Coaching Cooking

Another lazy Sunday find me in the kitchen with some wonton wrappers, goat cheese, bacon, brussel sprouts, a red onion and Season 4 of Sex and the City.

It’s a good combination! I haven’t tried to make my own ravioli before, but the ingredients led me to the invention of my very own “Pasta and the City.” I made a bunch while being entertained by Carrie and the girls. AB loved the raviolis (and he doesn’t mind the show either…).

Enjoy!

Jenny’s Pasta and the City

Ingredients:

1 package of round wonton wrappers
6 slices of bacon
1 small red onion
1 generous pat of butter
2 cups of brussel sprouts, washed and sliced into rounds
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg, beaten
1 cup of goat cheese
1/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Cook the bacon until it is slightly crisp. Drain on paper towels. Cool and then chop into 1/4 inch-thick slices. Reserve on a plate. Pour out all of the bacon grease except for a light coating on the bottom of the pan. Save this pan for the brussel sprouts.

While the bacon cooks, slice the red onion into half rounds and caramelize in a small pan with a little butter. The onions should sit in the pan (do not stir!) for about 10 minutes until they are soft and slightly browned on the edges. Chop the onions into a medium dice. Add them to the plate with the bacon.

Cook the brussel sprouts in the pan that was used for the bacon. Cook on high heat until the brussel sprouts are bright green. Season with salt and pepper. TIP: add a little hot water to the pan so the sprouts steam while they cook. Remove the sprouts from the heat immediately and cool in a shallow dish.

Lay out four wonton wrappers on a large cutting board or kitchen work surface. Spoon a 1/2 teaspoon of goat cheese on each wonton and top with a few pieces of bacon, a brussel sprout round, a 1/4 teaspoon of caramelized onion, and a sprinkle of freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Next, thoroughly moisten the edges of the wonton wrappers and top each one with another wrapper. Seal the edges while pressing out any air.

Repeat with the remaining ravioli ingredients.

To cook, boil water in a large pot and add 2 teaspoons of salt to the boiling water. Cook the raviolis gently for about 5-6 minutes. Serve in pasta bowls with a light swirl of olive oil.

Sometimes making a dish with whatever’s on hand turns out beautifully. Monique came over on Sunday to help us put together some IKEA furniture (only 35 steps plus insanity!). So I made this chicken dish with some goat cheese, fig jam, carmelized sweet onions and chicken breast.

Chicken breast goes down as one of the most boring foods of all time….unless you season well and add lots of goodies. Try this one at home when you have extra goat cheese and something else delicious to go with it (try shallots or chopped chives plus sauteed garlic and figs or another fruit that you like).

Goat-cheese Stuffed Chicken with Figs and Caramelized Onions

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts, lightly pounded to 1/2 inch thick
4 tablespoons of goat cheese (or 4 half-inch thick slices from a goat cheese log)
2-3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
4 tablespoons of flour
4 tablespoons of fig jam
2 medium-sized onions
2 tablespoons of chopped chives
salt and pepper to taste
toothpicks

Directions:

This recipe comes together easily with ingredients on hand (so experiment with different cheeses or fruit jams!).

Cook the onions first. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a small, nonstick saucepan on medium-low heat. Add the onions and let them cook without stirring for at least 7-10 minutes. The onions will start to slowly caramelize and brown. Resist the urge the stir. The onions are done when they are translucent and brown with that distinctive caramel color and scent. Set the onions aside.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

First, coat the chicken breasts lightly with flour. Pan-fry the chicken breasts in some vegetable oil (about 2-3 tablespoons) so that the chicken is browned on one side and cooked, but not brown on the other side. Place the chicken breasts, browned sides down, on a cutting board. Spread the tops of the chicken with goat cheese and then place one tablespoon of fig jam per chicken breast in the center of each breast. Top each chicken breast with several spoonfuls of caramelized onions. Roll each chicken breast (keeping the fig jam carefully in the center) and secure with two toothpicks. Bake in the oven for about 5 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the cheese is bubbly (test the chicken with a knife to make sure the centers are cooked).

Serve with creamy mashed potates, a roasted green vegetable and your favorite wine. Enjoy!

Basil is such a versatile herb. It’s used in Italian cooking, Thai cooking and in Vietnamese cooking–just to name a few. It has a bright, clean flavor that adds a refreshing, crisp note to dishes (or even beverages). I’ve used it to make pesto and I love to use it in noodle soups to add an element of surprise. Summer is the perfect time to add basil to garden salads, stir-fries, cold beverages and more. Here are some links to recipes featuring basil.

**Note**: Basil doesn’t keep very well in the fridge. I suggest using fresh basil within a few days of purchase for best results. Or you can grow your own basil and add some beauty to a kitchen window or balcony!

First, here are a few quick uses for basil:

1.) Sprinkle finely chopped basil over salads. Fresh basil is fabulous on a bbq-ranch salad with chicken, corn, black beans and a creamy dressing over romaine lettuce.

2.) Add basil to lemonade for an interesting twist. Try making a watermelon lemonade with a quick sprinkle of basil or a few basil leaves at the top of the glass.

3.) Make a quick curry with rice and sprinkle basil on top along with chopped peanuts or almonds.

And now, the recipes:

Elise over at Simply Recipes has some great recipes featuring basil including Fresh Basil Pesto, Tomato and Basil Bruschetta, and
Basil Chicken in a Coconut Curry Sauce.

Epicurean.com features basil in recipes ranging from Tomato-Basil Soup to Creamy Basil Dressing to Red Snapper with Basil Lime Sauce.

Basil Mojito, anyone?
Basil Martinis and Basil Limeade also sound so cool!

And, when in doubt, basil can provide a great de-stressing activity:

“Pounding fragrant things — particularly garlic, basil, parsley — is a tremendous antidote to depression. But it applies also to juniper berries, coriander seeds and the grilled fruits of the chilli pepper. Pounding these things produces an alteration in one’s being — from sighing with fatigue to inhaling with pleasure. The cheering effects of herbs and alliums cannot be too often reiterated. Virgil’s appetite was probably improved equally by pounding garlic as by eating it.â€?–Patience Gray, cookery author

Sometimes a girl needs a vacation…

We spent a blissful week on the Big Island checking out the local restaurants, eating heavenly Waimea tomatoes with fresh goat cheese and herbs and Maui onions. And we took a little time to make these darling mini burgers. Food always seems to taste better when you have something gorgeous to look at while you’re eating. We had mini burgers with a view of the Kona coast. Delicious! These burgers work as a great appetizer or have a few for dinner (and try to convince yourself that you’re eating less!).

AB’s Mini Burgers

Ingredients:
1 lb. of ground beef
1 tablespoon of garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 of a Maui onion (or any sweet onion), sliced into rounds
2-3 fresh, small-size tomatoes
1 package of Hawaiian sweet bread rolls, cut into half and toasted lightly
3-4 tablespoons of mayonnaise
4-5 leaves of butter lettuce, washed and dried and torn into mini-burger size pieces

Directions:
Mix the ground beef with the garlic powder, salt and pepper. Handle the meat as little as possible so it doesn’t become tough. Shape the ground beef mixture into small patties, about 2 inches in diameter. Set aside. Prepare the grill and add the onion rounds first. Cook the beef patties to your liking, about 4-5 minutes per side for medium rare. The onions should be lightly grilled (grill marks on each side) for about 10 minutes or so. Prepare the veggies by slicing the tomatoes into sturdy rounds (about 1/4 inch thickness). To serve, place a cooked beef patty on the thick side of a Hawaiian sweet bread roll. Top with some of the grilled onion and a small piece of lettuce. Spread mayonnaise on the other side of the bun and top with a tomato slice. Serve with pineapple-orange guava juice (known as POG) or other tropical fruit juices. Enjoy!

Last Sunday we had an impromptu brunch, just me and AB. He made pancakes (in an easy pour container…check it out!). I made breakfast fajitas and mimosas with fresh-squeezed organic orange juice.

Jenny’s Breakfast Fajitas

Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup of sliced onions
2 tortillas
1/4 cup of refried beans
1/4 cup of shredded cheese (try cheddar or a mexican blend)
1/4 cup of fresh salsa
4 tablespoons of sour cream
4 tablespoons of oil, divided

Directions:
Beat the eggs in a bowl until the whites and yolks are just combined (don’t overbeat…the beaten eggs should look combined, but not uniform in color). Heat a medium non-stick pan on medium-high heat until hot and add 2 tablespoons of oil. Swirl the oil around the pan. Add the sliced mushrooms and onions and turn the heat down to medium. Cook this vegetable mixture until the onions are translucent and the mushrooms are lightly browned (about 4-5 minutes). Remove the vegetables and reserve on a plate or in a small bowl.

Wipe the pan clean with a paper towl. Turn up the heat on the burner to medium-high. When the pan is hot, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the eggs (they should sizzle when they hit the pan). Wait until the edges of the eggs look a lighter yellow (meaning they are cooking) and then push the edges in with a spatula allowing the raw egg to move out towards the edge of the pan. This allows the eggs to cook in a uniform way. Continue to do this every few minutes until the top of the cooking eggs cooks. Flip the egg mixture over once and continue to cook until the eggs are nearly done (depending on how you like your eggs…I like mine with a bit of moisture, but not runny). Remove the eggs from the pan and set aside on a small plate.

Wipe the pan clean. Turn the heat down to medium-low. Place one tortilla on a large, microwave-safe plate. Cover with a water-soaked paper towel. Top with another tortilla and cover this one with another water-soaked paper towel (you can conAtinue to make these layers of tortillas and paper-soaked towels depending on how many breakfast fajitas you want!). Microwave on high for two minutes. Let the tortillas rest for a few minutes before using.

Take a tortilla and spread with 1/8 of the refried beans. Top with half of the eggs and half of the sauteed vegetables. Sprinkle cheese on top. Place the tortilla carefully in the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes then fold the tortilla in half over the filling. Continue to cook for a few minutes until the tortilla side that touches the pan is lightly brown, then flip the breakfast fajita over to the other side. When the cheese melts, the fajita is ready. Transfer to a serving plate and open the fajita to add sour cream and salsa. Refold the fajita and cut it in half. Enjoy with orange juice or mimosas and fresh fruit. Bon appetit!

Wontons are a staple in my house. I make a big batch of them then I fry some, boil some for soup and freeze the rest for quick dinners and snacks later (and they never last for more than a month). This time, I made a huge batch of the filling and decided to make some other interesting dishes.

Here’s a quick recipe for the filling:

Wonton Meat Filling

Ingredients:
1 lb. of ground pork
1 lb. of ground beef (avoid the super-low ground beef because there’s less flavor and the texture is hard)
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 small can of sliced water chestnuts, finely-diced
4-6 tablespoons of soy sauce (season to taste)
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
3-4 dashes of sriracha chili sauce
3 pinches of salt

Directions:
Place the pork and beef in a food processor and add the remaining ingredients. Secure the lid carefully and pulse until the meat and other ingredients form a smooth filling. Use immediately or refridgerate for later use. This filling can also be frozen in a freezer-safe container. I also suggest putting the container in a large plastic bag, sealed tightly, to avoid freezer burn.

See this recipe for the wontons. The noodle soup is a quick creation involving packaged ramen-type noodles. You can use regular ramen or rice stick (my new favorite). See the recipe below. The last recipe is a stuffed pepper with black bean sauce. This is a dish that I love to eat at dim sum restaurants, but I think it can also serve as a tasty dinner.

Jenny’s Quick Noodle Soup with Meatballs

Ingredients:
2 packages of instant rice-stick soup (or two packages of ramen)
4 cups of water
1 cup of meat filling (see recipe above for Wonton Meat Filling)
2 green onions, chopped in a medium dice

Directions:
Put the 4 cups of water into a medium saucepan. Meanwhile, place a small, non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Shape the meat filling into small meatballs (about 1/2 inch in diameter). Pan-fry the meatballs for about 3-4 minutes. While the meatballs cook, bring the water to a boil and add the soup package contents from the two noodle packages. Add the meatballs and cook for about 7-10 minutes until the meatballs are cooked thoroughly (test one meatball by cutting it in half). Add the noodles and cook according to the package directions. Sprinkle green onions on top of the soup before serving. Enjoy!

Rather than inundate you with ONE more recipe…see my next post for Stuffed Peppers with Black Bean Sauce (and some tasty pics).

Another dish from my childhood…my mom made this dish at least twice a month. She would prepare the fish and chop green onion, cilantro and ginger. Then she would place the fish on a plate and steam it or cook it in the microwave. I was craving this dish yesterday and I was also in the midst of completing fun household chores (the ones where, if you don’t do them, you end up wearing that one semi-ugly t-shirt at the bottom of the drawer with those purple pants that you hate, but you just can’t bear to throw away…).

Back to the fish, I had green onions, soy sauce, sesame oil and a few ingredients I purchased at the local market. Add steamed rice and some colorful chopsticks plus a sauteed green vegetable and I had a simple meal to comfort me.

Steamed Fish Chinese-style

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. of fish (try red snapper or sea bass or halibut)
1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peel removed and sliced into thin rounds
3 green onions
5-6 sprigs of cilantro
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 teaspoons of sesame oil
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
salt to taste

Directions:
Clean the fish (if needed…remove the scales and bones). Place the fish in a shallow bowl and cover with ginger slices, green onion and cilantro sprigs. Mix the soy sauce, sesame oil and vegetable oil in a small bowl and pour over the fish. Season with salt and cover the shallow bowl with plastic wrap (leaving a small opening for the steam). Microwave for 2.5 minutes at 70% power. Check to see if the fish is cooked by slicing a small piece from the middle of the fish. If it looks raw, continue to cook at 70% power for a few more minutes. Serve immediately with steamed rice. Plate the fish on top of a serving of rice and spoon some of the sauce over the fish before serving. Enjoy!

A recent bout with food poisoning confined me to that Queen of the Cheap Pastas….ramen. Many of you know this as the budget food eaten in college or the budget food that is quick and easy to prepare. So I present my updated version of ramen, sauteed with chicken, onion and some tasty seasonings.

Jenny’s Stir-Fried Chicken Ramen

Ingredients:
2 packages of ramen (try Maruchan or Nissen or Sapporo…they cost about 50 cents or less each and come in packages of two noodle bricks each)
1 egg, beaten and seasoned with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1/3 cup of sliced white onion
1/4 cup of frozen peas
1 raw chicken breast, cut into thin slices
2 tablespoons of vegetable or canola oil
2 teaspoons of sesame oil
Sriracha chili sauce

Directions:
Prepare the ramen noodles according to the package directions (usually this means boil them for 3 minutes). Drain well and set aside. In a small bowl, add the frozen peas and cover with water. Microwave the peas for about 1 minute until they turn bright green. Drain well and reserve for later. Sautee the onion and chicken in a tablespoon of oil, in a medium, nonstick saute pan until the chicken is cooked through (about 8-10 minutes) and the onions are soft and lightly browned. Set this mixture aside in a small bowl and add the sesame oil on top and mix lightly. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan and add the ramen noodles. Fry the noodles for 2 minutes on each side until both sides are lightly browned and crispy (about 4-6 minutes total). Place the fried noodles on a plate. Add the chicken mixture to the pan again and fry for 1-2 minutes until the mixture is rewarmed. Add the peas to the pan and mix together for a few seconds. Top the noodles with the chicken mixture and serve. Enjoy with sriracha chili sauce! Serves one (or two if you feel like sharing!).

There are days when simplicity reigns supreme and it is delightful just to have something comforting and simple.

Tomato-Cheese Sandwich:

Ingredients:
1 ripe tomato, sliced thinly
2 slices of cheese (try swiss or mozzarella or Monterey Jack)
2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
1 sandwich roll or 5-6 inches of baguette

Directions:

Heat a toaster oven or oven to 375 degrees. Wrap a toaster pan or cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Slice the roll or baguette in half and spread each side with 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise. Pat the tomato slices dry and arrange them evenly on the bread. Top with the cheese. Bake the sandwich for about 7-10 minutes until the cheese is melted and slightly bubbly. Slice the sandwich in half and serve with chips or sliced apples. This sandwich pairs wonderfully with pear or apple cider. Enjoy!

I’ve returned…

And I come bearing a new family classic. Uncle Kenny is the comedian of our family. He prank calls his sisters and he is always ready with a witty quip or wacky suggestion. He is also the master of the ribs. This is not a title that one bears lightly. He preps these ribs for quite some time and they always come out deliciously. This is the kind of ribs recipe that has you trying to distract the other diners so you can grab the last few ribs. Or, like AB, you just eat full-steam ahead and hope that no one else can tell that you’ve been eating twice the amount of ribs (yeah, AB, I knew you were doing that…but you seemed so content so I didn’t call you on it. Love you!).

Anyway, here’s the recipe. It’s very simple and finger-lickin’ good. Get ready to distract everyone else at the table because you WILL want more than your fair share of these lovelies.

Uncle Kenny’s Divine Ribs

Ingredients:

1 full racks of pork ribs
2 bottles of beer (try a cheap one or whatever you have on hand…I used Modelo Especial)
1 bottle of a favorite barbecue sauce, use about 1 1/2 cups
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of hoisin sauce
A few dashes of cayenne pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In two large, flat cooking pans, pour one bottle of beer for each pan. Then place a rack of ribs in each pan and cook in the oven for about 90 minutes. Flip the ribs over halfway during cooking, after about 45 minutes. If the rib bones get too browned you can always cover the pans with aluminum foil for the last 30 minutes.

While the ribs are cooking, prepare the barbecue sauce. Mix together the rest of the ingredients in a medium-size bowl. Store this barbecue sauce in the fridge until you need to use it.

Remove the ribs from the oven and let them rest on the stovetop. Cover the pans with foil.

Prepare the barbecue. Brush the ribs (one side only) with barbecue sauce and grill with the sauce side up. Then flip the ribs over and baste the other side with sauce. Grill the ribs for about 10 minutes until the meat is browned. Baste the ribs about every 3-5 minutes. You can also re-baste the ribs one last time before slicing them.

Slice the ribs and arrange on a platter. Serve with grilled corn and a tasty carb (potato salad, rice, roasted potatoes, pasta salad). This is a messy, but delightful dish so don’t worry about saucing up your manicure. Enjoy!

Ah, the teacher’s life is busy! Luckily, there’s always room for a great appetizer. AB concocted this one today while we were rummaging around our fridge for some tasty food. I love it when ingredients in the fridge lend themselves perfectly to a quick appetizer. Sometimes we make a nice dinner out of a few well-paired items. It is so easy just to pair some crusy bread with cheese, sausage, butter, radishes, a delicious bottle of wine and some crunchy apples. Voila! Instant dinner and a fun mix of ingredients.

AB’s Tuesday Treat

Ingredients:

4-6 ounces of cumin cheese (look for this at a local farmer’s market, Whole Foods or other specialty stores…it has cumin seeds in it and it has a great, spicy flavor)
1 lime, sliced into thin wedges
2 tablespoons of fleur de sel
Crackers

Directions:

Arrange slices of the cumin cheese on a large plate and group the salt, lime slices and crackers on the same plate. Serve with cold beer, lemonade or margaritas.

Enjoy!

Jenny’s Quick Sausage Appetizer

Ingredients:

1 package of spicy sausage (try Andouille, cajun or spicy Italian)
1 baguette, sliced into thin rounds
3-4 tablespoons of softened butter

Cook the sausage according to the package directions. Cool the sausage and then cut into thin rounds. Arrange the sausage on a large plate by mounding it into the middle of the plate. Surround with the bread slices and serve with the butter on the side. To eat, spread some butter on a bread slice and top with the spicy sausage. Enjoy this appetizer with cold beer or, if you prefer, an ice-cold soda.

**Note**: I tried a terrific lychee soda the other day and it pairs perfectly with spicy sausage. The sweetness and slight tart flavor of the lychee complements the spices and the meaty flavor of the sausage. Try this brand. It’s available at many Asian markets and the packaging is pretty cool.

Step One:

Go to the farmers’ market and buy some beautiful radishes (they sometimes have the gorgeous, purple ones). Stop by the bread stand and buy a fresh, thin baguette also known as a ficelle.

Take a stick of butter out of the fridge and bring it to room temperature. Find a pretty bowl and fill it with several generous spoonfuls of fleur de sel or another coarse-grain salt.

Wash the radishes and cut them into thin rounds. Place them on a small plate.

Cut the baguette in half lengthwise and then put the bread back together and cut into 3-4 inch sections. Spread each slice generously with butter.

Arrange the buttered bread on a plate and serve with the radish slices and the fleur de sel. To eat, place the radish slices on the bread and sprinkle with the fleur de sel. Let the radish slices sit for about a minute so the salt absorbs into the radishes. Eat and enjoy!

As the weather in California remains ever changeable, I find myself thinking about tropical weather and tropical fruit. Recently, my mom had a banana tree in her yard that bore fruit (but, sadly, this fruit was inedible…).

This got me thinking about bananas and how they remind me of summer and of a great children’s book character named Emily Bartlett (one of Beverly Cleary’s…check her out). Anyway, I decided to find some great banana recipes both sweet and savory. Enjoy them and dream of summer…

For those of you who can still deal with Emeril (okay, yes, clearly I don’t respect him as much as I used to), here’s an Emeril banana recipe catalogue.

I have an endless curiousity about all things French and this blog, Chocolate and Zucchini, has been a favorite of mine for a few years now. Here’s a link to a banana cake, and banana pecan muffins.

I haven’t made this recipe before, but I’ve always adored everything about Bananas Foster. Here’s a link to the famous New Orleans’ restaurant, Brennan’s and their Bananas Foster.

For the obvious, go to bananas.com and check out a few recipes from around the world.

It’s six foot, seven foot, eight foot BUNCH! Daylight come and me wanna go home…

French cuisine surprises me because there are often simple combinations of flavor that result in the perfect synthesis of salty, sweet and, overall deliciousness. And the following appetizer is quick and easy to make!

Salami and Butter Baguettes:

Ingredients:

1 thin baguette, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
1 small package of sliced salami
1 container of whipped butter
Optional: fleur de sel or fine sea salt

Directions:

Arrange the bread on a large plate or platter. The salami can also be arranged on a smaller plate by layering the slices over each other. Offer some fleur de sel or fine sea salt along with the butter for those who like a little extra saltiness. I think this dish would also be great with an assortment of olives.

To eat, spread the whipped butter on a slice of baguette and top with a piece of salami. Parfait! (perfect!).

Another simple recipe that I found in the cookbook, “Barefoot Contessa in Paris,” describes an appetizer of sliced radishes with watercress and butter on a thin ficelle which is a very thin baguette. I have yet to try this recipe yet, but it seems to distill some of the most delightful flavors of spring including the sharp bite of a radish and the cool, vegetal flavor of watercress.

Sometimes the simple combination of flavors is just enough to tantalize the senses and satisfy the foodie soul. Bon appetit!

I invented this recipe because I had so much leftover chicken after making the white chop chicken last week. Many of the chicken pieces were cooked lightly so the chicken was still tender and even slightly undercooked. I invented these chicken wontons because I knew they would be flavorful and juicy (and I had ingredients on hand…the perfect cuisine inventor’s pairing).

I hope you enjoy them as much as we did. AB says they’re his new favorites!

Jenny’s Chicken Wontons

Ingredients:

2 cups of diced, cooked chicken (preferably chicken that is not dry or overcooked…undercooked, steamed chicken works really well in this recipe)
3 green onions, sliced white and green parts
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
3-4 dashes of Sriracha chili sauce
2 tablespoons of sesame seeds
3 tablespoons of Japanese Panko breadcrumbs
1 package of square wonton wrappers
2 eggs, one for the chicken mixture and one beaten for later use
4-5 cups of canola or vegetable oil

Directions:

Dice the chicken and place in a food processor. Add the sliced green onions, soy sauce, chili sauce and one raw egg and blend until well combined. This chicken mixture should have a paste-like consistency. Remove the chicken mixture from the food processor and mix in the sesame seeds and breadcrumbs by hand.

Place about 1 teaspoon of the chicken filling per wonton. Wet two adjacent edges of the wonton wrapper with raw egg (just enough to seal) and fold the wonton wrapper over the filling to form a triangle.

Fry the wontons in canola or vegetable oil on medium-low heat. Turn the wontons over when the edges start to brown. The wontons should cook in about 4-5 minutes. Adjust the heat if the wontons seem to brown too quickly. This particular wonton cooks more quickly because the chicken filling is already partially cooked.

Serve chicken wontons with ketchup and sweet chili sauce (in separate bowls). We ate ours with some cocktails…gin and tonics and rum and cokes. It was a little like college with a side of 50s appetizers. Yee-ha!

Wontons can be made ahead of time and reheated in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. They can also be frozen and reheated in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10-15 minutes.