Squid
Festival Update: Wow! What a turn-out this past Sunday. I want to
personally thank all the folks that came down just to say hello. As the old Italian
philosopher, Gioseppi Bacalado said, "It made my heart fly like an eagle." Here
is the recipe for the squid dish I prepared in the rain: Sauté a good amount of chopped
garlic in olive oil. Add cleaned squid cut into rings and tentacles cut in half. Quickly
add a splash of dry white wine, a good amount of Sensational Seasoning ™, salt and
pepper, chopped parsley and a generous amount of garlic butter. Stir and shake and
it’s done in 3-4 minutes. I was doing this in twenty-pound batches and, by the way, I
recommend omitting the rainwater.
Folks, a new legend is being born. He is the King of Cannoli (Sicilian dessert). His
Italian nick-name is now Boomer – his voice can carry 200 yards and he’s funny
too. Even Vince Liguori (Liberty Fish Market) was impressed. Vince thought he had a loud
voice. Sounds like the wharf is being reborn. All right! – special thanks to Nino
"boomer", Sal "the sea lion", Ronny "chico" and Cecsa
"blue eyes", who all helped serve food in the rain Sunday. |
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| Q:
Hi, My Husband loves your show. Since he is our cook, this is to our
advantage. We recently watched a show that had a wine that intrigued him, but we
can’t remember the name of the wine. It had and odd name like ‘celebration’
or some other non-winey name. There was a wine guy on, but I can’t remember his name
either. They were saying this is newly marketed hybrid California grape. Can you help?
Pam Preston – e-mailA: The wine you are
referring to is made from a grape called "Symphony." The winery is Baywood
Cellars in Monterey and they have a tasting room on Cannery Row, across from the Monterey
Plaza Hotel. The Symphony grape was invented about 30 years ago at UC Davis by crossing
Grenache Gris and Muscat. Those who first tasted it described it as having a
"symphony of flavors" and that’s how the name came about. The dominant
flavors are very tropical, like mango and papaya although it is not sweet. It’s is a
perfect wine to have on a Saturday afternoon sitting outside with fruit and barbecued
shrimp. Oh, by the way, serve it cold.
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Q: Dear Chef Pisto, I read and enjoy your
column in the Herald. Thanks for the eggplant recipe it sounds very good. I recently
attended a convention in Memphis and had an appetizer of hot spinach and artichoke dip. It
was absolutely delicious! Virginia K. – Salinas
A: Thanks Virginia. We love artichokes around here. By
now I must have served over two million chokes at The Whaling Station alone! Try this
recipe that I came up with:
Artichoke/Spinach Dip Recipe – makes about 2 ½ cups
1 ½ ounce jar of artichoke hearts
¼ cup of mayonnaise
½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
10 ounce bag of spinach
3 tablespoons of lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
Tabasco sauce to taste
Chop artichokes in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Set aside. Wash spinach
well. Blanch in boiling water; drain; squeeze dry and chop in food processor. Add chopped
artichoke hearts and remaining ingredients and process just until blended. Prepare a day
in advance. Serve with vegetable sticks or tortilla chips.
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