Some things are better left for the profesionals
calamari
baked ziti
garlic knots
I really consider myself an above average cook. I can make pretty much anything. I can even cook beef stew and meatloaf and I cant even taste the finished product because I dont eat meat. Well, one of Robin's most favorite foods is fried calamari. She's asked me to make it a few times. The first time I made it, I used some frozen squid and it came out awful. Chewy and greasy and nothing like our most favorite calamari( pictured above). I decided to try again because we went to Toronto last weekend and we came upon some fresh squid in Kensington Market. I bought some ( 4.99lb) and since we came home late Saturday afternoon, I set out to make it for her. Repeat after me. NEVER AGAIN. I will never attempt that at home again. Now, I dont have a self container fryer, so I use a deep saucepan with a thermometer attatched. Maybe it would work better if I had a self contained fryer. Anyway, Robin said it was good, but I strive for great and it wasnt great.
Now, if you want some fabulous calamari along with some fabulous baked ziti and garlic knots head over to Mario The Baker in Sunrise, FL. Mario's has been around since 1973 and my family and I went there often while I was growing up in Plantation( Ft. Lauderdale suburb) These pictures are from our last trip to Florida( october 05) and thinking about the food makes my stomach growl. The calamari is dirt cheap at 5.95 and the ziti was 6.95( comes with a salad and rolls). I'm going to FL in two weeks without my honey and I wont even tell her when I eat there. See how thoughful I am?
posted by Randi at 2:43 PM
5 Comments:
I've never tackled fried calamari, but when I watched Giada make this on Foodnetwork it looked so easy and tasty. Here's the website.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_26987,00.html
7:28 PM, November 30, 2005
Your doxies are adorable, I've always wanted a wire haired...they look so cute and scruffy.
8:29 PM, November 30, 2005
Uh huh. This is where my whole "fear of frying" comes from. I can bake, braise, roast, simmer, steam, stew, or sear without hesitation, but frying in anything more than a teaspoon of oil just freaks me right out. Good on you for trying it, though!
I'm with you on the whole "it has to be *great*" rather than just edible.
12:50 PM, December 01, 2005
Randi--Forget the calamari; tell me about the ziti! LOL It looks like you put ricotta in it? I've been looking for a baked ziti recipe with ricotta. My all-time favorite is from a little mall food-court place called Sbarro's. That's embarrassing. But, hey, it's good. So, what recipe did you use?
9:13 AM, December 03, 2005
When I used to work in a Peruvian Restaurant we made calamari very simply. A Plastic bag with an egg in it and then throw the calamari in and wet it down. Then add in flour and spices (salt pepper paprika and Im not sure what else) shake the bag to lightly coat. Then, you would put it in a frying basket or something similar and shake off the excess flour. The key to making it really good was having the oil extremely hot and letting it fry quickly. Then it was served with two sides marinara and red onions marinated in lime juice and cilantro. Frying temperature was important, if it frys too slow or cooks too long it gets bogged down with grease and tough instead of light and crisp. It was really good.
~Slimming Down
2:42 AM, December 10, 2005
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