The Denver bloggers had a fry party at their house this weekend, in which the hosts and guests bring all sorts of foods and we fry them up in a big turkey fryer over the course of an afternoon.  Not our usual trying-to-be-healthy fare, but it is a lot of fun and people can come up with some interesting dishes.  Below are the three things that I cooked up for the party; all turned out really well. Unfortunately I got sidetracked frying and entertaining, and forgot to take pictures of the finished products, and I have no doughnut pictures!

Crab Cheese Wontons

Put 8 ounces of cream cheese into a bowl and let it sit at room temperature until it is soft, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the crab meat. You can use real crab meat, or the fake crab meat that is sold in Asian groceries. I used the fake, as you can see from the photo above.  Cut the crab into very small pieces. If you use the fake crab, you can pull it apart into strings before chopping.  Add about a cup of crab meat to the softened cream cheese, and the cut up some scallions and add about 1/3 cup of them to the crab cheese mixture.  Season with a few splashes of soy sauce, and some salt and pepper and garlic salt if you like. Mix this up very well, and drop into the middle of wonton wrappers.  About a tablespoon of filling is good for a small square wonton wrapper.  Then dip your fingers into some water and moisten all four edges of the wonton wrapper. Pull each corner of the wrapper together and seal the edges. (see below) Deep fry until golden and serve with the Asian sauce of your choice.

Bean and Cheese Empanadas

Empanada dough: (recipe came from here)

cups flour (plus a little more for kneading)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold water
1 egg
1 egg white
1 teaspoon vinegar
3 tablespoons shortening

Preparation:
1. In a bowl, beat the water, egg, egg white and vinegar together. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together the 3 cups of flour and salt.
3. Cut the shortening into the flour mix with a pastry blender or two butter knives. Make a well in the center of the flour mix and pour the liquid ingredients from the first bowl into the center.
4. Mix the wet and dry ingredients with a fork until it becomes stiff.
5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead it just until all the flour is incorporated and the dough is smooth.
6. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but never more than 24 hours.

While the dough is chilling, prepare the filling. I took two cans of refried beans and heat them up on the stove. When they were hot, I crumbled 8 ounces of sharp cheddar cheese into the beans, and cooked on low heat until the cheese had totally melted into the beans.

After the dough has chilled, roll it out to about 1/4 inch thickness on a floured work surface.  Then take a measuring cup or bowl that is aout 4 inches across, and cut circles out of the dough.  Then re-roll out the circles until each one is about 6-7 inches in diameter.  Spoon some filling in, about 3 tbsp, and fold the dough over, sealing the edges with water. Crimp the edges with a fork and set the empanada aside. You can brush these with a beaten egg and water mixture and then bake them, or drop them in a fryer.

Bomboloni (Italian doughnuts)

This recipe makes the absolute best doughnuts ever. It came from the “Beautiful Tuscany Cookbook” but I’ve re-worded the instructions a bit below.

Ingredients:

1 cup lukewarm water
1 oz fresh cake yeast, or 2 packages (1 scant tbsp. each) active dry yeast
3 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
grated zest of one lemon (this is key, don’t leave it out!)
salt
5 cups olive oil (or canola, or any other oil, though olive is best) for frying

• Place the water in a small bowl and sprinkle the yeast on top.  Let stand until dissolved and foamy, about 10 minutes.
• Heap the flour on a work surface and make a well in the center. Pour the dissolved yeast into the well along with 1/4 cup of the sugar, the butter, lemon zest and salt.  With a fork, gradually work in the flour until all of it is absorbed.  Knead the dough until it is elastic and smooth, about 10 minutes.  Shape the dough into a ball. (Alternatively, you can do this in the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook.  Let the mixer do the work until the ingredients form a ball, then knead by hand until smooth.)
• Put the dough in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.
• When the dough has risen, transfer to a work surface and punch the dough down a bit.  Divide the dough into about 20 smaller balls, smooshing them down a bit. Move to a cookie sheet and let rise for about 30 minutes.
• When the dough balls have risen, fry at 350 degrees until golden on both sides.  Remove them from the oil, drain for a minute on a paper towel, then roll them in sugar. Serve hot and enjoy (there won’t be any leftovers!)