Thursday, July 30, 2009

House Renovation #2 and Crab Wontons



The painter is finished and the walls and ceilings look great! 

House renovation #2 coming up - hard wood floors.

In lieu of vacation this year, as well as a nod to our crazy economy, we are investing in some much needed renovations to the house. 

KC, our shepherd who died last August, was the first dog to do major "oops" on the carpeting... then along came Holly Bear (now nine months old) and well, you get the idea. 

So carpeting is coming up in the living areas and hallways and hardwood is going down. Ugg... 

I hate having the house in an uproar, but it has to be done. 

Before I have wood workers crawling all over my home I've got some major cooking to do. I'm going to start with a crowd pleaser. Everyone loves these Crab Wontons. They are easy to make, feed many and freeze and reheat beautifully so you can make them in advance. I made these last night after the house was [somewhat] back in order.

While you're at it, make two batches. Eat one, freeze the other and use it as your "go-to" when company stops by:

Crab Wontons: makes 48 wontons 

1 package wonton wrappers
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
4 ounces jumbo lump crabmeat 
1 stalk celery, minced
1/4 red bell pepper, minced
dash of worcestershire sauce
pinch salt
pinch pepper
Oil for frying (use peanut or canola)
Duck Sauce for dipping

Mince the celery and pepper - and I do mean mince:



In a bowl, combine the cream cheese, crab, worcestershire, bell pepper, celery, salt and pepper and blend well. 

Lay out 9 to 12 wonton wrappers in front of you. If you're new to this, start with 9 and work slowly. Have water and a small pastry brush ready to help you seal the wontons. Place 1/2 teaspoon of the crab filling slightly off center of the wonton wrapper. Brush edges with a little water.


Fold in half, pressing the sides and ends together to form a tight seal. 



Now, take the wonton in your hand, make a fold with your finger at the top of the wonton and pull the two pointed edges together at the top, folding over slightly to seal. 


Place on waxed paper and continue filling and folding until all your wontons are filled. 

Now you're ready to fry the wontons. Fill your dutch oven or deep fat fryer with 2-3 inches of oil. Heat oil to 350 degrees F. Working quickly, fry only 6-8 wontons at a time. Do not crowd. The wontons only take about 2 minutes. Remove when golden and drain on paper towels. 

Continue frying until all your wontons are cooked. They are a thing of beauty as they come out of the fryer - but watch out! That filling is hot! 



Now, you can eat these right away, serve warm with duck sauce for dipping OR store in your fridge for a day OR you can freeze them once they are cool in a ziplock bag for up to a month. 

Reheat in a 400 degree oven for 5 minutes. Keep your eye on them, they will heat quickly. No need to defrost before reheating. 

A Cook's Notes: Make these when no one else is home. If you do make them with others in the house be prepared to double the batch as they will disappear as they come out of the fryer... they are just that good.

PS - What is your "go-to" appetizer or hors doerve when company stops by?

12 comments:

  1. Hmmm maybe the perfect thing to make ahead for company next week. Thanks.

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  2. Nancy,

    I was thinking of you when I was typing out the recipe - you had mentioned company coming... the wontons take about 1 hour start to finish. Enjoy!

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  3. Oh, I love anything with crab and these wontons look fabulous! I always keep spinach and artichoke bread bowls in the freezer, for this very reason. Hang in there with the renovations, it will be worth all of the hassle.

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  4. These look terrific! I'm really going to have to try making wontons sometime!

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  5. Oh I love when you show the photos!!! It's encouraging because sometimes I get overwhelmed by recipes, I'm very visual. And btw...I can't mince, and I don't mean flirt and giggle, I mean mince food, lol!!! Is it the knife that makes the difference? Because I'm moving soon, I don't want to buy anything...but I have a kind of dullish knife that needs sharpening. I also have a little hand held chopper doo-hickey, I wonder if that would do it? I love the idea of cream cheese and crab together.

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  6. My go-to appetizer is goat cheese (crumbled) with chopped kalamata and greek olives and chopped sun dried tomatoes. If I have fresh herbs in the garden that I haven't killed I use some to garnish. I serve it with toast points or some sort of garlicky cracker/toast.

    Last time I tried to fry something I burned the snot out of myself. Hot oil is not my friend. But next time I come over you can make me some ;)

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  7. Rain,

    Yes! it's the knife. Dull knives are more dangerous than sharp knives. Get yours sharpened. Glad you like the pictures - I'll try to post more in the future!

    Kathy B:
    Ouch! Hot oil is dangerous! One of the reasons to always wear an apron. Yes, when you visit we'll have wontons AND I love the goat cheese, olives, tomatoes and herbs.. yum.. I may have to test that out!
    I make my own goat cheese and am always looking for more ways to eat it I mean make it for guests!

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  8. Oh, yum. I have to write this recipe down for future use!

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  9. Andrea,

    Welcome! The blog is archived so you can always come back to it! Enjoy.

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  10. This looks delish! I'll have to try it soon. By the way, thank you so much for the nice comment about our move. It was so nice to meet you and I hope you come back in next time you come to Patsy's house! By then we'll almost be neighbors! Dawn

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  11. Holly Hills,

    I will definitely stop by at Xmas - Pat says your shop is absolutely beautiful at the holidays! (no pressure)

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  12. Oh, darn, love of my life cannot have shellfish, him being gouty. But...... I am currently disenchanted with him and may whip up a batch for spite. Never mind, he complains a lot when he has an attack.....I am sure to come up with some other form of torture, I mean punishment, no I really mean positive reinforcement. Yes, that is it!

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Wow. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. I love feedback... what with being a cook and all. I will respond to your comments via email (if you do not have a "noreply" address or here, below your comment) As always, Bon Appetite!

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