When I heard that shrimp toasts are a typical item on dim sum menus I needed to make them immediately. (Dim sum happens to be one of my obsessions). Last weekend I was in the mood for a night at home filled with wine, appetizers and the hope of staying up past 10pm. Yes, you read that correctly and sadly, no, that wasn’t a typo. Ten-o-clock-pm. I blame daylight savings but I was really struggling to stay awake past 9 last week.

The wine and appetizers at home turned into (hurry up and make some appetizers while you still have enough light to photograph it) and an impromptu California wine tasting. Appetizers were eaten pre, during, and post-wine.

The shrimp toasts totally remind me of dim sum so I kind of fell in love. The shrimp mixture is a bit spicy (though I could have used a touch more sriracha had it been just me) and the perfect topping for buttery toast. It would also be a delicious filling for homemade dumplings…maybe they are in my future?

I’ve been loving white wine this summer. In the past, I’ve always struggled with drinking red wine in the heat of summer but after learning more about wine this winter and trying different wines, I think I’m definitely a lot more open to varieties other than cabernet.

Finally!

I used a fruity pinot grigio (my favorite white) for this drink. I definitely tasted more of the cucumber than the mango and it gave the wine less of a sweet flavor and more of a mellow cucumber flavor which I LOVED. I had planned on taking it to a girls night, but unfortunately my friends weren’t able to try it because after I poured the wine into a transportable plastic pitcher, it was knocked off the counter, cracked on the floor, and all of the delicious wine leaked out. I stood in the kitchen frozen and screaming. I managed to save a glass and after trying it out? I was a little heartbroken there wasn’t any left and I wouldn’t be able to share it.

So now I owe my friends, and myself, more of this delicious Mango Cucumber Wine Cooler.