Stuffed Calamari

Stuffed Calamari

There's a little Italian American restaurant in Honolulu called Auntie Pasto's. Back when I first ate there twenty years ago, there weren't too many casual neighborhood Italian eateries to choose from in Hawaii and Auntie Pasto's was one of the better choices in my memory. Since that time, as food culture and awareness flourished and foodies grew more sophisticated, more and more Italian restaurants opened their doors to a hungry Hawaiian public eager for new flavors.

Although I enjoy sampling authentic, regional Italian cuisines there's something nice and comforting about basic Italian American style fare. Perhaps it's the warmth and hospitality of the establishment, or the fact that you don't have to speak Italian to understand what all the items are on the menu. On more than one occasion at Auntie Pasto's, when the line to get in was about twenty deep or so, the owner would send out one of the waitresses with a stack of plastic cups and several carafes of house Chianti for those of us waiting in line. That's what I call hospitality.

You can always order an old standard at places like these and walk away at the end of the meal feeling full and happy with money left in your wallet. Humble mounds of spaghetti and meatballs and plates of eggplant Parmesan cooked to perfection and smothered in marinara all taste as if your Italian Grandma (or Auntie in this case) cooked all afternoon just for you.

In addition to all the usual favorites to choose from, there were always the chalk board specials. I can't be sure if the stuffed calamari was on the regular menu back then. It's highly likely I ordered it off of the specials menu. Squid, stuffed with breadcrumbs and ricotta cheese (?), baked and served over a bed of spaghetti marinara.

In this version, I added some chopped clams to the stuffing and went with a pomodoro sauce. It took a little effort to stuff these guys. Perhaps there is a trick to stuffing them like maybe using a pastry bag, but with a little patience I managed to get them filled. Now, the key to cooking calamari is either, cook them forever or cook them quickly, anything in between and you end up with something inedibly reminiscent of a garden hose in texture. I chose to saute the stuffed calamari in a pan with tomato sauce for a few minutes and finish them off under the broiler for another few. They came out pretty tender and not rubbery at all.

When eating out, I'll always look over the daily specials menu. Once in a while I'll try a dish like this and be pleasantly surprised.

Prince Edward Island Mussels

PEI Mussels

The little card in the glass case said "PEI Mussels". I wondered, Pei is a Chinese name, like I.M. Pei the architect, what's the deal, are these mussels from China or something? Anyway, they looked good and fresh and since I got to Santa Monica Seafood toward the end of the day and it wasn't too crowded, the friendly fish monger"ess" was happy to carefully sort through them to make sure I only got the lively ones with unbroken shells.

At only 6 bucks or so per pound, I thought they were a pretty good deal even though much of that weight happens to be shell. When that shell contains something so sweet and flavorful though, I don't mind spending a little extra for the packaging.

I was curious about the name so when I got home, I googled it and found out the P.E.I. stood for Prince Edward Island. Duh! Shows how often I eat mussels (not nearly enough) or how well I pay attention to the waiters in restaurants when they tell me where the mussels are sourced. Yes... call me unsophisticated.

PEI Mussels

I rinsed them, heated up a pot, put them in with a tablespoon of olive oil, some minced garlic and chopped parseley and put the lid on tightly. After a few minutes, they popped open and steamed in their own juices, perfect for sopping up with french bread. The flesh was light orange in color, tender and sweet.

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

I washed them down with a tall glass of Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale. Yup..... I celebrated.

The Old Potato Post

Panko'd Crab Croquette with Asian Tartar Sauce

I almost chickened out and didn't publish this post, but it fit the spirit of the Kitchen Forager well and I thought someone might find it amusing.

What do you do when you look in your vegetable drawer and lo and behold, there's a potato plant growing? Toss it out right? On many an occasion, I have opened our drawer to reach for a potato and have either found them growing or too far gone to salvage. You are probably like us when it comes to buying potatoes. You'll pick up a bag of them with every intention of using them all, but there always seems to be the one that gets left behind, forgotten and in the dark. If it's starting to get soft, out it goes. If it doesn't resemble a potato anymore, out it goes. If it's starting to sprout, well..... As long as it's still firm and the sprouts pop off easily, it's still fair game in my book.

This particular potato passed all the requisite tests and was deemed still edible so it got peeled, cooked, mashed up and turned into croquettes with the addition of a can of crab meat waiting for just such an occasion. Why do I call them crab croquettes and not crab cakes? I think in order to fairly classify these as crab cakes they would have to contain more crab. These were mostly made of (old) potato. I know there are many who would disagree but I think you can improve upon the taste of almost anything by frying it in breadcrumbs or batter and the old potato was no exception. Imagine your favorite food battered and deep fried. Better right? Okay ... maybe not.

To all my friends and family that may eat a croquette at my house, don't worry, I promise not to use old potatoes.

These croquettes were topped with a Japanese tartar sauce made with mayo, mirin sweet cooking wine, and chives (Mom's recipe).