This week's recipe: Squid with scallions & garlic, Shrimp Scallop Gratinate, and a new CI test recipe (whew!)

I like squid. Calamari. Squiggle bodies. Bait. Whatever you want to call them. I've never attempted to cook them at home though. No more worries about that - easy! Yummy! And I can make just enough for me since Chris hates them. 

Had a great dinner party at my brothers and we cooked lots of seafood. On the menu: Squid with Scallions & Garlic from Jacques Pepin's cookbook "Essential Pepin". He gives great instructions on how to clean (didn't have to as the squid came cleaned), how to cook and hold, then how to finish. Wonderful recipe.

Par-boiled squid

We also had Shrimp & Scallop Gratinate from Lidia's Family Table cookbook. Again, wonderful recipe. Fantastic flavor, quick to prepare, and reheated well to boot.  We even made it gluten-free by substituting Cheerios for the bread crumbs in a couple of the ramekins (try this - they make a surprisingly flavorful topping).  

Prepped

The final dish was lobster risotto. We used my favorite risotto recipe (adapted from a variety of internet recipes and tweaked by me). We had the lobster steamed at the seafood market and then we used the lobster shells to infuse the chicken broth with lots of lobster flavor before cooking the risotto. I'd never tried this before but boy did it work. That aroma and flavor!

Final food news for the week was a new CI test recipe: apple strudel using Phyllo dough. A definite winner. In fact, I made it again last night.

Apple Strudel testing

Happy noshing!