I think most of you already know this, but I work for a company that owns a line of seafood, called Coleson's Catch which is sold in military commissaries. About once a year we do an office order and we as employees get to order products for ourselves and friends and family. On this last order, there was some Squid/Calamari and Mussel Meat that was sent here to the office and it has been hanging out in the freezer for a couple months now. I know this is not true of everyone, but I think many people are probably like me and the word that comes to mind is "YUCK!" when they think of squid. And only a slightly less emphatic "yuck" when they think of Mussels.
Well... I like to experiment with food and I really enjoy cooking for other people, so a couple weeks ago, I got permission to buy a few ingredients and cook up some of this stuff for the office to try. It was sort of an experiment to see if I could make it taste good and today was the big day!
The part that had me nervous was cleaning the squid. The 1lb box comes as a solid, frozen block of about 30-40 small, whole squid. In order to make them edible, they must be thawed and separated and the head and inards must be pulled out, the skin removed, the spine pulled out and the remaining slimy goop on the inside of the body rinsed off. I had some concern that this would be all together too disgusting and I wouldn't be able to do it. But in the end, it really wasn't bad at all. I did NOT dissolve into a squeamish, squealing female puddle and I did NOT have to call in male reinforcements! I gutted those little squids all by myself. And for that, I am feeling rather proud of myself!
It took me about an hour to clean all 30 slimy, little squids and the rest of the prep was pretty easy. The Mussel Meat was no issue. I just thawed it out and tossed it right into the coconut curry broth. Nothing gross there. And, although I am surprised to say it, I actually really liked the Squid in the recipe below. It is possible that it only tasted good because the recipe paired it with bacon and fresh herbs and garlic. But I am now pretty much convinced that bacon can make ANYTHING taste good.
I am feeling fairly certain that no one who reads this blog will be running out to cook Calamari or Mussels anytime soon so I am actually not going to bother posting the recipes. Although if you would like them, please ask and I can send them right over. But for fun, here are a few pictures:
First of all, your hair is so cute...did you get it cut recently? I hope I didn't totally miss it while you were here. ;) Secondly, I love calamari, but have never cooked it myself. Maybe I should be brave and give it a go!
ReplyDeletewow--an hour? i don't think i'd bother, but then i'm a mom with a 3 yr old and a 2 month old. glad it turned out well!
ReplyDeleteYuck!!
ReplyDeleteCute hair. :)