Fresh Calamari with tomato sauce

With a storm looming over the Northeast and the winter still young, I dream of summer days where the tomatoes are red and sweet, the fish is fresh from the sea and the Farmer's Market stalls are heavy with piles of tender vegetables and lush fruit. I dream of meals on the veranda as the sun dips behind the sea.

Here's a recipe from this past summer that was outstanding!

You don't know what calamari is until you have it fresh. The frozen fried calamari that is served in the New York area restaurants is just an excuse for the marinara sauce that comes with it. At the Greek farmer's market I was tempted by the fresh calamari on display at the fishmonger's counter. But, alas, I didn't know how to clean it! No worries, the man said. And one, two, three he showed me how it's done.

I took the risk and bought a kilo. At 5 euros I felt I couldn't go wrong! I already knew how I was going to cook it. Calamari in fresh tomato-sauce over pasta. I bought my tomatoes for the sauce and off I went.

Once at home, I put on my apron and went to work cleaning the squid. Honestly, it was much easier than I expected. I removed the long bone from inside the conical cavity of the squid, then I removed the hard part inside the tentacles(the head?) and the little sacks that connect the body to the tentacles. What I didn't expect, and what was a pleasant surprise, was the ink that squirted from the sacks when I removed them. I wondered how to preserve the ink for my meal when I rinsed the calamari. I probably should have rinsed the squid first and cleaned it afterwards. But, this time it was too late. Still, there was some ink left on the squid after I rinsed them.

Here's my recipe:

Greek Calamari with fresh tomato sauce over spaghetti

One kilo fresh calamari cleaned and rinsed
One kilo fresh tomatoes peeled and grated
4 tblsp extra virgin Greek Olive oil
3 garlic cloves crushed
1/2 tspn red pepper flakes
1/2 tspn Greek seas salt

1/2 box of whole wheat spaghetti

Place the olive oil in a large saucepan and sauté the crushed garlic in it until it's fragrant.
Add the pepper flakes, stir them in the oil for 30 seconds and then add the tomatoes. Add an ounce of ouzo or tsipouro(Greek Grappa).Add your salt and simmer the sauce for about 30 minutes or until it has the desired consistency.

Slice the calamari bodies into rounds and toss into the sauce with the tentacles. Cook for another 15 minutes or until the calamari is cooked through but not overcooked.

In a large pot boil enough water and add your whole wheat spaghetti. Cook the pasta until it is al dente(about 10 minutes). Drain.

Add the spaghetti to the sauce and toss well. Top with grated cheese, we Greeks like to use mizithra  cheese. Serve with crusty bread and wash down with ouzo or tsipouro.

Eviva!

Maria

Cookies-Belated Women's Club Christmas Cookie exchange

Every year, before Christmas, my women's club does a cookie exchange. As a New Yorker, I had never known of such a thing, nor had I ever belonged to a women's club.  Until I moved to the country.

Remember the "Women's Club Progressive Dinner on the Lake" post? Well, those same ladies who you might have thought (rightfully or not)that  all they could do was drink and glide, can do some serious baking.

This was the "To Share" table.

It's a lovely custom, where the participants bake at least four dozen cookies of their chosen kind. On the day of the exchange, you bring one dozen to share(like that?) and three dozen to swap.

Don't ask me what they are. I'm too woozy from all that sugar!

These were my sugarplums. I make these every year and I'll be sharing that recipe with you soon. It's a great recipe, especially for people who avoid gluten, it's a no bake nut and fruit confection.

 Some of the tasting taking place

 Notice the big tin on the table? That gets filled before the night is through.

This was my box that I got to take home! We enjoyed every one of these cookies! I may even have a few left in the freezer(cookies freeze well). Thank you to all my friends for baking and sharing! And a big thank you to my friend Jean from taking the photos for me.
I look forward to next year.
For now, I'm trying to loose the pounds!

Enjoy!

Maria

Gotham Bar & Grill-NYC

Last night Stelios and I headed into the city for dinner and a show. We had tickets for La Soiree La-Soiree.com, an off Broadway cabaret, circus show.

It was one of the coldest nights in New York City with lots of holiday traffic. The energy of the city was intoxicating with all the lights and people whizzing by.

Dinner was at the famed Gotham Bar & Grill in Union Square. The restaurant has been around for years but we never had occasion to dine there until last week!

 Three kinds of bread!

 Two glasses of Albarino, a lovely Spanish white.

 Oysters

 The best shrimp cocktail I've had in a long time! But the aioli that accompanied them I could have eaten by the spoonful(and I did)it was sooo good.

 Lobster!

Pan fried Fish in tamarind sauce- an excellent choice!

Didn't have time for dessert but they gave us a basket of financiers-yum! The financiers were small French cakes, not people who make their living from investments, typically involving large sums of money! They were light and moist, similar to sponge cake, and had an almond flavor.

A festive, lovely dining experience with wonderful service, ambiance, food and wine.

 

Enjoy!

 

Maria

Blogging versus real life

People have told me that they love following my wonderful life on my blog.

I'm grateful for my life, the people in it, my community, my travels and all the good fortune that I have.

But...there is a huge difference between what I share on a blog about lifestyle and what goes on in the intimacy of my day to day life. Sometimes, those private moments seep into my blogs. But, for the most part, I'm a storyteller and I'm publishing a narrative for my audience. I have to be creative to bring something amazing to my readers' attention with a few photos and some brief prose. 

Don't ever believe that there is a life made only of joyous occasions, fun things to do, travel and adventure. Human angst, loneliness, loss, fear, and pain are part of every life. And it is as it should be. Without those attributes we wouldn't recognize our own humanity.

Maria

Metropolitan Museum of Art-Egyptian Wing

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is the best museum in  the world! There, I've said it! Some people may dispute this but I stand by my statement.

 

I've been going to the museum ever since I was a teenager in New York City. Easily accessibly, imposing and chock-full of art of all persuasions! This is where I was introduced to Medieval art, African art, jewelry as art, tapestries, photography, modern art, fashion design art, all the categories that I would never had considered to be art. Of course it goes without saying(but I'm still saying it!) that the cavernous halls are also exhibiting more traditional forms like paintings and sculpture.

The first time I discovered the Temple of Dendur, surrounded by a water filled moat, I just wanted to stay there forever. I thought I was in a magical place and if I walked out I could never get back there again.

Often I would get lost down the endless corridors and end up in an unexpected room of wonder. I remember, once, I discovered somewhere in the bowels of the building, rooms and rooms full of silver. Gleaming silver bowels, silver cups, silver soup tureens, candlesticks, statues, plates, it was overwhelming! I was alone and I must have been there for hours. I finally made my way back to the Great Hall and have never been able to find those rooms ever again. Sometimes I wonder if it was just a dream!

Today we're going to the Egyptian wing to visit some of the mummies. Egyptians had such a fascination with death and the afterlife that they created an entire industry of death objects. What they left behind for us to discover is beautiful and sad. Yet, I focus on the beauty.

 

Enjoy!

 

Maria