Calamari

 

Its tradition that we have calamari every year at Christmas time.  Nearly every year, I mess it up. Sometimes I nail it but most often its soggy.  Its not for my lack of trying.  I finally nailed it, with the right way yesterday and had to put it in writing so I remember what I did last year.  Its taken from a video on You Tube but I tweaked it and made it my own.

2 cups flour

1 cup cornstarch

1 generous tablespoons mixed Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon garlic powder

Mix dry ingredients together, set aside

Make sure you fry in a low sided pan.  I used my braising pan.  If the sides are too high it will get soggy because I think it traps in some moisture.  Not sure but did not work.  I tried high sides to help prevent grease from going all over.  It wasn't worth it.  

3 inches of oil.  I used peanut oil, which has a high smoke point.  

Soaking liquid

1 cup milk or buttermilk.  I used whole milk

2 eggs

Rinse and cut tubes into rings.  Drain.  Place in soaking liquid.

Get dry ingredients together in separate bowl.  

Dip calamari into dry ingredients and then place in hot oil.  350 F  fry for about a minutes.  Remove and drain on cooling rack or paper towels.  Keep in 200 F oven while cooking all of it.  I do about 7 1/2 pounds at Christmas.  Its a lot of frying, a total labor of love.

Kimchi

 

KIMCHI

1 regular size head napa cabbage

10 scallions, sliced thinly

1/4 cup sea salt or kosher salt

1 head of garlic

1 inch ginger knob, grated

1 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons fish sauce

4 tablespoons Gochugaru, Korean red pepper flakes

1. Cut Napa cabbage into bite sized pieces.  Sprinkle with salt, tossing with your hands to work salt into the cabbage.  Set aside, covered for 2-4 hours.

2. Wash and drain cabbage to wash off salt. Place in colander and let drain for 15 minutes.

3.  Make seasonings.  Mix together garlic paste, sugar, ginger, salt, fish sauce and red pepper flakes.

4. Combine spices with cabbage, massaging it all into the cabbage.

5. Pack into jar, you want liquid to be covering the cabbage.  Cover, letting some air in.  I like to use a paper towel and a rubber band to hold it in place.  Place in dark area for 1 to 5 days.  Place jar into cookie sheet or square pan as it will overflow. Make sure your press it down so it continues to remain under the brine.

6.  After that refrigerate and enjoy.  It will continue to ferment.  The longer it sits the more funky it gets. Embrace the funk, its good for your gut.