Crabpetizers - Crab Appetizers, of Course!

These little yummies are wrapped in wonton skins, fried, and served with a chipotle cream sauce. It's sort of like bites of crab enchiladas in wontons. *Helpful Nutritional Info:* One Billion Calories. ;) I honestly have no clue how many this turns out, but the sauce yield is 3 3/4 cups.

• Ready In: 1 hr 15 mins
• Yields: 40 appetizers

Ingredients

• Filling

• 1  lb  cooked  crabmeat, drained and picked over
• 1⁄4 cup  snipped fresh chives
• 1⁄4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1  cup unsalted butter
• 1  teaspoon shallot, minced
• 1⁄2 cup dry vermouth
• 3⁄4 lb  assorted fresh  wild mushroom (such as porcini and shiitake, stemmed and thinly sliced)

• Wontons

•  wonton wrapper (1 package)
•  vegetable oil

• Chipotle Cream Sauce

• 12  dried chipotle chiles, stemmed (also remove seeds if you're a wuss like me)
• 1  teaspoon shallot, minced
• 1⁄2 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 1⁄2 cup unsalted butter
• 1  cup dry white wine
• 2  cups  whipping cream
• 1⁄2 cup onion, diced
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cornstarch, dissolved into
• 1  teaspoon water
• 1  tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced
• 1 1⁄4 teaspoons fresh ground pepper

Directions

1. THE FILLING: Melt 1/2 cup butter in heavy large skillet over medium-low heat. Add mushrooms and shallot and cook until tender, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes.
2. Add vermouth and bring to boil.
3. Reduce heat and simmer until almost no liquid remains in pan, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes.
4. Melt remaining 1/2 cup butter in heavy medium skillet over medium heat.
5. Add crab and stir until heated through.
6. Combine with mushrooms. Mix in 3/4 cup chipotle sauce, chives and pepper and bring to boil, stirring constantly. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cool completely. Cover and refrigerate.) Set aside.
7. Preheat oven to 350°F.
8. Rewarm filling over low heat, stirring occasionally.
9. THE SAUCE: Bring large pot of water to boil. Add chiles and boil until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid.
10. Puree chiles with 1/4 cup cooking liquid in blender. Strain through sieve. Set aside.
11. Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat.
12. Add 1 tablespoon chipotle paste, onion, rosemary, pepper, shallot and garlic and stir 2 minutes.
13. Add wine and boil until reduced by half.
14. Add cream and boil until reduced to thin sauce consistency, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Taste, adding more chipotle paste if desire.
15. Add cornstarch mixture and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cool completely. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm before using.).
16. FILLING & COOKING THE WONTONS: Place 1 - 2 teaspoons filling in each wrapper and seal according to package directions, being careful to remove as much excess air as possible. Place single layer of wontons in hot oil (about 1/4" in bottom of wok) and fry 2 - 3 minutes until golden brown. Drain on paper bags or paper towels, and serve immediately with chipotle cream sauce.