The advantages of cleaning your own calamari outnumber the horrors. Not only is it far less expensive to buy at the grocery counter or fish market, but slicing your own squid—and harvesting that elusive ink sac—affords some serious street cred. More
Dim sum in these parts has basically jumped the shark. While we’re no Vancouver or San Francisco, we have a couple of really solid options, Phoenix and Shui Wah. Problem is like every brunch spot in the city, they’re so popular, you usually spend more time getting jostled by other fanny pack clad patrons waiting for a seat in the lobby than you do eating. As a result, my dim sum consumption is pretty much in line with my green leafy vegetable consumption, which is to say, pretty much zero. Last Sunday, though, I pulled myself out of bed, won the culinary lotto, and found myself with only a five-minute wait at Shui Wah. Shui Wah is home to... More
The colossal half-ton squid caught last month might be microwaved. But, alas, not for eating. Even if you wanted to "make calamari rings the size of tractor tyres" out of it, they'd taste like ammonia, according to scientists. The squid is being thawed for research purposes. No loss, I always found large calamari rings a bit tough for my taste anyway.... More
Exciting news: "New Zealand fishermen have caught what is expected to be a world-record-breaking colossal squid. Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton said the squid, weighing an estimated 450kg (990lb),took two hours to land in Antarctic waters. Local news said the Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni was about 10m (33ft) long, and was the first adult colossal squid landed intact. One expert said calamari rings made from it would be like tractor tyres." Wikipedia's Colossal Squid is fantastic, if you'd like to read more about the species. If you'd like to make dinner in honor of New Zealand's catch, Leite's Culinaria has Mario Batali's recipe for Stuffed Calamari on the Grill from his book Simple Italian Food: Recipes from My Two Villages.... More
