Artichoke & Feta Wontons and Salad with Soy Sauce Dressing

For my birthday, the boy got me two Alton Brown cookbooks! They are absolutely wonderful. Tonight I tried his "Artichoke and Feta Wontons" from the sauté section of the book. Though they take a little while to assemble, they are utterly delish. The feta and artichokes give it a certain bite, a sort of sour, creamy taste, while the bacon adds salt and the scallions add zing. They came out a little bit oily, but otherwise they were very good. We also had some leftover salad fixings (and half of a raw egg leftover from the wontons) so I made a salad with a soy sauce dressing. They could be a great party starter.

Artichoke and Feta Wontons
from Alton Brown's I'm Just Here for the Food with mods.
Serves 2
9/10

olive oil
12 - 14 wonton wrappers
1/3 of a can of artichoke hearts (about two hearts), drained and chopped (I used my mini-food processor which worked great)
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
2 slices of bacon, cooked til crisp and chopped
1 TBS scallions, finely chopped
1/2 an egg (save the other half for the salad!)
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup of water or chicken broth
water

1) Preheat the oven to 200ºF. Heat broth in a small sauce pan.
2) Combine artichokes, feta, bacon, scallions, egg, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl.
3) Lay out a wonton wrapper on a dry surface. Brush the edges of the wrapper with a little bit of water (I just use my finger). Place a heaping teaspoon of filling into the center of the wonton and fold up, pinching the edges together to seal. Place on a half baking sheet and cover with a damp cloth. Continue until filling is used up.
4) Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Once hot, brush about a tablespoon (maybe a little less) of olive oil on the pan until the oil begins to smoke. Add wontons, about 8 - 10 in the pan. Sauté 2 minutes per side. Gently add 1/4 cup broth to the pan and cover, cooking an additional 2 minutes or until liquid has evaporated. Move wontons to an oven-proof dish and place in the oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining wontons.


Salad with Soy Sauce Dressing
Serves 2

spinach or whatever lettuce you so desire
8 - 10 grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup carrots cut into matchsticks
1 large scallion, chopped
1/2 an egg, fried and sliced thin (fry up the rest of the one from the wontons)

1 TBS soy sauce
1/2 TBS dry sherry
2 TBS light olive oil
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1/2 tsp garlic
pinch of black pepper

1) Toss together vegetables. Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over salad. Top with egg.
*This would also be tasty with sesame seeds, orange slices, fried wontons, snow peas, red pepper, etc.