Dark Chocolate Mint Cupcakes With Vanilla Buttercream

So I have been on a baking haitus lately & wanted to bake something to take into work tomorrow. I got my inspiration from fellow blogger Em at The Repressed Pastry Chef. Love her blog, her pictures & her recipes....especially her version of buttercream frosting. So tonight I made the cake recipe off the back of the Hershey's Dark Cocoa, put a little mint extract in (could have used a tad bit more) and then topped with vanilla buttercream tinted green. For the sprinkles on top I bought an Oreo pie crust & crumbled it up & used for the final touch. Mmmm these are really really good. Very rich and chocolately with a slight hint of mint. Definitely want a big glass of cold milk on hand.

Hershey's Dark Chocolate Cake Recipe

Buttercream Dream Frosting (thanks Em)

Bun Thit Nuong

I have a favorite Vietnamese restaurant that I frequent whenever I go to the North Market in downtown Columbus. I stopped by there one afternoon on a whim, having never had Vietnamese food, looked at the menu & picked what sounded best to me. That dish was Bun Thit Nuong. It's a mixture of rice noodles, pork typically however you can use whatever meat you like, fresh veggies (salad, sprouts, cucumbers, cilantro, carrots) and a yummy sauce. Well I found myself going to North Market just to eat lunch there, so I had to search around & try to find a recipe. Low & behold I found a phenomenal recipe & it tastes just like (if not better) than my beloved North Market restaurant. I just love the mixture of fresh crisp veggies, chicken & rice noodles mixed with the sauce. It's a very light type of meal but is VERY filling. Take a look at some of the pictures & read on for the recipe below. If you've never tried Vietnamese recipes let alone cooking, give it a whirl, you may just surprise yourself & find your new most favorite dish ever!

Chicken marinating

Lettuce, cilantro, cucumbers & carrots

The finished products All mixed together

Bun Thit Nuong

Thit Nuong

1lb. chicken breast, sliced thin

1Tbs. diced garlic

2Tbs. oyster sauce

1/4C. sugar

1/4C. fish sauce

1/4C. vegetable oil

1/2tsp. black pepper

Nuoc Mam (sweet fish sauce)

1/2C. fish sauce

1/2C. sugar

1C. hot water (must be very hot)

1/4tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1tsp. minced garlic

1/2 fresh lime squeezed

Bun (vermicelli or rice stick)

4C. rice stick/vermicelli

2C. bean sprouts (mung)

2C. lettuce chopped (I chopped up leafy romaine)

1C. cilantro chopped

1 carrott julienned

1 cucumber julienned

1/2C. chopped peanuts

hoisin sauce, to taste

Mix all Thit Nuong ingredients together in a large ziplog baggie. Add thinly sliced chicken and let marinate in fridge for 1/2 hour. While meat is marinating, add Nuoc Mam ingredients in a blender & pulse till sugar is dissolved (will be cream tan color but once settles will look amber). Set this sauce aside. Boil rice stick according to package (3 min) and drain. Remove chicken from fridge & cook either by frying in pan or broiling (I broiled and like this better) till done.

Assembly: in 4 seperate bowls place rice stick, lettuce, sprouts & veggies & cilantro. Top with chicken & chopped peanuts. Drizzle Nuon Mam sauce evenly between the 4 bowls & top with hoisin sauce. Enjoy!!