Chocolate Mint Kasha Buttons

March 31, 2013 Jessica Tom

The other day, I had a cupcake with wheatberry buttercream frosting. I made a joke that it doesn't seem possible. What's next, quinoa fudge.

And then I remembered this guy, which I made as a gift for someone who loves chocolate and mint. The crunch is similar to that of a Crunch bar, but with a bit of farminess to it, a taste of the soil along with the cooling green of the mint.

I added the tiniest bit of peppermint extract into melted chocolate, then mixed with the kasha. You can change it up with other small cereals of varying processing -- puffed wheat, Smacks. More chocolate for a bon-bon. More kasha for something like a granola bar.

I molded the chocolates in this mysterious porcelain tray I got from Fish's Eddy. The leaf adds something of a fern-in-a-fossil effect, which I may want to continue if I pursue this ancient grain-chocolate thing.

Vanilla Cranberry Panna Cotta

February 13, 2013 Jessica Tom

On one side, there's a yogurt panna cotta. Sweet, slightly tart, grainy with an entire vanilla pod (pod and all) whizzed in. The other side is a cranberry gelee. Barely sweetened, very tart, with the pop of those barely stewed cranberries that are...

Open Sesame Beets

November 27, 2012 Jessica Tom

Never mind the ubiquity of beet and goat cheese salads. Beets are still regarded warily. Like many food fears, this is likely an issue of 1) history, and 2) texture. Beets can take a long time to cook, and they make a literal bloody mess, so maybe...

Coconut Pomelo Lime Panna Cotta

November 27, 2012 Jessica Tom

If you're inviting Grandma for dinner, you'd best mind your dessert. One year, Julian brought a Momofuku Milk Bar banana cake to Thanksgiving. It's a complex tower of textures, technique and bravado. But, man, is it sugary. Not being one for nicet...

Zucchini Onion Socca Pancake

November 7, 2012 Jessica Tom

Six years ago, I didn't go to my cousin's wedding in the south of France so I could write a tv treatment for Emeril Lagasse. I met him on a plane and told him about my cooking show idea. He liked it, and told me to send a couple sample episodes to...

Slow Cooker Lamb Shank Shawarma

November 3, 2012 Jessica Tom

Lamb is the durian of the meat world. To some, the smell is a stink. To others, a perfume. Growing up, we managed to have lamb only when it was quarantined from Mom. Lamb chops -- the stinkiest of cuts -- was a once-a-year thing, meat eaten quickl...

Soy Ginger Star Anise Skate

October 22, 2012 Jessica Tom

This is my Dad's recipe, though he typically does it with sea bass. There are a lot of reasons to like skate. Its elegant shape. Its easy-to-avoid bones. Its reasonable price -- $6/lb rather than $20/lb for Chilean sea bass. But you can do this wi...

Pumpkin Maple Souffle à Deux

October 21, 2012 Jessica Tom

While Julian and I scrambled for our phones, the souffle deflated and the ice cream melted. Souffles are only hard if you let them. I've agonized over souffles to gritty, wet, fallen effect. But once I just ran with it, souffles became easy. My fi...

Cruciferous "Couscous"

October 17, 2012 Jessica Tom

This isn't a low-carb thing. I mean, it is, but that's not why I made it. This is for the people who always order roasted brussels sprouts. Who stuff their Maoz with fried broccoli and cauliflower. For the people who get excited about a big, juicy...

Blackberry Millet Pancakes

October 15, 2012 Jessica Tom

Julian took this picture. Obviously not on an iPhone, like all the other pictures on this site. Pancake culture. Have never understood it. Like, why do people put butter and syrup on them? And do you really like pancakes? Are you sure it's not jus...

Cranberry Raisin Clafouti

October 7, 2012 Jessica Tom

All my aunts on my Mom's side are forager-cooks. They proudly show off their mosquito-protection suits as if they were brand-new dresses. Aunt Emilienne sold mushrooms to a Montreal restaurant for $700. Aunt Yvonne brought gallon-bags of walnuts f...

Slow-Cooked Chipotle Honey Mustard Chicken

October 6, 2012 Jessica Tom

I'm still on this reimagined barbeque kick. I can't just do it normally. On one hand, I'm fascinated with barbecue -- the regional differences, the passionate fans, the high-stakes contests. And yet, I stay away. I don't have a professional smoker...

Reimagined Korean BBQ

October 2, 2012 Jessica Tom

It started with the kalbi sauce. Traditionally, kalbi is made with short ribs, but I only had chicken breast. So I made kalbi chicken. That was the beginning of my fall into the bizarro Korean BBQ universe. You've seen slaws based in mayo, in yogu...

Slow Cooker Miso Ginger Garlic Chicken

October 2, 2012 Jessica Tom

One of the best things you can get in Chinatown is the chicken with garlic ginger sauce. The chicken is boiled. Boiled! A cooking method even more boring than steaming. And yet it's delicious because -- when you get a good one -- the chicken is fe...

Sourdough Dessert Crostini

October 1, 2012 Jessica Tom

So my friend Pam makes this bread. Like, really good bread-bread. The type that that makes people moony when they go to Paris. Enough to make a carbophobe buckle. So good you can eat it as toast for breakfast, with tomato and cheese for lunch, and...

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