The Tax Refund Party: Fiery Red Hot Red Velvet Cupcakes

In honor of my tax rebate (It's amazing how being unemployed for the first 9 months of the year means you get money back! Hooray, economy!), we threw a little shindig this weekend complete with lots of baking and hardcore dance battles on the Kinect (I'm going to marathon all the Step Up movies to better prepare me and my crew for next time. Now, if I could just figure out how to make light up suits.). Since nothing makes you want to engage in physical activity more than having a stomach loaded with baked goods, I made fiery red velvet cupcakes, whoopie pies with strawberry filling and bananas foster cookies (with some brief assistance from Robin, who I put to work when she came by to kill time.). We'll start, as always, with the cupcake course.

I'm pretty sure we looked exactly like this but hotter.

Fiery Red Hot Red Velvet Cupcakes
Adapted from Cupcake Wars
Servings: 24 cupcakes
Time: 45 minutes

Cupcake
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup plus 2 tbsp cake flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/3 cups canola oil
2 eggs
Red food coloring
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk


Frosting
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
6-7 cups powdered sugar, sifted
Hot Tamales for garnish

I swear they look redder in person.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Mix the sugar, all-purpose flour, cake flour, cocoa powder, cayenne pepper, salt, baking soda and cinnamon together in a large bowl. Set aside.
3. Beat the oil and eggs using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on low speed. 
4. Add red food coloring and the vanilla extract until well combined (note: you're going to probably have to add more food coloring later because the flour mix is very dark).
5. Alternate adding the flour mix and buttermilk (flour->buttermilk->flour->buttermilk-> flour) while mixing at low speed. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl and finish off the mixing by hand to avoid the dreaded over-mixing. 
6. Revel in the awesome bubbles that form from the buttermilk and baking soda reacting (and suddenly remember that you're a trained chemist).
7. Fill lined cupcake tins 2/3 full with batter and bake for 16-20 minutes or until the toothpick test comes back clean. Be sure to turn the cupcakes once halfway through.
8. Let cool on a wire rack.
9. Make the frosting by creaming the butter well then adding the cream cheese and creaming some more until light and fluffy (Cream is used 3 times in that sentence. I'm the best at writing!).
10. Add the cinnamon, vanilla and salt. Then slowly add the sifted powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until the desired consistency and sweetness is reached.
11. Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes then garnish with two hot tamale devil horns.
12. Watch the look of surprise and delight on your guests' faces as the heat hits them.

As the night wore on, guests started to give creative decorating tips. Yes, BBQ chips and cupcakes are a great combination.

My goal in life (aside from leading a rag tag group of tough inner city kids to glory in a dance competition where we also learn important life lessons) is to one day win Cupcake Wars along with my cupcake mentor Jenny once Terry's Crafty Confectionery Crafts is established. I have been anxious to try these cupcakes out since I saw them on the show, yet they somehow managed to live up to the year of hype that had been building inside of me. The cake itself ended up spectacularly moist and bouncy (the two most important features) without being oily (I dropped the oil down some from the original recipe). The chocolatey velvet was elevated beautifully by the cinnamon and cayenne that helped turn done to death red velvet into something fresh and exciting. There was plenty of kick in these bad boys to make sure they left an impression. The fiery cake was complimented nicely by the cinnamon cream cheese frosting which helped take a little of the edge off while establishing that red hot candy flavor we were emulating. Also, I was quite proud of myself for thinking up the devil horn garnish (which I'm sure I probably stole from another episode of Cupcake Wars without realizing it.). These were an absolutely stellar addition to the cupcake arsenal that will only continue to grow as I strive to one day take down the world's greatest baking show. Most importantly, however, they were a massive hit, setting the tone for a night of baked goodness and sweet, sweet dance moves.

Even more to come including an exclusive interview with frequent blog guests: table and chair!

Recipe Revisited: Sausage & Mushroom Cannelloni

As we ventured into the heart of Houston in search of food on Easter Sunday, we were constantly shutout at closed venue after closed venue (seriously, Chipotle, you can't be that holy). We knew we would have to take matters into our own hands and make a spectacular Easter Family Dinner. We also knew that we were feeling quite lazy (as my sweat pants could attest), so the bachelor staple spaghetti quickly came to the forefront of our discussion. Seeing how it was a special day, I decided we should make a more spectacular pasta with help from one of my first posts, a transformed spinach and mushroom cannelloni.


Cannelloni Noodles
Adapted from All Recipes
Previously Seen in Spinach & Mushroom Cannelloni
Servings: 15 noodles
Time: 20 minutes

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups water
6 eggs
1 tsp salt

1. Whisk the ingredients together in a large bowl until there are no lumps.
2. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into a lightly greased frying pan over medium heat and move in a circular motion to evenly spread.
3. Cook until the top begins to change color and thicken then remove to a plate. They will keep cooking once removed, so wait to stack them on top of one another until the tops are completely done.

These noodles are ridiculously delicious and practically melt in your mouth. Even after making these twice, I can't believe that cooking what is essentially a noodle pancake has such fantastic results. I upped the salt for this go around to bump the flavor a little, and it worked wonderfully. Just make sure that when you cook these, you take them off before they're fully cooked so the backside doesn't get too hard. If cannelloni isn't your thing, these extremely worthwhile noodles could also be utilized for a lasagna.

Mushroom, Zucchini, Sausage & Cheese Filling

Time: 30 minutes

Olive Oil

Butter

Onion, diced

Garlic, minced

Sweet Italian sausage, ground

Salt and Pepper to taste

Red pepper flakes

Mushrooms, sliced

Zucchini, chopped

Jalapeno, chopped and seeded

Garlic Powder

Dried Basil

Oregano

Ricotta cheese

Mozzarella cheese, grated

Pasta sauce (I suggest tomato and basil or vodka sauce) 

Luckily, the ugly filling gets covered up by the shell.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Brown the sweet ground Italian sausage in olive oil with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Set aside.
3. Sauté the onion, garlic, mushroom and zucchini in olive oil with salt, pepper, garlic powder, dried basil and oregano until tender.
4. Mix in the sausage and pasta sauce and cook until the sauce is warmed.
5. Spread a little sauce (try to use mostly sauce and save the meat and veggies for the filling) over the bottom of baking dishes.
6. Mix the sauce (go for mostly the meat and veggies this time) with the cheeses for a two to one ratio of cheese to sauce in a separate bowl.
7. Fill each cannelloni shell with 1-2 tbsp of filling then roll and place roll side down in the baking dish. Pack tightly. Place the filling on the side of the cannelloni that was cooked since it's the uglier side, and vanity is everything.
8. Top with the remaining sauce and mozzarella. Bake for 10 minutes or until the mozzarella is melted and the noodles are warm.

The perfect sauce for pasta.

Kevin's sauce creation was the epitome of Italian goodness. The sweet Italian sausage's powerful flavor (including some fantastic bites of fennel) was brought out even more by the onion, garlic, mushroom and zucchini. Yes, zucchini is in the pasta sauce. I've noticed that green veggies actually go pretty well with your typical tomato sauces, so this is definitely something I want to experiment with in the future. Additionally there was a nice, subtle kick from the red pepper flakes and jalapeno that managed to enhance the flavor without distracting from it.

Naked noodles

Ricotta and mozzarella aren't the most commanding cheeses but they round out the filling brilliantly. The ricotta helps create a nice creamy and somewhat fluffy component, while the mozzarella (especially the cheese on top) helps push this almost toward a lasagna style.  Feel free to vary the ratio of cheese to meat and veggies, but I would definitely err toward the side of cheese for a more traditional approach.

Two giant casserole dishes filled for 3 hungry men.

As amazing as I thought the original spinach and mushroom cannelloni was (and I highly recommend it for a great vegetarian Italian night), this latest iteration absolutely blew Easter dinner away (thanks largely to the fact that I knew exactly how to handle the noodles this time). This was definitely a quick and easy way to turn a standard Italian night into something fresh and exciting that was just absolutely bursting with flavor.

Easter Bakeathon: S'mores Peeps

To end our Easter Bakeathon, I decided to give myself the most difficult culinary challenge yet; I was going to attempt to make peeps tasty. For years, I thought the only thing peeps were good for was watching them blow up in the microwave, but I was ready to change the cultural mindset on the marshmallowy flightless birds. The obvious choice was to convert them into the most perfect use of the marshmallow- the S'more.


S'mores Peeps
Servings: 12
Time: 10 minutes (plus cooling)

12 peeps
Milk Chocolate
Graham Crackers

You will not guilt me with those eyes!

1. Melt the milk chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave in 30 second intervals at medium power.
2. Place the peeps on a baking sheet lined with wax paper.
3. Pour the melted chocolate over the peeps to coat well.
4. Be somewhat sad and disappointing that the peeps aren't melting from the chocolate.
5. Crush up the graham crackers and sprinkle them over the chocolate.
6. Let set in the fridge for at least half an hour.

Taunting the peep.

Much like peeps themselves, the process of making s'mores peeps is disgusting.

Surprisingly delicious

As has been learned in the past, covering something in chocolate makes it infinitely more amazing (see: Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cookies and Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Cookies). The crunchy graham cracker sprinkles and hardened chocolate form a magnificent shell for our inner peepy marshmallowness (and it helps cover up the weird sugar coating that is the standard peep's main downfall). Our s'mores inspired treat was shocking affirmation that peeps weren't in fact a horrible abomination. Following our epic night of baking, it was time to unwind with some microwave peep fights.

I've determined all major fight scenes should be scored to Seal's "Kiss from a Rose".

Easter Bakeathon: Sugar Cookies

In order to cover all preferred sugar delivery bases, Robin and I added some sugar cookies to the night's menu to go along with our Cadbury Creme Egg Cupcakes. Robin's decorating skills would be put to the ultimate test as our attempt to balance sugar with even more sugar hung in the balance. Would our cookies be able to spread holiday cheer or just adult onset diabetes (or hopefully both. We had high aspirations.)


Easter Sugar Cookies
Adapted from Food.com
Servings: 18-24 large cookies
Time: 45 minutes

Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
4 tbsp sour cream
4 tbsp milk
2 tbsp vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda


Frosting
3 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp milk
Vanilla extract
Almond extract
Food coloring
Icing writers

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment over medium speed.
3. Mix in the milk, sour cream and vanilla. Accidentally put 3 times the amount of sour cream due to weird tsp vs tbsp math (the recipe up there is correct).
4. Add in the flour, baking powder and baking soda until fully incorporated. 
5. Place large amounts of batter on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and attempt to mold them to resemble eggs.
6. Bake for 10-14 minutes or until the cookies start to lightly harden and lightly brown on the bottom.
7. Remove from the oven and let rest on a baking sheet for two minutes to crisp up the bottoms.
8. Let cool on wire racks.
9. Mix together the frosting ingredients until all the powdered sugar is dissolved.
10. If your cookies were lucky enough to maintain their egg shape, frost them as such if not just go with the circles. Use the icing writers to add detail.

Sugar cookies are the perfect way to commemorate any holiday since they're just asking to be decorated in delicious frosting (see Valentine's Day or the slightly modified Mardi Gras Snickerdoodle). The cookies seemed to take an oddly long amount of time to bake thanks to me accidentally putting 3 times the amount of sour cream required (this is what happens when you can't find your tablespoon). The results were actually quite amazing, and I like to think it balanced all that sugar somewhat (Who am I kidding. The only thing that could balance all that sugar is insulin.). Although, I'm betting using the actual amount would turn out even better. The true highlight of the cookie, however was Robin's mad decorating skillz, which earned plenty of praise from my coworkers and perfectly utilized my favorite icing. This was one fantastic sugar cookie that had people coming back for seconds.

Easter Bakeathon: Cadbury Creme Egg Cupcakes

Good Friday is traditionally a day of fasting, so naturally I decided to make 3 different baked goods to bring into work (Hey, I'm from New Orleans where fasting and not eating meat means having massive crawfish boils every Friday in Lent.). Easter is known for its glorious candy, so I chose to highlight two of its most famous staples- Cadbury Creme Eggs and Peeps (Ok, it might be more infamous in the case of Peeps.). Thanks to some help from frequent pie collaborator Robin, I was able to complete my ambitious baking goals and get my coworkers their daily required amount of sugar (for the next year). We'll start with my never-ending quest to turn everything into a cupcake, which always ends with delightfully yummy results.


Cadbury Creme Egg Cupcakes
Idea and Frosting Adapted from My Baking Addiction
Cake Adapted from Anne Thornton
Servings: 24 cupcakes
Time: 45 minutes (plus cooling)

Our freezer holds important, nutritious things.

24 frozen mini Cadbury Creme Eggs
24 mini Cadbury Creme Eggs
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs, room temp
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, well-shaken
Buttercream Frosting (recipe follows)

All desserts are better with candy in the middle. Fact.

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. Set aside.
3. Cream the butter and sugars together in a stand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated.
5. Mix in the melted chocolate and vanilla well.
6. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and buttermilk at low speed (dry-> buttermilk-> dry-> buttermilk-> dry). Be sure to scrape down the sides after each cycle with a spatula. Be careful not to overmix.
7. Fill lined cupcake tins 2/3 full with batter. 
8. Place a FROZEN Cadbury cream egg in the middle then cover with batter.
9. Bake for 16-20 minutes or until the toothpick test comes back clean. Make sure you rotate halfway through.
10. Let cool in a wire rack then frost with white and yellow buttercream frosting to mimic an egg and garnish with another Cadbury Creme Egg.

I needed a quality chocolate cake to serve as a frosting and Cadbury Creme egg delivery vessel, so I went with my go-to (previously seen in Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes and the newly minted most viewed post ever, Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes). This is a very chocolatey cake with good bounce and moisture to it. Sadly, I over-baked these a little because of trickery from the inner Cadbury eggs. The cake surrounding the egg will be slightly undercooked or just a little extra moist thanks to the creme from the egg seeping out somewhat. This resulted in some false negative toothpick tests and probably 1-2 minutes of extra baking. Also, it's important that you use frozen Cadbury eggs, or they will just melt away into nothingness instead of maintaining the ever so important structural integrity required of candy-filled cupcakes. Despite the minor issue, this definitely is the cake to bring across all that wonderful Cadbury taste.

Buttercream Frosting

Servings: Enough to Frost 36 cupcakes

Time: 5 minutes.

4 sticks unsalted butter, softened

Pinch of sea salt

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2 lbs powdered sugar, sifted

4-6 tbsp heavy cream

Yellow food coloring

You can pretend you made two totally different frostings. Surely that extra work burned off all the calories.

1. Cream the butter in a stand mixer until fluffy then add the salt. 
2. Slowly pour in the powdered sugar in 1 cup intervals until well blended.
3. Add the vanilla and heavy cream until you reach the desired consistency. Once there, beat at high speed until smooth and fluffy.
4. Set aside some of the frosting and add yellow food coloring to it.
5. The best thing to do is get a frosting tip with a wide circular opening (Sadly I only had small ones, and the decorating suffered.). Pipe a circle of white frosting around the edges then a tall circle of yellow frosting in the center.

If you squeeze too tightly, the frosting may explode. Also, I concentrate waaaay too hard. 

Robin and I debated between using cream cheese or buttercream frosting, but she eventually (rightly) won with her call for buttercream, which wouldn't overpower the cake like cream cheese would (despite the fact that cream cheese frosting is the greatest thing ever). The resulting buttercream frosting had a nice vanilla flavor and the perfect smoothness without being too heavy. If you want these Pinterest quality pretty (I'm not anticipating many repins on this one), you need to make sure to use a frosting tip with a large circular opening to get the necessary height and roundness to make a pretty egg. Luckily, you can cover up some of the frosting issues with the mini egg.

I'm proud of myself that the Cadbury eggs managed to survive for 2 days in my apartment.

These cupcakes were pretty much everything my little heart desired when I first realized it was possible to make a Cadbury Creme Egg cupcake (and then was sad when I discovered I was not the first to think of this). Having the inner and garnish eggs really hammers home the Creme Eggeration, while the frosting is a great homage to the inner treasure of the eggs. This was a perfect way to kick off our Easter Bakeaton, but stay tuned for our Easter Themed Sugar Cookies expertly decorated by Robin and S'mores Peeps (also known as the first time I didn't find Peeps to be completely disgusting).

Robin had her baking artist mojo working.

Peeps are decidedly more delicious when covered in chocolate and graham crackers.

The Weekly Vegan: Potato Gnocchi with Vodka Sauce

Family meal night at the townhouse continued with yet another attempt to go around the world in 80 dishes. Following our delightful forays into Indian and Vietnamese food, we set off on a journey to Italy (and the mythical land of veganism). Would we be able to recreate one of my favorite dishes ever in a vegan friendly manner, or would Dennis' strange fascination with beets blow up our dinner plans?


Potato Gnocchi
Adapted from Branny Boils Over and Vegan With a Vengeance
Servings: 6
Time: 90 minutes

2 lbs russet potatoes, washed and scrubbed
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Potato dough

1. Poke holes in the potatoes and bake them. Either bake them in an oven at 400 F for 45 minutes until tender or wrap in a paper towel and microwave for about 5-7 minutes per potato.
2. Remove the skins and weigh out the necessary amount. Laugh while your roommate burns his hands trying to peel them.
3. Add olive oil and salt and mash well.
4. Incorporate about one cup of the flour then knead the dough on a lightly floured surface. Continue kneading in the remaining dough until you have a smooth, non-sticky and dry dough.
5. Roll the dough into 1/2 inch thick ropes then slice into 3/4 inch long pieces.
6. Use your thumb to press the gnocchi against the back of a fork to get both a notched and dimpled side.
7. Bring water to a boil and add additional salt. 
8. Drop in the gnocchi and let them rise to the surface. Continue cooking for about one minute once they rise.
9. Drain well.

Put your dexterity to the test by hand forming the gnocchi. (Yet another time it's handy to have 2 roommates.)

First one to float wins. The same does not work for an underwater breath holding contest.

Cropped out: the super ugly gnocchi (yes, there were uglier ones).

Making gnocchi by hand is quite the undertaking, but the feeling of accomplishment you get when you finally bite into these delicious morsels can't be beat. Despite not having the egg or parmesan cheese typical of gnocchi dough, these potato dumplings had an incredibly smooth texture and awesomely spuddy taste. Just make sure you don't skimp on the salt.

Vegan Vodka Sauce

Sent to me by Courtney

Servings: Enough for 4 times the gnocchi

Time: 45 minutes

Olive oil

2-28 oz cans whole tomatoes

4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 carrot, grated

1/2 + 2 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tbsp dried oregano

2 tbsp dried basil

1 block silken tofu, not drained

1 cup soy milk

3/4 cup vodka

Salt and pepper to taste

Carrots in marinara sauce? The Gods must be crazy!

Vegan Cream

1. Sauté the garlic in some olive oil over medium-low heat until aromatic but not browned (about 60 seconds).
2. Remove from heat and add tomatoes and their juices. Smash the tomatoes with a wooden spoon.
3. Add the carrot, 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes and herbs. 
4. Simmer for about 20 minutes to reduce.
5. While it's simmering, make the vegan cream by blending the tofu and soy milk together.
6. Pour in the vegan cream, vodka, salt, pepper and remaining red pepper flakes then let simmer for another 10 minutes. 
7. If the consistency is not to your liking, puree it in a blender until smooth. (It's important that you remember that the sauce is scolding hot at this point, so don't overfill the blender. This may have been my second attempt at the dish with the first ending with second degree burns that are still on my arm over a month later.).

After much pureeing, you'll have one mighty fine looking sauce.

Vodka sauce is by far the greatest of all alcoholic sauces (narrowly edging out beer spilled on potato chips). This veganfied version brings all the necessary flavor to the table and some newfound wonderful kick (compliments of the red pepper flakes). What's incredibly is that it manages to be both light and creamy tasting thanks to the vegan cream replacing the super fatty heavy cream.

I've been experimenting with slightly slanted "Batman Villain" angles for pictures.

Despite the great success that was the vegan gnocchi with vodka sauce, the true highlight of family meal night number 3 has yet to be explored. Dennis busted out some mad beets to create an incredibly delicious side that we won't soon forget (and not just because of the beet juice staining our clothes). The brilliance that was the beet side dish was more than deserving of its own guest post, so prepare yourselves for Dennis taking over the blog (may God help us all).

Bears, Beets, Battlestar Galactica. Stay tuned for Dennis' Beet Tutorial (Prepare to get schooled, Dr. Dre.)

Grilled Pork and Tofu Bun Thit Nuong

My roommates and I decided to start the week out right with a wholesome family dinner. We were craving some bun thit nuong, but our favorite (and frequently mentioned) Vietnamese restaurant was closed, forcing us to make it ourselves. Luckily, we were only a great deal of chopping and some minor grilling and frying away from one of the freshest and most satisfying meals we could possibly imagine.


Grilled Pork and Tofu Bun Thit Nuong
Servings: Plenty
Time: 40 minutes

This dish is pretty much a test of your chopping skillz.

Cucumber, halved and thinly sliced lengthwise
Jalapeno, thinly sliced and partially seeded
Carrots, julienned 
Scallions, thinly sliced
Pork
Firm tofu, drained and cut
Oil
Salt
Cilantro
Mint
Lime, cut into wedges
Fish Sauce
Sriracha sauce
Vermicelli, prepared according to the package
Weird, store bought tray of egg rolls

The "meat" options. Just skip the pork, fish sauce and egg rolls for a vegan dish.

The odd tray with some egg rolls

1. Prepare for maximum sous cheffery by cutting the cucumber, jalapeno, carrots, scallions, cilantro, mint, and lime.
2. Cook the vermicelli rice noodles as described by the box.
3. Bake the odd tray of egg rolls you bought then didn't use for a party as directed. 
4. Grill some pork. If you're lazy like we were, buy pre-marinated Asian Pork. If not, you can marinade it in some sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, honey, pepper, onion and garlic. If you have a grillmaster roommate, I recommend you let him deal with the raw meat while you prep the tofu.
5. Heat up some oil in a large frying pan (just enough to cover the bottom) and add your drained and cut tofu (try to cut the height into thirds and then the rest into eighths). Fry for about 3-4 minutes per side or until golden browned. Lightly salt before flipping. Then let the excess oil drain in a plate covered with paper towels.
6. Make the bowl of awesomeness that is bun by topping your vermicelli with the veggies, pork, tofu and egg rolls.
7. Dash on some fish sauce and sriracha to taste and enjoy.

My plating would have been perfect if not for the stray sriracha.

Most people judge the greatness of a Vietnamese restaurant by their banh mi (sandwiches), but, for me, the true test of a quality eatery is its ability to make some outstanding bun. Dating back to my excursions with Alex to the trendy hipster central Pho Cafe of Silverlake, I have been hopelessly in love with the rice noodle dish with all the right fixings. This family prepped meal showed me that I'm never more than about 40 minutes away from the utter delight of bun.

Dennis joins the cats in bread meme trend with some egg roll wrappers. I actually picked the least ridiculous picture of Dennis for this.

Every bit of this myriad of ingredients serves to make a complete dish. The cucumber and carrots add the necessary crunch to beautifully meld with the soft noodles, while the pork and tofu lend saltiness and heartiness and the mint, cilantro and lime round things out to give a veggie filled dinner beaming with freshness that can't be beat. The jalapeno and sriracha add some well appreciated kick to make sure all your taste buds are covered. Fortunately, we made enough to last a few more meals because this is definitely one dish I am not ready to be done with. More importantly, though, we were able to get rid of the impulse buy tray of egg rolls that had been haunting our fridge before it expired.