It’s the most wonderful time of the year…lalala….
Let’s go back a few days, shall we?
It was my intention to publish a post last Wednesday which contained a favorite quote of mine, along with warm wishes for you [all] to have a Happy Thanksgiving, but something happened. While in transit from Syracuse to Boston…a blog gremlin caused for the post, which was all cued up and ready to go, to have technical difficulties. Something was glitchy and un-working. So I put it out of my mind and felt confident that you knew deep in your hearts I was wishing you well.
In the meantime, what I’ve discovered, is that the quote I meant to share now carries seven more days worth of meaning. It’s become seven times more real…
Upon sharing our first holiday with our kids at their place…Dom and I felt overwhelmed with happiness. It didn’t matter that we weren’t all gathered around the table in the home that the kids grew up in…it didn’t matter that we changed up the tradition of cooking together on Wednesday and sitting by the fire on Thursday while watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade to a day which included a long walk around Faneuil Hall and its neighboring side streets, where we took a million silly pictures, laughed our make-up off, visited the girls’ grocery store and laundromat – and having one heck of a workout before dinner – it didn’t matter that tradition was interrupted. What mattered was that we were blessed to share this beautiful day together.
We were blessed to meet up with friends over the weekend, good friends that we’ve made through Nick’s lacrosse experience at LeMoyne. Blessed that we could enjoy a little football outdoors and share a lovely dinner with them in the North End at the same restaurant where I first discovered white bean hummus, and now, crispy calamari with lemon aioli and Italian parsley…
So much happiness last week, resulting from so many shared experiences… which brings me to my quote…
“Happiness [is] only real when shared.” ~Jon Krakauer
So…as these holi-days roll on…I wish for you much happiness along with your own experience of living Jon’s words…
So, yes. We went back. I can’t resist that place! Speaking of great places…have you checked out Besty.com? It’s an awesome resource for great restaurants around the world as shared by many ‘a foodie’. Moi, included. You can check out their feature on Ciao Chow Bambina here! So if you happen to find yourself in say….Punkeydoodles Corners, Ontario, and want to know the best place to grab a bite….Besty.com.
You can be sure I’ll be adding La Galleria 33 to my list.
Back to the calamari…
This light wonderful crunchy citrus fresh tasting bowl of divinity was presented as an appetizer. That bowl didn’t stand a chance!
Like last time, I had to come home and re-create the experience of this dish…
Begin by thawing the calamari(squid) under cold running water. Then using kitchen scissors, cut the squid into small rings.
But before frying, prepare the aioli using mayonnaise, fresh lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and fresh Italian parsley. (No raw eggs today.)
Dip the calamari rings into the flour/cornmeal crumb and fry for about one minute.
I grilled a few cut lemons. This has a dual purpose. For presentation as well as a quick squeeze over the squid before eating.
Perhaps your family follows the tradition of the Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve… Yes? If so, this would make for a lovely addition to the table.
Believe it or not…we’ve never done “the feast”. Not growing up or ever…This just might be the year we do it! I’ll keep you posted…
The crunch on these calamari and the brightness of the lemon with the freshness of the parsley and the creaminess of the aioli is almost beyond words.
I matched Dom’s oooohs, one-for-one, with my ahhhhs… true story.
If you’re not much of a seafood person, but have always dreamt of becoming one…this would be a good place to start.
Remember…crispy in a light lemony garlic sauce. How bad can that be?
Happy eating, my friends!
Buon Appetito!
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Crispy Calamari with Citrus Parsley Aioli
- Category: Appetizer
Description
The crunch on these calamari and the brightness of the lemon with the freshness of the parsley and the creaminess of the aioli is almost beyond words.
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil for deep frying
- 1 lb. clean squid cut into 1/3 inch thick rings
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup yellow corn meal
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 4 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- 4 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 3/4 tsp. pepper
- 1/2 tsp. finely minced garlic
- 2 – 3 tsp. minced Italian parsley
- 2 lemons, halved
Instructions
- Pour enough oil into a heavy large saucepan to reach the depth of 3 inches.
- Heat over medium heat to 350 degrees.
- In a medium sized bowl mix the flour, cornmeal, salt and pepper. Set aside.
- In a small bowl combine mayonnaise, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and parsley. Set aside.
- Working in small batches, toss the squid in the flour mixture to coat.
- Carefully add the squid to the oil and fry until lightly browned and crisp. About one minute.
- Using tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer squid to a paper towel lined plate.
- Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat.
- Place cut side of lemon on heat until cross marks form.
- Place the fried calamari and lemon wedges on a plate. Sprinkle with salt.
- Serve with Aioli sauce.
Ciao!
Wow this looks amazing! Reminds me of an appetizer we love to get at a local restaurant with crispy calamari and creamy aioli and olives. This looks fabulous cant wait to try!
Yum…I can imagine the brine of the olives being a perfect complement to the calamari! Thanks, Kelley!
I love calamari and that parsley aioli sounds fab! Yum!
Thank you, Sharon!! That aioli is pret-ty special!!
It’s been 24 years since I ate a meal in the North End, but I’ve never forgotten it. I’m glad you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family, new tradition and all. And calamari is in my top ten favorite foods of all time. I will have to try it with the cornmeal!
I hear you…the North End is pretty special. We enjoyed a lovely holiday with the kids…I trust yours was wonderful, as well! Thanks, Andrea!
This looks delicious, love the citrus aioli!
Thank you, Amanda!!
Oooh….just kill me now. Aioli. Deep fried calamari. Crunchy salty and tender……7am here in Sydney and all I want is an enormous plate of these. I love your taste Annie! You make the BEST food!!
Nagi…that is exactly how I feel about your food! Thank you SO MUCH! Now put the coffee on and make some calamari!! 🙂
Sounds like you had the best kind of holiday! 🙂 Love the idea of citrus in the aioli, sounds like the perfect zesty counterpart to the crispy calamari – look delicious!
It was a beautiful holiday…I trust yours was as well! This aioli really is a perfect zesty complement to the crispy calamari! Thanks, Kari!
Oh…my…God!!! I cannot pass up a good plate of calamari! But I have never made it myself! And that citrus parsley aioli sounds like an absolutely incredible pairing! In fact, I think I could put that on a number of different things! Pinning and definitely making this!!!
I know!! So good! My hubby said the same thing about using the aioli for other things…Shish Kebab was one…Thank you, Kathleen!! 🙂
I just love the idea of the lemon garlic sauce! And the presentation, amazing. I love the look of those fresh lemons in this dish, makes it so pretty and inviting. And of course, you can’t be the crispiness of this dish =)
The sauce makes it! When they delivered it to the table our friends were looking for the marinara but then quickly discovered that we didn’t need it! Thanks, Laura!
I love that quote!!
And the aioli is such a nice touch for serving with the calamari. So fresh!
Good good quote! Love my quotes! And yes…that aioli – oh my! Thanks, Joanne!
I love this zesty aioli and the photography is stunning 🙂
Thank you, Medha! This recipe’s a winner!
OMGSH! This looks SO good! Awesome recipe!
Thank you so much!! 🙂
I love calamari, but have never cooked with it. I think that needs to change, because this looks so delicious. Pinning this!
If I had known how easy it is I would have started long ago! Thanks, Danielle!
So glad you had a wonderful holiday – family time is the best 🙂 And so is this calamari! Love how crispy it looks and the citrus parsley aioli sounds perfect!
Thank you, Kelly! It was a wonderful weekend and this calamari was quite a treat!
This is something I can eat every day! I love fried calamari! Can’t wait to make some!
You and me both! I love it! Thanks, Mira!
my boyfriend will love me if i make him this, so im saving the recipe! thank you!
Happiness! I would love to know how you like it!! Thanks, Kelsey!!
Oh my goodness, I am totally making this for my husband and I! We LOVE calamari, and have a bit of an addiction to trying it every. single. time. we see it on a menu! But I’ve never tried making it. This one looks perfect. Pinned!
Thanks, Stacey!! I think you’re realllly going to like this! Buon Appetito!
OMG! Chip & Cam would go nuts over this!! Thanks for sharing!!
Ahhh! That makes me very happy! Enjoy!
I love calamari!!! Don’t know why I’ve never made this at home! this is fabulous and love the citrus parsley aioli!!
Alice, this was surprisingly simple! A bit of frying… but soooo worth it!
Calamari is one of my favorite appetizers! My husband and I always order it when we go out. Love your citrus parsley aioli. Sounds perfect!
It’s one of our favorites, too! Thanks, dear!!