Asian Style Salt and Pepper Spicy Calamari ....Great beat-the-heat Summer Eats

Round two of some hot weather cooking ideas... this recipe for fried calamari is almost as easy as the ceviche I made last week. It's light tender and thanks to some fiery chili's has a bit of a bite!   The first time I had this was at my baby sister Jenny's graduation dinner in Colorado. I asked them how they got the calamari so tender and the chef said "The trick is to soak your squid over night in a milk bath. The lactic acid helps break down the chewy fisheys making then tender as well as really bringing out the mild sweet taste of the squid".....
Most of you who know me are aware that when it comes to my seafood I prefer to keep it simple...like cornmeal and coconut oil simple. Something about the coconut oil gives a very subtle island feel to the fish. Besides that coconut oil is sooooooooooooo good for you!  So it goes without saying we'll be preparing the calamari the same way.This week at Market basket it's on sale for $4.99 a lb!!! So you can grab a couple pounds for what it would cost you as an appetizer in a resturant!
  One of my favorite ways to have calamari is more an Asian style...over a thinly sliced and seasoned bed of lettuce and tossed with jalapenos, chilli's and fresh lemon.  Serve alfresco with a nice Thai beer (I LOVE " Singha ") and beat the heat!

Fried Calamari
1-2 lbs calamari               salt/ pepper
2 cups milk                       sliced and diced fresh jalapeno
cornmeal                          1 red chili diced and set aside
coconut oil                        1/2 head of lettuce thinly sliced
LEMON(2-3 cut into 4)

*soak calamari in milk at least overnight. Heat oil in pan at least 1/2 inch on med high heat. Place cornmeal in a large bowl and add salt and pepper. Take calamari out of milk bath and toss in cornmeal until completely covered. After well coated place coated calamari into the coconut oil and fry 2 minutes add the jalepenos..cook for 30 more seconds then turn the calamari over cook for 2 more minutes and then add the red chilli's(always add dried red chili's at the end , if you cook them too long they taste bitter) Cook another 30 seconds or until the calamari is golden brown . Drain off oil on some paper towels then top the lettuce with the calamari and peppers sprinkle with some sea salt and pepper and serve with lots of lemon!

I'M MELTING!!!!...Cool no cook Red Snapper Ceviche...

Holy heat Batman! I don't know about you, but this week sucked!! Between the 3 digit temperatures and outages(oh yeah, a transformer blew on my street so we were with out electricity for 2 days..it was terrible!)
there was no way on God's green earth I was going to even attempt something as crazy as "COOKING" in this unbearable heat...The good news is I have an arsenal of "no-cook" dishes perfect for weather like this...
  My son Conrad absolutely loves Ceviche!... Particularly Red Snapper Ceviche. When he was around 7 he went through a Cevieche phase and that summer he had it at least twice a week for 3 months!!. We would head over to the Atlantic Seafood Company in Lynn and he would pick out the snapper of his choice and they would scale it and take the bones out so all I really had to do was dice it and throw it in a little lemon lime and orange juice toss with a few herbs and veggies chill for an hour...and Presto!...dinner was served. This is seriously the EASIEST meal to make and the best part is your house won't smell like fish! Red Snapper is everywhere and it's on sale!! So I would recommend grabbing a pound or two and getting your Ceviche on!.
This recipe is enough to serve 4 . Spin up a fresh batch of frozen Margaritas and you have a fresh ,exciting, healthy ,light, impressive ,and inexpensive meal!

Red Snapper Ceviche
1 lb. red snapper fillets(diced)             1tbsp finely diced jalapenos
juice from 2 lemons                          1/4 cup thinly sliced red onions
juice from 2 limes                              1/4cup finely diced yellow peppers
juice from 1 orange                           1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp sea salt/ pepper                      1/4 cup fresh cilantro coarsely chopped
1 tbps olive oil

In a large bowl mix snapper , juices, jalapenos, peppers, onions, sea salt ,pepper and cumin.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Toss in cilantro and olive oil and serve...stay cool my friends!

Hemingway's greatest contribution!..."El Hemingway" Rum, Grapefruit and Lime!

 

We can really give a big fat "Gracias" to Cuba for making popular one of Americas favorite liquors ...RUM!  Cuba is also the place where my favorite cocktail "El Hemingway" was invented.   Ernest Hemingway had made his home in Cuba between 1939 to 1960, at a place called "Finca Vigia" ( Look Out Farm) where he wrote seven books, including The Old Man and the Sea, A Moveable Feast and Islands in the Stream .  And the inventor of Bacardi...Facundo Bacardi was the first  mayor of Santiago ,Cuba and he helped pioneer Cuban style rum, known for its light, dry, smoothness. He devised a charcoal filter system and began aging rum in oak barrels which gave the spirit it's unique cuban qualities! In 1862, Facundo Bacardi opened his first tin-roofed, dirt-floored distillery on Matadero Street in Santiago,an eastern city in Cuba. Bacardi racked up a bunch of international awards at the turn of the cetury and soon its rum became known as "the one that has made Cuba famous." Prohibition sent thirsty Americans scurrying to Cuba to wet their whistles. And that eventually lead to the most disgusting cocktail of all times "Rum and Coke"! Years later in 39' hemingways love affair with Cuba resulted in the drink that bares his name! The Mojitos had a huge run in the 90's and are still extremely popular. But my most favorite way to drink my rum is the same way Ernest Hemingway himself drank it...with some fresh grapefruit juice and lime!  I make mine with fresh squeezed pink grapefruits and packed crushed ice...kind of like an adult icecone and unlike Hemingway I prefer to top it off with some club soda and of course lime. My version is  simple ,refreshing, grown up and a far cry from those sweet rum drinks made popular by Chinese resturants and silly co-ed's the world over. Most important of all  you won't feel like a loser ordering it(seriously , I haven't ordered a Mojito since 98')!  And let's not forget the "Censational"savings...The cost for a bottle some grapefruit limes and clubsoda is $20 bucks..thats the price of two drinks at your local bar!  So this week after a long hot day go up to your roof top deck(cause we all have one,not!) throw on some Gypsy Kings spin up a few "Hemingways"and expirience your own little bit of Heavan-na(lol)! CHEERS! El Hemingway ( serves2,normally.. this is like one drink for me) 4 oz dark Bacardi 4oz. pink grapefruit juice 8oz. club soda Juice from 1 lime Crushed ice packed well Pack ice into glass and pour equal parts rum and fresh squeezed pink grapefruit, club soda and then add lime juice and an island breeze and enjoy!

And away we go!! ........Easy portable summer meal to go!....

So I have been BBQ-ing like a law is about to be passed banning BBQ-ing 4ever!!! It looks like my little chat with Summer worked and he was able to pull it together...for now.
  It's 4th of July weekend!!! Most of us will be traveling to various towns and cities to watch the fireworks on nights other than the 4th. So I wanted to come up with a menu that was portable and also says" I love my independance and Im gonna celebrate it!" ...the result:

All american Fried Chicken, Sweet liberty pocket Cherry pies and Homemade Salt and Veggies on a stick..all easy to make and easy to carry along to where ever you go!

Fried Chicken is so easy to make (time consuming but easy) and it actually tastes better after it's been chilled in the fridge over night! But most importantly..it's portable! Cherry pie is about as american as it gets but this version allows everyone to have their own pie and not be confined to a plate and fork. Potatos on a stick is a great and salty treat and makes eating veggies supper fun! And let's not forget the cost we are talking under $12.00 for the chicken ,pies and potato sticks!!! "Centsational"!

Ice-box fried chicken to go
12 drumbsticks               1 tbsp fresh ground pepper
2 cups flour                     1 tbsp paprika
1tbsp oldbay seasoning    2cups frying oil
1tbsp cayenne pepper   
heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients then wash and pat dry the chicken. toss in flour mixture and coat well. place 6 drumbsticks in the oil and fry 7minutes both sides then remove froim oil and place on papertowels to soak up excess oil. repeat with remaining drmbsticks.
Chill over night.

Pocket Cherry pies
1 cup cherry pie filling
2  9inch pie crusts
1 egg beaten
Preheat the oven to 375* cut each pie in half place a 1/4 cup filling in each and fold over and press all around to seal. brush all 4 mini pies with egg mixture and bake 15 minutes...until golden brown. Chill.

 Potatos on a stick
1 large red potato
1 sweet potatos
one onion
Soak wooken skewers in water. quarter potatos and onions and toss in olive oil and sea salt pepper and rosemary. skewer potatos onto sticks and roast at 425* for 30 minutes until the poatos are soft when pierced through with fork. Sprinkle with malt vinegar and sea salt