Summer & Spice - Grilled Buffalo Calamari

You don't have to eat poultry to enjoy Buffalo flavor. Turns out, Buffalo ANYTHING is pretty darn delicious - even humble Cauliflower becomes the life of the party when paired with America's favorite spicy sauce. 

In today's post, we give Calamari a really fun twist. Buffalo Calamari is a light seafood appetizer that is fun, super shareable and easy to execute in just ten minutes of active time. While I prefer to marinate the squid for about an hour in a bit in Oil, Lemon, Salt and Pepper, it's still good even if you don't have time for that. 

Grilling Calamari outdoors on a grill pan will prevent the tubes from slipping through the cracks. Alternately, you can boil Calamari on the stove just a few minutes until it is fully opaque and firm but not rubbery. Toss it in the sauce and you have a winning starter that guests will love. Enjoy and let's get to it. 

Grilled Buffalo Calamari, Photo: NK

Grilled Buffalo Calamari
Serves 3-4 as a light Appetizer

Ingredients: 
1.25 Pounds Cleaned Calamari, Tubes and Tentacles
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil 
1 teaspoon Lemon Juice
Salt 
Pepper
2.5 Tablespoons Frank's Red Hot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Melted
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce 
Scallions and Cilantro or Celery/Celery Leaves for garnish

Method: 
About an hour before you'd like to grill, add the cleaned Calamari to a large Ziploc Bag with the Olive Oil, Lemon Juice, and a few light shakes of Salt and Pepper. Allow to sit in the fridge for an hour. 

Preheat your grill until very hot with a thin Grill Pan suited for seafood on top of it. Grill Calamari about 3-4 minutes per side until golden in parts and opaque, but not rubbery. Remove Calamari to a cutting board to cool a bit. Once cooled, slice into 1/2 inch rings and leave small tentacles intact. Place in a mixing bowl. 

In a small saucepan, mix the Hot Sauce, 2 Tablespoons of Unsalted Butter and 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce. When the butter melts, mix into the Calamari and toss. Serve warm with your desired garnishes and enjoy!

Easy Entertaining - Grilled Tuna with Miso Shallot Caramel

Every girl (or guy) needs a few company recipes that look and taste impressive but can be put together in well under an hour and without, you guessed it, neuroses-inducing stress. Today, I am sharing one of my go-tos for last minute entertaining. This Asian-inflected entree works well if you are looking for a universally likable seafood dish. A summer-ready recipe, the Tuna can be prepared on the grill (or indoor grill pan) while the Caramel glaze comes together quickly on the stove top.

Grilled Tuna with Miso Shallot Caramel, shown with Brown Rice and Scallions,
a garnish of Wasabi Microgreens, and a Simple Salad of Julienned Zucchini, Photo: NK

Today's recipe is only lightly adapted from none other than my fave gal, Martha, and is easily accessorized with quick additions like sesame rice, some wasabi micro-green garnish (as shown), or even some pickled Daikon if you have a day's notice.   


Click Here for my favorite Daikon and Carrot Pickles Recipe - a great side for this dish.
The carrots can be omitted, if you prefer, but the recipe remains unchanged otherwise. Here's how they look:

Pickled Daikon, Photo: NK

Now, for the main event:


Grilled Tuna with Miso Shallot Caramel
Adapted from Martha Stewart
Serves 6 to 8 (large portions) 


Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons Sugar
2 large Shallots, chopped finely
1 Tablespoon Miso Paste (we used yellow but any type will do - you can even omit it)
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 Teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 Cup Marsala Cooking Wine
3 teaspoons Sesame Seeds 
3 Lbs Tuna Steaks cut into 6 steaks (roughly 8 oz portions, each 1 inch thick)
Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper


Method:
If using a charcoal grill, begin it it now. All other methods, you can heat your grill lateral


Make the Miso-Shallot Caramel by placing Sugar and 2-3 tablespoons of water in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat until the sugar is dissolved and turns amber in color - about 10 minutes.


Add Shallots to the sugar mixture and toss to coat. Cook, stirring, until Caramel turns back into a liquid state again, about 1-2 minutes. 

Adding the yellow Miso paste, Photo, NK

Add Miso, Soy Sauce, Worcestershire, and Marsala Wine and stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium and stir until syrupy, about 8 minutes.  Remove from the heat and transfer the mixture to a heat proof bowl.


Heat up your grill or grill pan until very hot. While heating, season your Tuna Steaks with Salt and Pepper on both sides. Place Tuna Steaks on a hot grill and cook on one side for 2 minutes, until browned. 

Beautiful Yellowfin Tuna, Photo: NK

Turn over and cook on the other side for 1 to 2 minutes more. 


Remove to a large cutting board and immediately brush with Miso Caramel on tops and sides. 


Slice each Tuna Steak diagonally into pieces of your desired size. Garnish with Sesame Seeds and serve. You may put all the tuna slices on an a large platter over your chosen garnish (I like a simple salad with thinly sliced onion and julienned raw zucchini), or you can certainly plate individually as shown above. I chose to slice each Steak in half before serving, rather than to serve in strips. Creative license is welcomed! 


Enjoy!

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