Asian Food Kick

I've been craving Asian food recently.  I don't know why... but I want everything with rice, soy sauce, and all those other "typically" Asian tastes and flavors.  I got a jump start on the week when my friend had us over for dinner and served Vietnamese spring rolls.

At least, I've always heard them called Vietnamese spring rolls, they are also known as fresh spring rolls, Vietnamese salad rolls, and sometimes summer rolls.  They look very pretty and are really not so difficult to make.  Ingredients vary based on what you want/like.  My friend made vegetarian rolls, using vegetables she had on hand.  I made mine with chicken.  They make a great meal and can either be pre-made, or you can have your guests make them for themselves.  It would be really fun to have a roll making party, and everyone can put in or leave out whatever they want.

My friend generously gave me the rest of the rice paper and rice vermicelli that she had left over, so I decided that tonight was Spring Roll night.  Really, the only mandatory ingredient is the rice paper, everything else is up to your taste and what you want to put in, quantities are also flexible for whatever size group you have.

It wouldn't be St. Patrick's Day without Corned Beef and Cabbage

I would have posted these pictures yesterday, but I had eaten several cupcakes, drank two whiskey sours, and one Irish car bomb.  This was over a period of hours, but after that I had an epic two person solitaire game (I'll post rules later) with the Husband.
You may be wondering, why would cupcakes have affected my ability to post pictures.  They didn't... but they would have affected my typing, so I put this post off to today to make sure none of you had to suffer through the even worse grammar that would have resulted from my slightly inebriated state.

On to the cooking.

First, Corned beef and Cabbage (and carrots, for alliteration):

Corned beef - cooked to package instructions, cabbage and carrots added to the pot after the meat is removed to cool, and cooked until fork tender.

Now for what you really want, Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes :D

These take some work, but are SO worth it.

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Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes with Cream cheese frosting: Makes 12