Recipes from the Course Party

Squid in Coconut Milk (cooked by Carolyn)

This dish was invented by Woody & Paul at the 1997 party, and is here described by Woody:

Basically, add enough of whatever is lying about and would taste good. The more detailed recipe (with minor embellishment) is (as much as I can remember): chop up garlic (a lot), scallions (some), green chiles (some), ginger (a lot), lemongrass (some), cilantro (some), and grind in a food processor. Add coriander (a lot), cumin (some), black pepper (a lot), fish sauce (just enough: to taste), and grind some more. Then add 1 can coconut milk (cuz that's what we had lying around). Marinate the squid until a burner on the stove is free (about 20 minutes). Cook the squid in a very hot frying pan, with a bit of oil, approximately 1 minute per side (do not overcook). Remove and eat very soon.

Basil squid

ingredients:
as much basil as you can get your hands on
green pepper
green onions
anchovy paste
squid, preferably freshly cleaned
dried hot red peppers / flakes

procedure:
Cut everything up into stir fry type pieces
Stir fry everything together (ie at the same time)
It is done when the squid are cooked, in a minute or two.

Green mango with squid

First, you must find some green mangoes, usually by rooting through the mangoes at the supermarket. Often, you won't find any. For this party, I found four!

Slice the green mango into julienne strips.
Add shelled roasted peanuts.
Add sauteed squid rings.
Add sauce:
cilantro
garlic
fish sauce
sugar
Unfortunately, this must be done by taste. The way I do it is to add the fish sauce, then to keep adding sugar until the "bite" of the fish sauce is gone. Be forewarned that this requires quite a bit of sugar.

Squid risotto

Saute two chopped onions in about 1/2 cup olive oil. Add 5 cups rice and saute for a few minutes.
Add two cans chicken stock, more water to make it a thick soup. Bring to a boil. Turn down heat to medium.
As the rice dries out, add more water to keep it wet.
Add two chopped tomatoes.
Keep tasting the rice to see when it is done.
Add one cup grated parmesan cheese.
Saute in a separate pan some squid rings (from about 12 small squid). Cook for just a few minutes to avoid toughness. The squid are done when they turn white and begin to curl.
Add squid to the rice. 

Barbecued squid (Stuart)

(in preparation)

Blackened squid (Tom)

Cut mantle lengthwise to make a flat steak.
Coat with Paul Prudhomme blackened fish spice
Let sit for 10 minutes
Heat a couple of pats of butter in an iron skillet until smoking hot.
Put in the squid steaks, take out when starting to turn white and curl...

How to clean a squid

Best done next to a sink. Have water running, and a bowl for waste squid part disposal.

Pinch off the fins, then peel off the skin from the body.
Cut off the front of the mantle (about 1 cm).
Put your finger between the mantle and the "pen", and loosen the pen from the mantle.
Pull out the pen and guts. If it goes well, everything will come out, and the mantle will also be turned inside out.
If the above does not happen, then evert the mantle and pull off and rinse the innards.

Argentinian chimichurri* sauce (*not chimichanga) for barbecued beef, chicken, whatever.

The Basic Version: Water and coarse salt (over saturated). This is very simple. You can get more and more complicated by adding more and more things, as we do.

Variation 1: add 20% red wine vinegar and chopped onion per 500 ml, and lots of chopped parsley (such as a whole bunch)

Variation 2: in addition to the ingredients of Variation 1, add olive oil (apporsimately 10%)

Variation 3: in addition to the ingredients of Variation 2, add juice of limes plus six chopped garlic cloves plus chopped sweet red pepper (one)

Variation 4: If you still have anything left in your kitchen, you can make this last, super variation: the ingredients of Variation 3 plus fresh black peppers or mixed peppercorns plus chopped red onions plus a splash of tabasco and a pinch of sugar.

This is not a marinade, you apply it to the beef as it is cooking, i.e. cook the beef first a little bit before brushing some of the chimichurri sauce on it.