Calamari Time.

Perhaps this isn't a typical snack food in your home, but come on, party people, live it up every now and then! Always a fan of calamari, it is often an appetizer I'm drawn to when dining out. I've had it on my mind for a while, and I finally gave it my very first try. Here in Fort Wayne, the closet thing we have to a Whole Foods is The Fresh Market, where I purchased my calamari (previously froze, but clean), only $4.99 a pound. I choose a recipe from my big yellow Gourmet cookbook. Often restaurants will serve this creature deep fried in what I assume is all-purpose flour. In fact I would venture to say that these creatures might get a double dip in the fryer too. The Gourmet recipe suggested frying the calamari in rice flour, which I was able to find at a local grocery store. The difference is quite substantial, the rice flour coating (which aside from the rice flour included salt and pepper, but I think I will add some herbs next time) was very light and delicate. I wasn't able to achieve the deep golden brown we are all used to, but I think I was having "hot oil" issues to boot, not to mention that fact that I ran out of canola oil. I think next time I will try peanut oil instead too. I made a warm marinara sauce to go with it (drives me nuts when a marinara sauce is served cold with this dish), blended a can of chopped tomatoes, slowly cooked with a couple of garlic cloves, salt, and red chili pepper flakes. A perfect accompaniment, but not too long ago, I ate calamari served with a basil aioli. It's all a matter of personal preference, I suppose. Be careful not to over-fry them, they lose their chewy edge.