Spinach Purse Salad Recipe

This salad has all the elements I look for in a meal. It's sweet and savory with a lot of crunch, protein and a little bit of decadence. The butter lettuce, sugar snap peas, corn, fresh mangoes, Persian cucumbers and shredded carrots form the base of the salad. This combination with a little bit of dressing would be a great first course.

But to this I also added nuts and the pièce de résistance: crispy spinach purses that I formed with wontons. I filled the purses with spinach, a bit of mascarpone and mozzarella for creaminess and lentils for added protein. They can also be served on their own as appetizers.

Meyer Lemon Mousse in Wonton Cups

Don't be intimidated by the photo of today's dessert, because these little dessert cups are so easy to make! As long as you have lemon curd and wonton wrappers, the preparation will take no time.

I've made a lot of jars of Meyer lemon curd over the last few days and I used one of them to create this dessert. I folded in a bit of sweetened whipped cream so the mousse was light and airy and used it to fill the shaped and baked wonton cups. A topping of my citron confit and a dash of powdered sugar made the cutest garnish that also acted as a reminder of the flavors of this elegant dessert.

Valentine's Day Appetizers: Crab Wonton Recipe

Hope you had a wonderful weekend. If, like me, you were celebrating, Chúc Mừng Năm Mới (Happy New Year! in Vietnamese)! Now Valentine's Day is up in a few days, so even though my husband Lulu is a vegetarian, I thought I'd share a recipe that seafood-loving couples can enjoy together as part of a romantic meal.

I made the wonton wrappers from scratch and filled them with a mixture of freshly cracked Dungeness crab, carrots, leeks, parsley, mascarpone cheese and olive oil. I paired the crab appetizers with an apple jelly dipping sauce that was out of this world. It truly tied the dish together.

Give this a try and let me know if your Valentine appreciated it! In my opinion, Valentine's Day should be celebrated every day and it doesn't have to be about someone with whom you're in a relationship. It should be about celebrating those you love and who mean the world to you!

Tet Celebrations: Canh Hoanh Thanh (Wonton Soup Recipe)

This week marks the beginning of the Tết celebrations. A tradition of Tết is that you eat vegetarian (ăn chay) on the last day of the previous year and first day of Asian New Year, so I decided this week I will be sharing several vegetarian Vietnamese dishes with you until the celebration commences this weekend.

I haven't made wonton soup (canh hoành thánh in Vietnamese) in a while, which is a shame because it's not all that complicated. The filling consists of carrots, tofu, chestnuts, green onions, wood ear mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms. I also made a simple broth to let the flavorful vegetarian dumplings be the shining stars.

Shrimp Wonton Soup Recipe

Shrimp wonton soup is a delicious soup made with dumplings and chicken broth. It's perfect for soothing your throat. I served the Asian shrimp wontons along with broccoli florets to keep the dish very simple. If you want to serve this soup as a main course, you could add egg noodles along with other greens such as bok choy.

We're finally back from Texas where we spent our spring break and everyone except me is starting to get sick. I made this soup for the meat eaters in the house, but a vegetarian wonton soup is just as easy to prepare.