Squid dishes bring out the hard-core Italian in me. After all, my password at the Gazette for several years was calamari.
Which everybody knew because of course, I told them. That’s the hard-drive Italian in me, I guess.
I really like my squid dishes the Italian way.
Whole squid stuffed and baked in copious amounts of olive oil.
Squid strips quick-seared and tossed with pasta and olive oil and garlic.
Cold, cooked squid strips served in a seafood salad.
An appetizer of deep-fried squid strips and tentacles served with marinara sauce.
No exceptions or digressions are allowed for the above dishes.
That is until I encountered a wonderful Asian twist on the above deep-fried appetizer that was served recently to my wife and I at The Lobster Trap in Bourne.
These deep-fried squid strips and tentacles were lightly bathed in a sweet chili sauce and garnished with fried banana peppers, chopped peanuts and bean sprouts. It was wonderful.
Of course, having just driven three hours may have had something to do with it.
Now I guess I have to look into Asian-style eggplant dishes.
Isn’t expanding one’s culinary horizons a wonderful thing?
—LOU
I think if calamari was written as squid on menus it may not have gained the popularity it has. Calamari certainly sounds better. Just ask any kid, “Would you like some calamari or squid?” See what they say. But, be it squid or calamari, I like it just about every way. Except not fresh — an experience I wish not to repeat.
—LUCY