Foodie Fights - Battle Strawberry/Wonton Wrapper

If you haven't noticed me talk about it, Foodie Fights is an ingenius idea! It's like an Iron Chef-type battle between 6 food bloggers, chosen at random. It really lets your inner creative chef shine through and more often than not, lets you in on some really awesome recipes that you couldn't find anywhere else! So it was my turn this week, I was chosen. And I've got a rep to hold up (I was last year's champ - winning twice, but more than once, so a champ nonetheless), so I had to come up with something good. And so...
Strawberry Mascarpone Dumplings w/ Strawberry Whiskey Sabayon came to be.

The pictures don't do them justice. They're absolutely delicious by themselves, but when paired up with the sweet whiskey sabayon... we've got something there.

Ingredients for the Strawberry Mascarpone Dumpling:

12 oz. container mascarpone cheese
1 container strawberries (roughly about 15-20 big ones)
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 tablespoon sugar
20 wonton wrappers (I used round ones, but you could definitely get the square if you'd like)
vegetable oil, for frying
powdered sugar (optional)

In a small food processor, combine the mascarpone, 1 container strawberries, honey, and sugar. Mixture should be somewhere between thick and thin. Place mixture in the freezer for about 10 minutes to firm up a bit.

On a flat working surface (like a cutting board), place 1 wonton wrapper flat on board.


Spoon about a teaspoon worth of filling in the center.


Dab the edges with warm water and fold up to seal. (For a quick tutorial on how to fold your wonton into different styles, you can check this out. I did the basic Samosa style) You can pinch the edges to get an even better seal also.

User a deep fryer would be ideal for this, but considering I don't own one, we'll just have to keep it old school. Fill a deep pan about 2 inches high worth of vegetable oil. Heat under medium high to high heat. You'll know it's ready when you can throw a little piece of wonton wrapper in and see it bubble and fry nicely.


Fry about 3-5 wontons at a time, about 30 seconds to 1 minute, flipping once in between. They should be nice and golden brown. Let dry on paper towels and top with powdered sugar.


Ingredients for Strawberry Whiskey Sabayon:

about 7 strawberries, chopped
8 egg yolks
1/2 cup whiskey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon orange juice

In a medium bowl, combine the strawberries and orange juice. With an immersion blender, puree the strawberries until they're at your desired consistency. I left a little bit of chunks for good texture.

Mix in the whiskey, vanilla, and sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved.

In a metal mixing bowl, add the egg yolks and stir until the yolks just break. Add in whiskey/strawberry mixture and mix well.

Assemble a double boiler with the metal bowl by sitting it atop a small pot of simmering water. Make sure the bowl doesn't touch the hot water or your yolks will scramble. Whisk constantly for about 10-15 minutes, or until mixture is triple in size. I sped up the process by using the whisk attachment on my immersion blender and it whipped up pretty nicely. Serve with dumplings.

Like I said, this was pretty tasty. The strawberry whiskey sabayon wasn't too overpowering and all of the ingredients played nicely with eachother. It was an elegant dessert for an elegant night (oh, by the way, I served this at my Buitoni Derby Pasta Party last night and it was a hit... more on the Buitoni Pasta Party on Wednesday's post).


So, if you dig the recipe, don't forget to go to Foodie Fights on Wednesday and rock your vote!

P.S. Thanks to Buitoni and Foodbuzz.com I was given the chance to throw a Derby-themed pasta party using Buitoni's new line of Riserva products and I'll be posting all the creative dishes and festivities on Wednesday, so stay tuned!