Flaming Crab Rangoons

This semester I ran out of meal points....it was a sad day. No longer could I rely on the great halls of Wright Food Court to provide my lunch and supper. Last semester I had slowly adjusted to the change by packing my lunch and bringing it with me to class everyday - a move I should have made a while back. Daily combinations of chicken salad, chips, a Big K soda, and Star Wars fruit snacks are uplifting during my long days at school. But supper...that is a different story. Considering I had only really cooked for myself a handful of times in my life, I really couldn't make very much.

But, this semester I have reached down deep and made some pretty great dishes - namely my chicken fettuccine alfredo. But earlier this week, I wanted to try something that I absolutely love - crab rangoons. They would not be the main course, but hey, they can't be that hard to make, right?

Egg Batter on the Edges

It started out as a fun little scavenger hunt at the grocery story, where I found canned lump crab meat and some wonton wrappers (which were strangely in the natural refrigerated foods section). Then, I came home and started doing the wrapping project, which was pretty fun and reminded me of making miniature fried apple pies. But then.....the recipe called for them to be fried in hot oil.

Packaging the Cream Cheese/Crab Mix

I warmed up the oil, thought it was hot enough, and then excitedly placed the first crab rangoon into the heat. It bubbled quickly, but when I scooped it out with a utensil 20 seconds later, the floured wrapper was completely black. I mean - charcoal black. I realized that the oil must have been too hot, so I turned it down and left the room temporarily, leaving Kara to check on it. Five seconds later, Kara screams, "It's on fire!" and runs out of the room. I come back in, turn the gas off, (after Kara's instruction to smother the fire) find a lid, and put it on top. Smoke is everywhere and both fire alarms are beeping like crazy. After resetting the fire alarms, I took the pot, lid, and all, and placed it outside on the front porch and took the lid off again....instant flames. It was crazy! Who knows how hot that oil was. Kara was pretty terrified, but I was a little intrigued and checked back in a few minutes to take the lid off again. Smoky the Bear would have been proud that I did not leave it unattended. Nothing for a second...then flames once more.

Rangoon Turned into Charcoal Brick--an Ugly Fate

After leaving the pot be for a long time, I looked at the recipe and noticed that you can also just bake the rangoons or place them in a LITTLE bit of oil and fry them. I had to convince Kara to even continue, but I had already put such of an investment in wrapping the rangoons that I had to finish to the end. I eventually did and put them in the oven.

Was the Smoke Really that Bad You Ask? - Yes, It Was.

They actually turned out pretty decent after all that commotion, and Kara and I both really liked them. We both learned some lessons along the way, and definitely won't be doing the deep frying thing any more.

Finished Product - Pretty Impressive, I Think