Sweet & Sour Calamari

Day 5!! First thing first, I would like to announce the winner of My Holiday Giveaway. It’s a fellow blogger and foodie; The Running Garlic!!!! I have searched high and low to find this person’s name but to no avail. So cheers to you Running Garlic and please email me your address so I can get this prize off to you ASAP. Thank you to all the people who participated in the Giveaway, it was a lot of fun and I will be hosting another one after the first of the year. Who knows maybe even quarterly? Let’s hope so.

On to today’s appetizer, the first time I had this appetizer was about eight years ago. It was at a restaurant that I owned back in the day, we we’re lucky enough to hire an excellent chef, and this was my favorite recipe of his. It was a huge hit with everyone and was the number one seller on the menu. This one is defiantly for the party you are hosting, or makes for a nice treat on Christmas Eve or day. I can’t stress enough how delicious this recipe is…people who have had it, ask me all the time to make it again.

Ingredients

Calamari- 1 pound

Sweet & Sour sauce- 2 cups (store bought, your favorite will do)

Chili Garlic sauce- 2 tbsp

Milk- Enough to cover calamari while it marinates

Vegetable Oil- 64 fluid ounces

Flour- 2 cups (seasoned with salt & pepper)

Egg wash- 2 cups (seasoned with salt & pepper)

Peanuts- ½ cup (pieces)

Pineapple- 8 ounces (one can chunks, drained)

Method to the Madness

1)      Thaw out the calamari and marinate in milk for at least 4 hours, enough to cover. Set up your breading station.

2)      Pre-heat the vegetable oil either in a deep fryer or a heavy duty pot to 375.

3)      In a mixing bowl combine the sweet & sour sauce and the chili garlic sauce. Mix well and set aside.

4)      First strain the calamari, and then dredge it through the egg wash and then the flour. Working in two batches fry the calamari until golden brown. Add it to the mixing bowl with the sauce add the peanuts and pineapple and mix well, covering the calamari.  

 

Two quick notes

·         Calamari cooks really fast, so when it turns golden brown it’s done. It will get tough if over-cooked.

·         Cook it in two batches, but you can toss it in the sauce together. Serve immediately. 

Here's a link for the breading station. I would cut this recipe in half.

http://www.pantryblogger.com/2010/11/chicken-parmesan.html