Crab Rangoon Dip with Fried Wonton Chips & Vinho Verde
Life updates, a fall-worthy hot dip, and a wine style I can't get enough of!
Hello my wine loving friends!
I hope you’re doing well and enjoying these last few days of summer! If you’d like to skip to the recipe, you can scroll down until you see the picture of the dip! Otherwise, here’s a quick life update:
We had a baby! Her name is Josephine (Josie) and she’s a beautiful little angel butt (also known as ‘the little nincompoop’ when she doesn't let us sleep - said with love, of course). Baby girl was born 3 weeks early on August 5th. The early delivery by induction was a huge surprise, so to say we were overwhelmed is a bit of an understatement! We basically had 5 days to prepare, where we originally thought we had a month. The week leading up to her birth and the week after were just WILD. Full of tears, learning curves, and love. If you’re interested, you can learn about my birth story here! Based on some questions I received in the past month, I also included a round-up of our most used and useful items for pregnancy, labour, and the first month postpartum!
What else is new?
I CAN DRINK WINE AGAIN! Super important news, I know. I’ve been having an absolute time enjoying some of the special wines I put away while I was pregnant and having some of other summer drinks I’ve been missing. Yes, I don’t only drink wine! I love cocktails and beer, and have been craving an Aperol spritz, Margarita, a Dirty Martini, and a nice cold pint. The only one left to check off my list is a dirty martini, but don’t worry, you’ll be seeing one soon with one of my upcoming recipes! ;)
Here are some pictures of my beverage adventures over the past 6 weeks!
The first two pictures are from our first day back from the hospital. Josie was in the NICU so we went home without her, and of course I needed Champagne and sushi! And yes - that is what my feet looked like. I felt like a bag of swollen garbage for the first week postpartum, but having this time with the hubs before we brought our little girl home was so needed and so special. Doesn’t hurt that the Champers was AMAZING. We a bottle of the 2015 Le Mesnil Sublime Champagne Blanc de Blanc Grand Cru Brut and it actually made me cry. I LOVE Champagne, so so much, and this one was just so dang good!
The second two are not long after we brought the little squish home. I had been saving this bottle of Martoccia Brunello di Montalcino for my first steak dinner post baby. I LOVE Brunello, and I love a good rare to medium-rare steak (both of which I couldn’t have in pregnancy), so I was really looking forward to this! The meal and the wine were without question delicious, even though we overcooked the steaks because our barbecue caught fire, and the wine was a bit too high alcohol for me so soon postpartum. I even tried to film this meal to share on Instagram which was a complete disaster. Straight up chaos, but it was an experience!! I don’t have a link for this specific Brunello, but here’s one that's currently on sale for those of you in the US!
The 5th and 6th picture are from Josie’s actual due date (August 25th) where we celebrated with the in-laws and some good ol’ patio Aperol Spritzes!
Pictures 7 and 8 were from another red wine and steak dinner experience with Justin’s parents, where we opened an insanely good bottle of wine: The 2012 Hoope’s Vineyard Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon, and paired it with some great quality, perfectly cooked steaks. This wine was a gift from one of my good friends for our wedding last year and we were all blown away by how amazing it was. Seriously such an amazing wine experience, so THANK YOU Ryan!
Finally, the last (super high quality) picture is the Andreas Bender Blattenberg Kabinett Riesling. A stunning medium sweet Riesling from Mosel Germany from one of my favourite producers! I could not wait to open this one and it was SO good! Also nice that it was low alcohol at 8% ABV, so I could actually have more than one glass!
Now for the Wine and Dip!
I’m so excited to share this recipe with you all. It’s one I’ve been meaning to make for a while, but had to put on hold with baby Josie coming earlier than expected! In the end I think it worked out though, because this is pretty much the perfect September pairing. September is a beautiful month that straddles the line between summer and fall. The warm, sometimes even straight up HOT, days beg for a crisp and fresh wine style like Vinho Verde, and a warm and cozy dip is exactly what’s needed as the mornings and evenings start to cool off!
What the heck is Crab Rangoon?
Crab Rangoon is an ‘Americanized’ Chinese appetizer that is by no means traditional Chinese food, but DAMN is it good! They’re basically little cream cheese and crab filled fried wontons and are usually served with sweet and sour sauce. Of course, I didn’t make Crab Rangoon. I made Crab Rangoon DIP, and the result was TO DIE FOR.
What is Vinho Verde?
Vinho Verde is a light and refreshing wine from northern Portugal. While most would assume Vinho Verde is a grape (like Sauvignon Blanc), It’s actually the name of the place! Vinho Verde is a Portuguese DOC that translates to '‘Green Wine”, meaning young wine. It can be white, red, rosé, or sparkling, but is most commonly known as a light, low alcohol, white wine, with a touch of fizz! You’ll probably notice some short lived bubbles when you pour a glass and a prickly fizz on your tongue when you take a sip! This wine is always great value (AKA good quality at a very reasonable price) and it is the embodiment of fresh, with common flavours of zesty lime, tart green apple, and honeydew melon. It also tends to have a bit of salinity (or saltiness) to it from its proximity to the ocean, along with some subtle green vegetal flavours.
Why does this pairing work?
This pairing is all about the contrast and matching flavours.
Contrasting textures: The dip is rich, creamy, and mouth-coating and the wine is light, fresh, and palate cleansing, so having a sip between bites will keep you coming back for more!
Matching flavours: The saltiness of the wine matches the salty crab, and the chives help to amplify some of those vegetal flavours in the wine!
My Recommendations
Most Vinho Verde is great value, and because of the DOC quality standards, it’s hard to find a bad one! I LOVED the Portas do Oriente Vinho Verde, but if you can’t find it where you are, the Mapreco Vinho Verde is similar and equally tasty!
What are some alternative pairings?
If you’re looking for an alternative (but similar) wine to pair with this dip, I would suggest an Albarino, Soave, Verdejo, Chablis, Sancerre, or Prosecco (the links will take you to some of my go-to’s).
If you would prefer something else, consider pairing this with Junmai Daiginjo Sake or a crisp rice lager.
Crab Rangoon Dip with Fried Wonton Chips
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