Vietnamese Crab & Asparagus Soup/ Súp Măng Cua

When I went to Vietnam last summer we spent most of our time in Saigon, also known as Ho Chi Minh City. Everyday was for the most part, an adventure. Either it was meeting new people, exploring new places or most importantly, eating more food. I have never experienced Vietnamese food as good as it was in Vietnam, which obviously makes sense.

Near our hotel was an outdoor market that my family and I would visit almost every single morning. Our popular choices for our meals were either noodle soup or Chè, which is a type of Vietnamese dessert. The woman who sold the Chè also sold the most amazing súp măng cua I have ever tried in my life! Fresh, always steaming hot and filled with deliciously large chunks of crab. This soup has always been one of my favorites and surprisingly its super easy to make too. This recipe is from my mother and is equally as delicious too. Warms me up perfectly on these cold winter days!

This recipe is kind of a mix between the traditional Crab/Asparagus soup and Shark Fin soup. I couldn't find anything else like it online, so I think it might just be something my mom made up herself. My mom's súp măng cua doesn't have any eggs in it, as you see in some other recipes and she adds enoki mushrooms, which is by far my most favorite part of the soup! Also, we use imitation shark fin because we happen to think cutting off the fins of sharks is definitely not right. But in the pictures you can see some clear-ish noodle looking things, which is actually the imitation shark fin. It adds a really nice texture to the soup. I tried looking up imitation shark fin online so I could show you guys what I'm talking about, but no luck! It can definitely be found in Vietnamese grocery stores and I'll update you if I find out more information. If it can't be found, this soup is equally delicious without it.

Vietnamese Crab & Asparagus Soup/ Súp Măng Cua

Yields: about 8 servings

Printable Recipe

10 cups homemade chicken stock, low-sodium canned also works

1 large can white asparagus, drained

2 cans of enoki mushroom, drained

imitation shark fin

1/2 lb. crab meat

1 - 2 tbsn. cornstarch, dissolved in 1/2 cup water

fish sauce, to taste

pepper, to taste

cilantro, chopped (for garnish/ optional)

Heat your chicken stock over medium-high heat. Add the asparagus, mushrooms, imitation shark fin and crab meat. Next, add the corn starch mixture, stir until incorporated and bring to a boil. Stir until thickened, about 1 minute. Turn heat to low and add fish sauce and pepper to taste, top with some cilantro and enjoy!

Toasted Coconut Cupcakes

My sister baked some cupcakes for her little kids the other day with some to spare. No she doesn't have actual children yet! I am referring to the children she teaches. Anyways I had some extra cream cheese frosting from some Red Velvet cake I baked and topped her extra cupcakes with them. Oh and added some toasty coconut as well! They were yummy so I'd thought I'd post them here. They had just a slight note of coconut but it paired nicely with the tangy cream cheese and moist chocolate cake!

Toasted Coconut Cupcakes

Yields: 24 cupcakes

Cake recipe from here, frosting recipe from here.

1 recipe of Black Magic Cupcakes

1 bag of coconut, toasted lightly

Cream Cheese Frosting

16 oz. cream cheese (2 sticks), room temperature

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

pinch of salt

With an electric mixture, blend together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Turn mixer to low speed and blend in the powdered sugar, salt and vanilla. Turn mixer on high until light and fluffy. Use immediately or refrigerate, covered, until ready to use. If refrigerated, before use bring back to room temperature.

Tailored Tuesdays

I'm totally obsessed with brogues! I need to find some immediately, preferably reasonably priced please.

1. Vince "Cashmere blend oversize sweater"

2. Acne "Kex le blue skinny jeans"

3. Lanvin "Happy sac partage shoulder bag"

4. Church's "Leather and plaid brogues"

5. Lee Angel "Serena glass peal necklace"

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

Vietnamese Coffee Jellies

So I've recently become interested with homemade jello, odd right? I can't explain my ways, odd things just happen to cross my mind, then continue to intrigue me for a good week or sometimes much longer. Well, first I made some tea jellies, and let me tell you, they were awesome. Super refreshing and if you love tea, its a great way to enjoy it. Since I was so wildly successful, I decided to try again but this time with Vietnamese coffee.

Yummmm. I really don't think you can do wrong with jello. Once you've got your standard recipe, the possibilities are endless! I can't wait to try so many things! It's super easy and a great snack. This coffee jello is great alone, but I could see it being delicious chopped up and added to drinks or whatever your mind desires it with.

Add condensed milk to your liking till it turns a nice caramel color:

This little guy was meow-ing so sadly, so I gave him some milk and he was happy:

Mmmmm jiggly coffee:

Vietnamese Coffee Jellies

Yields: about 2 - 4 servings

Inspiration here.

Printable Recipe

3 -4 tbsn. Vietnamese coffee, such as Cafe du Monde

2 cups water, boiling

Sweetened condensed milk, to your taste

2 envelopes of gelatin/ 4 sheets of gelatin

Vietnamese coffee filter

To brew the coffee, remove the metal filter and add 1 heaping tbsn. of coffee grinds into the coffee maker. Twist the top of the filter back on until it stops. Make sure the filter is not too tight or else nothing will drop through and if its too loose, the drip will be too watery. Place it over an empty cup then pour the boiling water on the top of the filter until filled and allow the water to filter through. Brewing time should take 3 - 5 minutes. Continue this process until you have about 2 cups of coffee, using more coffee grinds as necessary. Add the condensed milk to your preferred taste, then add the powdered gelatin and stir until it is completely dissolved (If your coffee is no longer hot, make sure to heat it up again before adding the gelatin, it will dissolve easier this way). Pour into your preferred container and refrigerate until solid, about 2 - 4 hours. Enjoy!

Top with some more condensed milk and you're good to go!

Fifi Lapin

From the website: "Fifi Lapin is an extremely stylish rabbit. Fifi was born one out of 257 brothers (you know what they say about rabbits) but sadly there was an outbreak of myxamatosis when she was just a year old and she was the only one to survive. Her parents are therefore incredibly protective and spoil her rotten... she loves nothing better than spending her time shopping, browsing fashion magazines and attending the opening of a red envelope." I wish that was my life...

"A few of my favorite things"

"Luella love"

"But then it rained so I went home"

"The rose dress"

"Colour blocking"

"The red shoes"

I Basically love Fifi. She was my background for a while, but I am fickle and my background often changes as my love waxes and wanes along with the moon. Isn't she just adorable?

Purchase Fifi prints here.

Learn about Fifi's latest outfit here.

Seared Ahi Tuna Rolls

So, I've been consumed in this ongoing battle. I am a woman obsessed. I can't get enough of it. What is it? Seared tuna. I absolutely love it. Never heard of Ahi Tuna spring rolls? Neither have I until I started working at a Vietnamese restaurant called Phans 55. Once I tasted it, I was completely in love and on a mission to recreate it.

And to my surprise, its quite easy! I love spring rolls in general because they're simple, healthy and easy to transport. This spring roll is super, super yummy. It has tons of textures and when dipped into the two sauces, is absolutely delicious! All you really have to do is sear the tuna, which literally only takes 1 - 3 minutes tops. Mix a couple of things together and you're all set. I beg you to try it immediately, you won't be dissapointed!

Beautiful, velvet-y tuna, oh how I love you so.

Still pink and yummy on the inside, with a crispy sesame seed crust on the outside:

Let's wrap people!

ALL mine!

Seared Ahi Tuna Rolls

Yields: about 8 - 10 rolls

Original wasabi-soy sauce can be found here.

For the rolls:

Ahi tuna steak, about 6 oz.

1 - 2 tbsn. olive oil

Salt, to taste

Black & white sesame seeds (enough to coat)

Rice paper

1 green mango, de-seeded and sliced

1 avocado, de-seeded and sliced

1 cucumber, sliced

1 bunch of mint

For the spicy mayo:

1/2 cup mayonaise

1/8 cup Siracha/ hot chili sauce

3 tsp. lemon/ lime juice

1 tsp. sesame oil

1 tsp. soy sauce

Wasabi (I used a pea sized amount)

For the wasabi-soy dressing:

1 lime, juiced and zested

1 tbsn. rice vinegar

2 tsp. soy sauce

2 tbsn. sesame oil

1 tbsn. sugar

1 tsp. fresh minced ginger

1 tsp. fresh minced garlic

1 tsp. coarse black pepper

1 tsp. wasabi or wasabi powder

In a shallow dish, combine equal parts of white and black sesame seeds, enough to coat both sides of the fish (about 1 tbsn. each). Pat dry the tuna then lightly season with salt. Coat each sides of the fish in the sesame seeds, set aside. In a large saucepan, add the olive oil and heat over medium-high heat until hot. Once hot, add the tuna and sear both sides of the tuna, about 1 - 2 minutes each side. Remove from the pan and let rest until cool. Once cool, slice into 1/2 cm inch pieces. Take a piece of rice paper and wet under warm water and place on a clean surface. Once moist, add some romaine lettuce, mint leaves, 1 - 2 pieces of seared tuna, 1 - 2 slices of avocado, 1 - 2 pieces of green mango and 1 - 2 pieces of cucumber. Check video below for tips on how to roll a spring roll.

To make the spicy mayo, combine everything until smooth, adding more or less of anything to suit your taste. To make the soy dressing, mix everything until well combined, adding more or less of anything to suit your taste. Serve the spring roll with both sauces, side by side or mixed together. Enjoy!

Crunchy green mango, crisp lettuce, velvety smooth tuna and chewy rice paper, what more could you want?

I love spring rolls.

Tailored Tuesdays

1. James Perse "Casual cotton t-shirt"

2. Erdem "Dulcie satin organza skirt"

3. Ray Ban "Wayfarer acetate sunglasses"

4. Marc Jacobs "Kate leather shoulder bag"

5. Alaia "Patent t-bar flat sandals"

6. Dannijo "Goldtone floral ring"

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

Guinness & Bailey's Irish Cream Cupcakes

Remember that time when I attempted alcohol & cupcakes? Yea, wasn't too successful. Well, being the person that I am, I attempted it again. And guess what? Yep, successful. And who do I owe my success to? No one other then the Smitten Kitchen queen herself, Deb.

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes. THREE different kinds of alcohol! I went from failing at alcohol & cupcakes to stuffing alcohol into each and every part of the cupcake! Let's start with the chocolate stout cake. When it comes to chocolate cake, I love it dense. Give me a dense, thick-as-hell chocolate cake over a fluffy-airy one any day. This cake was dense, rich with just a hint of the stout. Definitely delicious.

Next, onto the chocolate ganache. I've always had a problem with it. For some odd reason, it never comes out right. No matter what recipe I try, it just never seems to thicken up. This ganache was perfect. Thickened just enough to handle with a spoon but not too much so that when you bit into the cupcake, ganache would spill out. I think next time though, I would nix the alcohol from the ganache, as the cupcake was a bit too alcohol-y for my taste. BUT if you are a self-proclaimed alcohol/ Bailey's lover then go ahead and add some more!

Lastly, the Bailey's buttercream... how could you go wrong? Butter, sugar and Bailey's. I think they call that the Trifecta, if I'm not mistaken. Yummm is all I can say about this one. I actually loved the alcohol in this, so perfect with the stout cake. Overall, I think the cupcake was delicious but still a little too sweet for my taste as I did use a traditional buttercream rather than my preferred Swiss Meringue Buttercream. I think the perfect accompaniment to the stout cake might be a Bailey's cream cheese frosting... YUM must try that next time!

Guinness and Bailey's Irish Cream Cupcakes

Yields: 24 cupcakes

Original recipe can be found here.

Printable Recipe

For the Guinness chocolate cupcakes:

1 cup stout beer/ Guinness

2 sticks unsalted butter

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

2 large eggs

2/3 cup sour cream

For the Bailey's ganache filling:

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

2/3 cup heavy cream

2 tbsn. butter, room temperature

2 tsp. Irish whiskey OR Bailey's Irish cream

For the Bailey's buttercream frosting:

8 tbsn. unsalted butter, room temperature

3-4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

4 - 8 tbsn. Bailey's Irish cream

(I also used some half&half to thin the frosting out w/o adding more alcohol)

Use the cone method to remove a little hole:

Then fill with ganache, and pop those extra cake pieces in your mouth and enjoy!

To make the cupcakes, preheat oven to 350 F. Line a cupcake tin with liners and set aside. Combine stout and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cocoa and whisk until smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer beat together the eggs and sour cream to blend. Add stout mixture and beat to combine. Mix in dry ingredients on low until incorporated. Divide batter among cupcake liner about 2/3 full and bake until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Cool completely.

To make the ganache, place chocolate in heatproof bowl. Heat cream in saucepan until simmering, then pour over chocolate, let sit for 1 minute, then stir until smooth. Add butter and Bailey's and stir until combined. Set aside until cool and thick enough to be piped (you can use the refrigerator to speed the process but stir every 10 minutes to ensure even cooling). Meanwhile, cut a portion from the center of the cupcake using the cone method and once the ganache is of the right consistency, pipe the ganache into the centers.

To make the frosting, place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium high until light and fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar until incorporated. Mix in Bailey's until smooth. Add more if necessary until frosting has reached a good consistency for piping or spreading. Frost the cupcakes as desired and enjoy!

** Decorate with excess chocolate ganache

Johnny Miller for Kate Spade

Johnny Miller is a photographer based out of Brooklyn. He's shot amazing photographs for Martha Stewart, Everyday Food, ESPN and even Target, but my most favorite of his collection has to be his work for Kate Spade. Enjoy!

You can find the rest of his portfolio here.

Tailored Tuesdays

Oops, late yet again. Enjoy...

1. APC "Cotton checked shirt"

2. Haute Hippie "Necklace embellished cotton tank"

3. Citizens of Humanity "Avedon legging style jeans"

4. Alexander McQueen "Faithful studded leather glove clutch"

5. Brian Atwood "Miri leather ankle boots"

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