Stuffed Calamari

I was in a coffee shop not long ago and overheard a conversation between two men. One was saying how proud he was of his seven year old son who loves eating the calamari rings from his local pizza shop. The other guy said “wow, that’s terrific that he enjoys eating calamari at such a young age.” I thought to myself, “Yeah, that’s great. Your son enjoys eating deep fried rubber bands. Congratulations, pal.”

I think it’s wonderful that a youngster would enjoy calamari. I’ve been eating it since I was probably around the age of four. However, I was not eating those cute little bite-size portions that have become a standard on most menus. No sir. What I was introduced to has become, to this day, one of my all-time favorite dishes which is served at my all-time favorite meal. I’m talking about Stuffed Calamari. And in just a few short weeks, I will once again be able to enjoy this delectable dish.

Every Christmas Eve, we gather together with all of my cousins, aunts, uncles and Grandmother to celebrate the Feast of the Seven Fishes. Since more of us are contributing to the dinner these days, we’re probably up to about 11 or 12 fishes. New dishes, such as coconut shrimp, talapia and king crab legs appear every year. But we still carry quite a few of the traditional dishes as well (smelts, whiting, bacala, and of course stuffed calamari). Now, if you never had stuffed calamari, it’s quite different from the standard fried ringlets. It’s the entire calamari tube, probably about the size of an manicotti tube, filled with a bread stuffing, and served in a red sauce. Think stuffed shells, but much more complex in taste and texture.

I have nothing against fried calamari, as long as it’s properly prepared. In fact, it’s a dish that my wife and I enjoy tremendously. Most of our favorite restaurants are ranked on the tenderness and tastiness of their fried calamari alone! But there is not a dish in the world that I would trade for my holiday stuffed calamari.

While I do not have my family’s exact recipe (as my Aunt Marie is not yet willing to give up the calamri duties), below is a recipe that I found online a few years back that is very close, and is quite delicious. And if you’re ever in the area of Collingswood, NJ, pay a visit to Nunzio’s and enjoy an order of their Calamari Dorati.

Stuffed Calamari

• 2 pounds of calamari tubes (cleaned)
• 2 cans of crushed tomatoes (28 oz. Cans)
• 2 cloves of garlic (chopped)
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• 1 can (28 oz.) of water (use the crushed tomatoes can to measure)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup of grated cheese of your choice
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons of accent

Stuffing Ingredients
• 1/2 loaf of bread
• 2 teaspoons parsley
• 1/4 cup of grated cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Oil (enough to moisten mixture)
• 1 clove of fresh garlic
Optional Ingredients
• 1 egg
• Clams, lobster, shrimp or fish of your choice chopped can be added to the stuffing

Preparation
In a large pot, sauté garlic in heated oil. Add crushed tomatoes and season these tomatoes with all the other ingredients (excluding the stuffing ingredients). Add water a little at a time till the sauce thickens to your liking. Wash calamari tubes thoroughly and drain well. Take the stuffing ingredients and mix well until it is of a nice consistency. Stuff each tube halfway full. Use toothpicks at the opening of each filled tube. Add these tubes to the tomato sauce and cook about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Serves 4-6.

Stuffed Zucchini

Feeling a bit overstuffed from this past weekend’s food fest? These delicious, healthy, and quite filling stuffed zucchini boats make for a great meal, or even as a nice appetizer for an upcoming holiday dinner party.

I found this recipe in a Rachel Ray cook book…a personally autographed Rachel Ray cook book (15 seconds of celebrity interaction for me, a lifetime’s worth of humiliation and mockery material for my dear friend Jennifer – she’s lucky she sits high on my friendship list). Whether or not you’re a fan of “The Rache,” I highly suggest this dish.

Mama Elsa’s Stuffed Zucchini
Rachael Ray
makes twelve zucchini boats

Six 5-inch zucchini (1 1/2 pounds total)

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), 3 turns of the pan, plus more for drizzling

5 garlic cloves, 1 crushed and 4 finely chopped

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (a couple of pinches)

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 can diced tomatoes (15 ounces), drained and juice reserved

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup dry white wine (a glug)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs (3 generous handfuls)

1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (a couple of generous handfuls)

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley (a generous handful)

10 leaves fresh basil, shredded or torn

Preheat the oven to 400°. Halve the zucchini lengthwise and hollow them out with a small scoop or spoon. Drizzle the zucchini boats with a little EVOO and place them in the middle of the oven to roast (they will be ready when you take the stuffing off the heat). Chop the zucchini centers.

Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of EVOO (2 turns of the pan), the crushed garlic clove, the red pepper flakes, the onion and the chopped zucchini. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the zucchini begins to caramelize. Finely chop the tomatoes and add them to the stuffing. Stir until heated through. Season with salt and pepper and deglaze the pan with the glug of white wine. Cook until the wine evaporates, then stir in the reserved tomato juice. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the tomato juice slowly cook off as well.

While the stuffing cooks, heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of EVOO (1 turn of the pan) and the butter. When the butter melts into the oil, add the chopped garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, then add the bread crumbs and lightly toast them, about 2 minutes. Add the cheese, parsley and lots of fresh pepper and remove from the heat.

When the liquid has almost cooked out of the stuffing, stir in the bread crumb mixture and the basil and remove it from the heat. Remove the zucchini from the oven and fill each with a mound of stuffing. Place the boats back in the oven and bake for 5 minutes to crisp the bread crumbs.

Pumpkin Soup

Looking for a hearty, seasonal soup to serve as your first course for Thanksgiving dinner? This Pumpkin Soup has a fantastic flavor and aroma, and is very simple to make. You can also serve it as a hearty winter meal by adding small pasta, such as elbow macaroni or small shells.

PUMPKIN SOUP
2 tbsp. butter
1 onion, diced
2 stalks chopped celery
2 carrots, chopped
2 tbsp. flour
1 tsp. pepper
4 c. clear chicken broth
1 c. pumpkin (puree)
1 tsp. sugar

Saute onion, celery and carrots in butter in soup pot. Add flour, broth, pumpkin, pepper, sugar. Simmer for 1/2 hour.

Thanksgiving Sides

Ahhhh, Thanksgiving. My favorite holiday of the year. Now, my favorite holiday meal of the year is still hands-down the Christmas Eve Seven Fish dinner…more on that in a few weeks. But when you’re talking holidays, Bird Day is the tops for me. I love everything about it. The smells, the colors, the crisp fall air, the leaves on the ground. Everything about it screams tradition, comfort and nostalgia. Just the smell of turkey brings me back to when I was a kid, when my brother and I would help my mom make the apple pies. We would start the morning by watching the parade on tv, followed by hours of the WOR Holiday King Kong movie festival (monsters were always more important to me than football when I was little). Then came the food. The glorious food! Now that I have a family of my own, we have our own traditions that we look forward to. And they still involve lots of eating!

Obviously, the main event of the day is the turkey. These days there are countless ways to prepare the main course. My friend John does both a traditional bird in the oven, and another one on the grill. My friend Tony, on the other hand, has turned deep-frying into an art form. So I won’t even begin to suggest turkey tips. Now, if you grew up in an Italian household, chances are that your Thanksgiving main course consisted of a double bill – a pasta course, followed up to a few hours later by the turkey.

So, what I’ve decided to do was offer you some side dishes that go over well with our family dinner. The first, Cranberry Compote, was an Emeril recipe that I came across a few years back. The second, Baked Butternut Squash with Apples, was one that I just recently found. Enjoy, and have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

FRESH CRANBERRY COMPOTE

6 ounces fresh cranberries, rinsed and picked over
1 tablespoon orange zest
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
Pinch of salt
Pinch of ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup fresh orange juice

In a non reactive, non-stick saucepan, over medium, combine the cranberries, zest, 1/2 cup sugar, water, salt, and cinnamon. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 10 minutes. Dissolve cornstarch in the orange juice. Add the mixture to the cranberries and stir to blend. Simmer another 15 minutes until the mixture is thick. Remove from the heat and cool completely. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.

BAKED BUTTERNUT SQUASH WITH APPLES

2 tblspn butter
1/2 tspn ground cinnamon
1/4 tspn ground nutmeg
1-1/2 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 to 3 large Granny Smith apples, cored, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tblspn balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup chopped pecans,toasted

Heat oven to 375ºF. Place butter in 13×9-inch glass baking dish; heat in oven 5 to 7 minutes or until melted.
Stir cinnamon and nutmeg into melted butter. Add squash; toss to coat. Cover with foil; bake 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix apples, syrup and vinegar.
Pour apple mixture over squash. Cover; bake 10 minutes. Stir; bake 5 to 10 minutes longer or until squash is tender. Stir before serving and sprinkle with pecans.