For this, my 7th dish for Emeril’s One-Pot Blogger Cooking Party, I decided to step WAY outside of my comfort zone. Shane and I are both fans of squid, but I’ve never cooked it myself. Now seemed as good a time as any to give it a shot. The other unknown here was just how hot the dish would be. With chili sauce in the title and two different kinds of chili among the items on the ingredient list, I suspected it would be intense. I’m sort of a wimp when it comes to spicy foods but we were both excited about this one so we threw caution to the wind 🙂
I wasn’t sure how to buy the squid (calamari); a quick bit of research seemed to indicate that frozen was the way to go. Many times if squid is available at the seafood counter at your store it’s been previously frozen anyway. I found mine at Whole Foods, but later saw it at several other grocery stores, so it wasn’t a tricky ingredient to source. When I opened the package, the squid were already separated into bodies and tentacles, so there wasn’t much work to do. I simply rinsed them before I threw them into the pan.
This recipe is in the wok section of Emeril’s new book, and like many stir-fried dishes, it came together super fast. Once the ingredients were prepped, it took less than 10 minutes to cook. We sampled a few bites of the squid straight from the pan and they were good – tender and not chewy or rubbery. After adding the remaining ingredients in the stir-fry and the sauce, though, this was probably our least favorite among the dishes we’ve tried from the book. For me, there was just way too much heat – I couldn’t enjoy the other flavors at all. Shane thought the level of heat was ok, but couldn’t get past all of the cabbage. Obviously these are personal preferences and not necessarily problems with the recipe so if you like spicy foods and cabbage, you’ll probably have better results 🙂
And now for the fun part – a GIVEAWAY! Today you have a chance to win a set of Flame Table Art by Emeril from Zak Designs. The set includes 7 red serving dishes which can be arranged in several configurations – they’d be really fun for snacks or appetizers at a party. Had I not had so much fun at a wedding last night (more on that tomorrow) and totally slept in today (oops) I’d have taken pictures to show you, but here’s one from Zak’s site! The dishes are stackable so they’re easy to store when not in use too.
Sound good?? To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment on this post! I’d love to hear your best tip for entertaining, if you’re inclined to share.
To Receive Bonus Entries (you must leave a separate comment for each)
1. Like Zak! on Facebook
2. Follow Tracey’s Culinary Adventures on Twitter
3. Like Tracey’s Culinary Adventures on Facebook
{Note: if you already do any of these things, that counts too, just leave a comment for each one telling me.}
Comments on this giveaway will close on Friday, September 30, 2011 at 11 pm EST. A winner will be chosen using random.org. The giveaway is open to U.S. residents only (sorry!). Good luck!
**Updated: Comments are now closed. Winner will be announced on October 1!**
Congratulations to commenter #22, Tara! Hope you enjoy your flame serving dishes! Thank you to everyone who entered.
Really Brave! I eat Squid out as well, but have never cooked this at home! Great post!
You photo is gorgeous! That would really be outside of my comfort zone, but it looks like you totally pulled it off! Great job.
Good for you for cooking squid and going spicy! I don’t think I’ve ever tried to cook it either. You’ve inspired me!
Nice job! So far everything in this cookbook seems to have turned out well for everyone.
i’ve never cooked squid, but you make it seem non-intimidating so I’m going to try it sometime soon!
I’m sorry you couldn’t take the heat. Squid is extremely easy to cook. The secret is you cook it for 2 minutes or 30 minutes. Nothing in between. Better luck next time.
icky… squid LOL!! my tip for entertaining is to make several goodies and serve them buffet style on the bar with paper plates and napkins at the start of the line so it’s grab and go 🙂
i like TCA on facebook
i follow TCA on twitter 🙂
What a beautiful dish who would have thunk it that squid can be beautiful
Following you on Twitter
Following you on Facebook
Following ZAK on Facebook
I must say this doesn’t look appetizing to me. The pictures are beautiful though. My best tip for entertaining is to just keep things simple. I think guest appreciate simple things just as much as more complicated things.
ooo squid! so pretty and colorful. tip for entertaining — themed dinner parties!
Love the tentacle wrapped around the chop stick!!!!
Good for you to go outside your box!! It does sound exciting!!!
FB follower
Twitter follower!!
I am not a squid girl myself (something about the texture, I think), but your photos sure are gorgeous!
As far as my best entertaining tip goes…don’t be afraid to let a little potluck sneak into your life! If someone offers to bring a dessert, or some wine, I’m always more than happy to have that taken care of. 🙂
I like Zak! on Facebook.
I follow you on Twitter. 🙂
And I like you on Facebook. 🙂
You’re definitely braver than I am–I’d avoid this one for the squid and the chiles. Jamie, on the other hand, would probably love it if I would make this for him. Or maybe he should just do it himself–he can cook, after all, he just doesn’t get a lot of opportunities to. =)
Of course, I already follow your blog page on Facebook. =)
And Twitter. =)
I already like Tracy’s Culinary Adventures 😉
And now I “Like” Zak! too!
to host parties, i like to make super cute signs for all the food 🙂 that way people know what they’re eating and it looks adorable!
follow you on twitter 🙂
You’re brave! I couldn’t eat it…
It looks good though!!!
Whoa! Super fancy. Goodness, I doubt I have any tips that you already don’t know. I do anything ahead of time that I can! It saves a wholllllleeee bunch of time!
I like you on Facebook (warm vanilla sugar blog)
I follow you on twitter – @katrinadingle
My favorite entertaining tip is to buy lots of fun colored toothpicks, helps keep fingers neat and tidy!
Wow.. I’ve never considered cooking squid.. but that looks AMAZING and now I want to try. Thanks for this post! I haven’t hosted large dinner parties, so the best tip I can give is for when we have guests.. and that’s to tag team. My husband and I always do best when we tag team; he takes one part of the meal (often the main dinner dish) and I do one part (often sides and dessert). We always enjoy the prep and the meal so much more that way.
looks great!
blueblanket@hotmail.com
WOW!! I am not even sure where I would find squid! Good for you stepping out of your comfort zone.
i follow you on facebook
I follow you on twitter
You are so brave. I’ve never cooked squid before. The final dish looks so good! I follow you on Twitter.
I also like you on Facebook. Did you know Zak makes those cute spoons with the smily faces on them? I have five. 🙂
When you’re entertaining, don’t stress if things go wrong. No matter what, in a week or a month you’ll be laughing about it.
You are brave! I probably won’t be trying this one–but your photos are gorgeous!
Those dishes look fun, cool giveaway!
I am not a fan of squid, but the photos are great!
I like you on Facebook.
I follow you on Twitter.
Squid really is a “culinary adventure!” I’ve never eaten squid, let alone cooked it.
I don’t entertain very often so don’t really have a tip to share, just to relax and have fun. A tense host makes for an uncomfortable evening!
sharonjo at gwtc dot net
I follow Zak on facebook.
(Sharon O.)
sharonjo at gwtc dot net
I follow you on twitter @sharonjo2
sharonjo at gwtc dot net
I follow you on facebook.
(Sharon O.)
sharonjo at gwtc dot net
Super impressed Tracey! The only way I’ve really eaten squid is ala calamari at a restaurant. Certainly never cooked with it. I’m not a fan of much heat in a recipe either. Kudos to you for tackling such a unique ingredient.
Your photos are beautiful!
I follow you on Facebook.
I love your easy to prep recipes and your stories. I don’t bake much so part of me wishes that you were my neighbor LOL. I do love squid and your post looks de-lish!!
I’ve never cooked squid either, but reading this makes me feel a little braver about trying! The best entertaining tip I can give is to prepare as much as you can in advance. It’s no fun to entertain if you’re spending the entire time in the kitchen!
I follow you on Facebook
Love squid, love cabbage, love “heat”. Looks good to me!
I like Zak on Facebook
I like TCA on Facebook
I follow TCA on Twitter
Nice to see something done with squid other than fried. I should try to make this someday!
I try to make recipes that can be mostly made in advance so I can relax with my company.
ooh catching up on blogs just in time! I’d love to win those dishes!! 🙂