) and cover on medium heat.

df

When the potatoes are soft, mash with the milk and salt until smooth (a little chunky is fine though). Microwave butter for 33 seconds with the liquid smoke and pour into the mashed potatoes. Add Bisquick and stir in corn and spinach, onions, and garlic. Mix it all together. Feel free to add Panko breadcrumbs if you want.

Oh dang would ya look at that?

Grease a muffin tin with butter or Pam. Spoon the potato mix into the muffin holes until each is filled about 2/3 of the way.

Top with tiny pats of butter. Bake for 20 minutes or until tops are brown and a knife comes out of the thickest fritter clean.

How fucking cute is this leaf? Super cute. Also SUPER easy to make.

Ingredients

6 oz chocolate chips (mini ones work best)

1 Tbs coconut oil (Crisco also work)

Edible glitter (I used this non-toxic lustre dust)

Ziploc sandwich bag

wax paper

THAT’S IT. Pour the chocolate chips into a microwave safe container and spoon the coconut oil on top. Microwave for 11 seconds at a time, stirring after each blast, until the chips are thoroughly melted. Let cool for a bit (like 5 mins) and spoon into the sandwich bag. Snip the corner off and bam, you’ve got a makeshift pastry bag that you can make whatever pattern you want with. 

Use the pastry bag to draw on the wax paper. I made leaves to go with the graham cracker apple tarts I was making. Make more than you think you’ll need because some will break and you’re probably gonna fuck up some of them. Not an indictment on your culinary abilities, I’m just being realistic.

When you’re done, put the wax paper in the fridge for half an hour. When they’re solid, you can use a paint brush or Q-tip to paint on them with the edible glitter powder. I tapped some on for the Pollack-y effect. If you want them to stay solid, don’t place them on your hot dessert, but pair the dessert with some ice cream and place the chocolate accent on that.