Out Of This World Wontons–Liana Brooks

Wontons are a traditional New Year's Eve dinner in my family. This is not a Kids In The Kitchen recipe or for anyone who sets the house on fire when they boil water, but it's an easy recipe that's all about technique.

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1 package of wonton wrappers (they're in the produce section of most grocery stores)
1 medium zucchini
1 leek or medium sized sweet onion
1 head of broccoli
1 package of baby bella mushrooms
2 carrots
snow peas
1 egg
1 tbsp water
cooking oil (I use vegetable oil but you can use whatever you prefer to deep fry with)
soy sauce, hoison sauce, and plum sauce for dipping

1. Dice all the vegetables into small pieces, the smaller the better (not something you usually hear on a romance site, but there ya are).
2. Toss the diced vegetables together to mix and salt lightly.
3. Whisk egg white with water.
4. Set up your work station. You'll want one plate for folding the wontons on, one baking sheet or other tray lined with foil or parchment paper, and either some willing victims to help you fold or a movie to watch.
5. To fold the wontons place the wrapper in front of you, wet the edges of the wrapper with the egg white mixture, and put a scant teaspoonful of veggie mix in the center of the wonton wrapper. Fold the wrapper point to point to make a triangle being sure to leave a small edge. Fold the back edge of the wonton wrapper over the front and press firmly to seal. This is important, you don't want your wonton exploding as you cook.
6. Once all the wontons are folded you can either flash freeze to cook later (they'll keep at least a month in the freezer) or deep fry them in oil.

To Cook:
- Fill a medium sized pot 1/3 full of oil and turn the stove to Medium heat.
- When the oil is hot (a drop of water will bubble and spit when dropped in), place a test wonton in the oil. It should start bubbling and cooking right away. If it sinks to the bottom of the pot, the oil isn't hot enough. Is the wonton cooks too quickly, the oil is too hot.
- Cook the wontons in batches of 3-4, being sure not to crowd the pot. Use tongs to turn the cooking wontons in the oil, letting them brown on both sides.
- Place cooked wontons on a tray lined with paper towels to let the oil drain before serving.
Serve with dipping sauces.
* For a complete meal you can round out the menu with coconut rice and a tropical fruit platter.
** Once you've mastered the art of wonton folding you can play with the stuffing. Try cream cheese and pickled pepper to make easy jalapeno poppers, or chocolate ganache wontons dusted with powdered sugar. Diced apples and caramel sprinkled with cinnamon make a delicious dessert.

If you believe the rumors you know that Doctor Charm, the wickedly sexy super villain, retired in shame seven years ago after his last fight with the super hero Zephyr Girl. The fact that the charming Evan Smith—father of four and husband of the too-beautiful-to-be-real Tabitha—bears a resemblance to the defeated Doctor is pure coincidence. And, please, ignore the minions.

Everything is perfect in the Smith household, until Tabitha announces her return to work as a super hero. Evan was hoping to keep her distracted until after he rigged the presidential election, but—genius that he is—Evan has a backup plan. In his basement lab, Evan has a machine whose sole purpose is keeping Tabitha hungry for him.

But children and labs don’t mix. The machine is broken, and Tabitha storms out, claiming she no longer knows him. World domination takes a back seat to meeting his daughters’ demands to get Mommy back right now. This time his genius isn’t going to be enough—he’s going to need both his evil alter-ego, and the blooming super abilities of his children to save his wife. But even his most charming self might not be enough to save their marriage.

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www.lianabrooks.com