The "Other" Spring Roll

The word "spring roll" is usually accompanied by thoughts of rice paper filled with fresh vegetables, herbs, and some kind of meat. The most typical ones we eat at home are filled with stewed pork or fresh baked fish. It wasn't until recently that my mom started to make Bò Bía, a Vietnamese spring roll filled with scrambled eggs, chinese sausage, and dried shrimp. Sounds weird doesn't it? Sort of like a breakfast spring roll burrito, but not. Well no matter how strange, it was delicious nonetheless, and now me and my sister beg my mom to make it on a regular basis. And I also begged her for this recipe! 

Most spring rolls are known to be delicate in flavor and light/ healthy but these must be the bad sheep in the family because they explode in your mouth with intense flavor from the dried shrimp and dipping sauce. They are also much heavier than their goody-two-shoes cousins, making them more of a full meal rather than an appetizer. In conclusion, I LOVE these things!

Vietnamese Shrimp and Sausage Spring Rolls/ Bò Bía

Yields: enough for 4 - 6 people

Printable Recipe

For the spring rolls:

10 eggs, lightly beaten

1 package of Chinese sausage/ Lap Cheung (8 links), sliced

1 cup of small dried shrimp

1 small onion, thinly sliced

3 carrots, peeled and julienned

2 medium jicama, peeled and julienned

3 tbsn. olive oil

iceberg lettuce

fresh mint

1 package of rice paper, banh trang

For the sauce:

3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

10 tbsn. of hoisin sauce

2 tbsn. peanut butter

4 tbsn. water

1/4 cup of roasted peanuts, chopped

In a medium pan, heat 1 tbsn. of olive oil over medium high. Add the jicama and carrots and cook until tender, about 7 - 9 minutes. Move the vegetables onto a large plate. Using the same pan, heat the other tbsn. of olive oil. Next add the onion, cook for about 3 minutes, then add the dried shrimp. Cook together until onion is tender and flavors are melded, about 5 - 8 more minutes. Remove from pan onto the plate. Next, add the sliced sausage and heat through, letting it get a little crispy. No need to add extra oil for the sausage. Remove from pan onto the plate, side by side with the other ingredients, this way you can make easy spring rolls using an assembly line. Next add the last tbsn. and heat through. Cook the eggs, scrambled style, about 3 - 5 minutes. Set on large plate as well. 

To assemble, fill a large bowl with warm water. Take one sheet of rice paper and submerge into the warm water, then shake off any excess water and lay it on a plate. First lay down some lettuce and mint leaves. You do not want to overstuff your spring roll or else it will just rip apart and become very un-fun to eat. Add about 2 tbsn. of the egg, 4 slices of the sausage, 1 tbsn. of the jicama/ carrot slaw, and 1/2 tbsn. of the shrimp mixture. To roll, first bring the top flap over the filling, tuck in the sides, and roll the whole thing forwards, similar to how you would roll a burrito. Repeat until all fillings are used. Watch the video below to see the details!

In a small saucepan, heat the garlic over medium high until slightly browned. Next add the hoisin sauce and the peanut butter. Stir constantly to make sure they become well combined. Next add the water to dilute the sauce a little. Remove from the heat and mix in the peanuts. The recipe for this sauce varies from person to person as preferences are different, so just add less or more of any ingredient to find a combination that suits you well. Once well combined it is ready to eat with your perfectly rolled spring rolls. Enjoy!

What's in your breakfast?

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, or so they say. To be honest, I often skip it. Either I wake up to late or am too flustered with getting ready to consider stopping to take a break to fuel myself. I always thought that breakfast was just too darn close to lunch and that eating large meals consecutively after one another was just kind of odd, to say the least. 

John Huck, an L.A. based artist makes me wonder... should I reconsider my line of thought? In his "Breakfast" project, he juxtaposes headshots of people and their breakfast of the day. The result is nothing less than purely fascinating. It's always interesting to observe people in their natural habitat, but what's truly mind-blowing is how a simple snapshot can reveal so much character in a person you've barely known and just seconds ago, first set your eyes upon. 

And what do I eat for breakfast? I'll let you guess which one is mine, and which one is B's:

On the left is Fried Eggs with Chinese sausage and seven grain toast.

On the right is fresh kiwi and mango.

It's as predictable as predictable can be, the girl eats the fruit, while the man stuffs his face with meat. My kitchen has been filled with delectable fruit lately. Kiwis, mangos, oranges, grapes galore and all of them have been so perfectly ripe and fresh! Since I'm not used to eating breakfast in the morning, I try to keep it light. What do you like to eat for breakfast?

Nutella Stuffed French Toast with Maple Whipped Cream

No time for a story, just enough time for some good eats! I never knew French Toast was so, so incredibly easy! Not to mention delicious! Especially this one, since I am a complete sucker for Nutella. But then with bananas too? Oh wait... and maple whipped cream?!?! I've really gone too far with this one, seriously, seriously, seriously delicious. Did I mention that I was serious about this one? Because I am, deadly serious. No sarcasm here. Nope. Just pure Nutella, melt-in-your-mouth explosions of delighful joy.

Nutella Stuffed French Toast with Fresh Bananas and Maple Whipped Cream

Yields: Enough for four

Printable Recipe

3 eggs

1 cup milk

2 tbsn. brown sugar

pinch of salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

4 tbsn. butter

12 slices of whole wheat bread (or white/ brioche/ challah/ anything will do)

Nutella, amount depends on how much you like 

4 bananas, sliced (optional)

powdered sugar, for topping (optional)

In a medium bowl mix the eggs, milk, sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla until well combined. Spread the Nutella onto 6 sliced of the bread, then place the other bread slices on them to make a Nutella sandwich and cut diagonally. Heat a large pan over medium heat. Once hot, drop a tablespoon of butter and wait until melted. Dip the bread into the liquid mixture until coated well on each side (do NOT over soak or else it will become soggy). Drop the sandiwches into the hot pan and cook 4 halves at a time using a tablespoon of butter for each batch. Cook until golden brown, about 3 - 4 minutes on each side. Remove from pan and eat immediately. Top with the fresh bananas and whipped cream.

Maple Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup of maple syrup

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Using a mixer, whip the cream until peaks start to form. While on low speed, slowly add the maple syrup and vanilla. Continue beating until peaks become stiff. Enjoy!

FFF (Friday Flickr Favorites)

Seashores and seascapes, basically what I've been dreaming of ever since Finals week has started. Waiting till they are over, then hauling my ass to the beach! 

You can find the rest of my favorites here.

Sweetly Spiced Meringues

After making the marshmallow frosting from the previous post, I was left with a large mound of white sticky deliciousness looking back at me with not another cupcake in sight to plop it on! What is a girl to do? Why, make meringues of course. 

I couldn't bear the thought of throwing such deliciousness away but I wasn't about to stuff my face with pure frosting either. I've actually never tried meringues before, my sister always told me they were nasty, so I thought, why bother? Well, I have learned to never listen to my sister about these things! She told me pumpkin pie and cheesecake were nasty too and gullible as I was, I believed her and missed out on such simple pleasures for a good half of my living years... what a shame! Anyway, opposite to my sister, I discovered that I do in fact like maybe even love meringues. They are light, chalky, crispy but slightly sweet and gooey on the inside. What other texture can you ask for? I think its practically got all bases covered!

*** If you have leftover frosting from the Graham Cracker Cupcake recipe, just add the spices, chocolate and almonds and bake.

Sweetly Spiced Meringues

Yields: 10 - 15 medium sized meringues

Printable Recipe

2 egg whites

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. cardamom 

1/2 cup of white chocolate, shaved or chips

1/4 cup of toasted slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 300 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the egg whites, sugar, and tartar. Place bowl over simmering water and whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and eggs are warm to the touch. Return to the mixer and beat on low speed, gradually to high speed for about 5 - 7 minutes or until stiff, glossy peaks form. Gently mix in the cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, white chocolate and almonds. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto the baking sheet and bake for 20 - 30 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!

Tailored Tuedays

Spring is nearly here and all I can think about are these delightfully sweet pastels:

1. Moschino "Silk splatter print dress"

2. Lanvin "Crystal flower necklace"

3. Lanvin "Platform t-bar sandal"

4. Lanvin "Pop fold-over clutch"

all images can be found at net-a-porter.com

Just One Plate

The concept is simple, the photography beautiful. Visionaries Neil Kohan, Max Wanger, and Margaux Elliot aim to express the joy of food, cooking, and photography as simply as possible.

From the website:

A single plate celebrates cooking as an art.

     The blink of a shutter preserves the dish.

     Ten questions uncover the vision of the chef who created the dish.

     One inspired recipe allows you to become an artist in your own kitchen.

You can find the list of restaurants and recipes here.

Murano: Burrata Salad with fresh Burrata cheese, Prosciutto de parma, poached pear, baby arugula and candied pecans

Saddle Peak Lodge: Duo of Prairie farm pork tenderloin and braised shoulder

Il Grano: Fantasia di crudo

Mako: Crispy Oysters with Black Olive Tapenade

Nine Thirty: Grilled Sturgeon with goat cheese black lentils, caramelized brussels sprouts, chanterelle ragout, pomegranate molasses and chive oil

FFF (Friday Flickr Favorites)

YAY finally it's Friday. I've been trying to fight a cold this entire week so now that the weekend has come I can get some much needed rest, not much though since Finals are coming up. Talk about bad timing! Happy viewing!

You can check out the rest of my favorites here.

Chocolate Graham Cracker Cupcakes with Marshmallow

I've heard numerous raves about Trophy Cupcakes, unfortunately Seattle's a little out of my reach. But just my luck, Martha Stewart once again came to my rescue! On her website I found a fabulous recipe for one of their most famous cupcakes, the chocolate graham cracker cupcake with marshmallow frosting (basically a smore). Plus, I've been itching to use a new blow torch that we've had lying around the house. Could perfection come in any more obvious a package? 
The recipe seemed a little strange to me, calling for ingredients such as boiled water and vegetable oil and I was inclined to using a typical chocolate cake recipe, but I decided to give it a try and I was delightfully surprised. The cupcakes turned out wonderfully, with a crispy bottom, a moist chocolate cake with unbelievable frosting! The frosting, OH the frosting! I loved it because it wasn't overly sweet and it was sticky in your mouth and so undeniably gorgeous. The recipe for the frosting yielded much more than I could ever use on the amount of cupcakes the recipe made, so I halved the recipe below, but I managed to do good with my extras and turned them into white chocolate, cinnamon, and almond meringues YUM (recipe and post coming soon)!

Chocolate Graham Cracker Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting

Yields: 24 Cupcakes

Found at Martha Stewart, courtesy of: Jennifer Shea

Printable Recipe

For the cake:

2 cups and 2 tbsn. sugar

1 3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup and 1 tbsn. cocoa powder, unsweetened

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 large eggs

1 cup whole milk (I used 2%)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup of boiling water

For crust:

1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs, about 20 squares

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

9 ounces of bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

For the marshmallow frosting: 

(I halved the recipe for you guys since I had more than enough to frost the cupcakes)

4 large egg whites

1 cup of sugar

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 cupcake pans with liners and set aside. Sift together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and mix together. In a large bowl mix the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Add the wet mixture to the dry, making sure everything is well incorporated. Next add the boiling water and stir to combine. Set aside.

In a medium bowl combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter. Stir until well combined. Add 1 tbsn. of the mixture into the bottom of each cupcake cup and pack them in using the bottom of a small cup. Next, sprinkle 2 tsp. of the chopped chocolate bits into each cup and then bake for about 5 minutes or until the graham crackers are golden. Remove from the oven and then fill them 3/4 full with the cake batter. Return to the oven and cook for another 15 - 20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely.

For the frosting, place the whites, sugar and tartar into the bowl of an electric mixer. Set over a pot of simmering water and whisk constantly until sugar has dissolved and the eggs are warm to the touch. Transfer the bowl back to the machine and whisk, starting on low speed then eventually moving to high speed. Whisk until glossy peaks form, about 5 - 7 minutes. Add vanilla, mix until combined. Now frost your cupcakes! You can spoon the mixture on or use any tip you like. You can also either broil the cupcakes to toast the marshmallow or use a blow torch (which I used). Enjoy!

After their tan:

Tailored Tuesdays

This outfit is a tribute to Nico, the always beautifully put together and chic fictional character on the late Lipstick Jungle. The show was recently cancelled, much to my dismay, but in brighter news, is being reconsidered to be brought back, YAY! My favorite part of the show was watching such high powered women in such delectable clothes, and by delectable I mean downright delicious!

1. Bottega Veneta "Wrap-front dress" 

2. Bottega Veneta "Garbradine trench coat"

3. Fendi "Stamped leather shoulder bag"

4. Christian Louboutin "Simple python pumps"

5. Roberto Cavalli "Floral print pashmina"

all images can be found at net-a-porter.com