I went to Trader Joe’s today, and came back with a bag of squid rings, shrimp, and scallops. I was thinking of getting some fish fry and frying them in oil, unless…?
Jambalaya comes to mind, but a mess of fried seafood is always a treat and should not be discounted. Especially with hush puppies and steak fries and way too much cocktail sauce.
I also lean towards a gumbo, stew or other simmered dish. If I was frying all of that, each type fries best for different times and (occasionally) temps. I’d be afraid I’d end up with some really overcooked/rubbery squid vs the shrimp and scallops.
I have bought general mixed seafood bags before and separated the types out, but in general it is too much work.
Another fine option (and one I have done with slightly more success) is the lazy option of steaming it all, making a fine scampi style garlic butter sauce (with lemon and chives by preference), and serving the resulting ambrosia over the pasta of your choice.
There’s no such thing.
I think I agree, but that’s not going to stop me from trying to find the line.
That’s the spirit!
Cioppino.
Paella de marisco
I thought about that, but SWMBO isn’t all that keep on it, and it’s expensive.
I was gonna suggest a rice dish or pasta. Make the seafood in a spicy butter sauce then spoon over the starch of your choice.
I used to buy those bags at the Latin supermarket. Their version had squid rings, little squid tentacles, loose shelled mussels, scallops, and shrimp. It always seemed way underpriced for what’s in it. I remember they were only like $3-4.
I forget what exactly I did with them. I think I just made Zatarain’s Jambalaya and threw half the bag in halfway through cooking. Might have “punched up” some seafood chowder with it once or twice.
My vegetarian wife was always horrified at all the little tentacles.
One local fish&chips place does “squiggly pops” which are deep-fried battered tentacle rings of small squid. Yummy!
Not a fan of squid, but for the others, I make a lovely pasta. It’s not an original flavor combination but I like my particulars:
-Lemon zest, black pepper, and garlic gently simmered in butter and olive oil
-Dice the scallops and shrimp and saute until they’re just cooked. Remove from pan. (Optional: deglaze pan with a dash of white wine).
-Snap asparagus into 2-3 inch sections and saute until just cooked.
-Cook fettucine or linguine in salted water.
-Combine pasta, seafood, asparagus, chopped parsley, and shredded parmesan in a big old pot. Stir and enjoy!
The OP could always make something along the lines of Sauce Piquant with the random assortment of seafood. Or Seafood Etouffee or bisque.
I do not trust those little tentacle rings of small squid as they could be pig bung. The FDA says they could pass very easily but they don’t check for that kind of thing, especially in restaurants "naming’ their dishes. So, there is nothing wrong with eating pig anuses. If you eat hot dogs or pork sausages of any kind you have probably had many, but when I eat squid (or calamari) I want seafood, not hog ass. Now, I’m not saying that they ARE pig bungs-- since the FDA does not check for these things, we’ll never know-- but to make sure I got seafood, I get the ones with the tentacles. Besides, I like them fried. They are real crunchy.
Forgot to add-- they do this because the anuses cost, like, a third or less than actual seafood.
I confess I did not expect the conversation to go here. If “pig assholes” were to show up in any forum, I would’ve guessed Politics & Elections.
The tentacles (I pronounce them ‘tent-a-kleez’ ) are my favourite when we have calamari.
I also meant to call them “tentacle-free rings of small squid”. The whole post makes more sense that way.
Not here, squid is dirt-cheap, pork, not so much.