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!

The Husband Cooks - Warm Shrimp Salad With Green Beans & Chilies

He's hardworking, funny and smart, and he also knows his way around the kitchen. Or in this case, the grill. For today's feature, I'm sharing my husband's recent showstopper of a meal, his rendition of Mario Batali's Warm Shrimp Salad With Green Beans & Chilies. 

The only change he made to the recipe was using jalapeno peppers instead of red chilies and slivered almonds instead of hazelnuts. If you're looking for a light, grillable summer meal, this is the one. Serve it with a nice hunk of bread to soak up the delicious flavors. 

Shrimp Salad With Green Beans & Chilies, Photo: NK 

For the recipe, click HERE

TIP: Grilling Shrimp is easy if you have the right equipment. This stainless grill pan from Weber is great for Shrimp, Fish, even Vegetables. Enjoy and thanks to my main squeeze for the great meal. 

Shrimp grills up easily and doesn't stick
 on this seafood friendly tray, Photo: NK 

Sweet Treat - Buttercream My Way

As you know, my forays into baking are few and far between. Still, when I have to make cakes or cupcakes, I always look forward to the icing part of the equation; eating classic Buttercream off a spoon is my idea of heaven. Today's easy recipe is foolproof.  It came about when I lightly adapted a recipe I found online to meet my ever enduring love for salted butter. They say you shouldn't bake with it. I say they're wrong. I like the taste balance it brings. I even make my absolute favorite Brownies with it.

Delicious and easy Buttercream, Photo: NK 

Just give this easy recipe a whirl and you'll be lucky if you get it on your cupcakes fast enough. The icing works well for simple frosting and more elaborate decorating. I like to chill it a bit and spoon it into a pastry bag before piping it on. You'll also find it freezes easy for those emergency dessert situations. I know you will enjoy! 

Quick & Delicious Vanilla Buttercream Icing
Recipe Adapted from AllRecipes.com
Frosts about 8-10 Cupcakes 

Ingredients: 
1/2 Cup (1 Stick) Salted Butter at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons very good quality Vanilla Extract (I like Nielsen Massey) 
1 3/4 Cups Confectioner's Sugar *(*1 & 3/4 Cups is slightly less sweet, but you can use up to 2 Cups)
2 Tablespoons of Milk
(Food Coloring, approximately 3 drops, if you like - I prefer it au naturale)

Method:  
Cream Butter with a handheld mixer or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment until it is light and fluffy (can also be done with a wooden spoon)

Now carefully and gradually add in the Confectioners Sugar until it is fully mixed in. Add the Vanilla Extract and stir again. 

Pour in the Milk and beat for 3 to 4 more minutes. If using food coloring add it now. Frost and enjoy! 

Magic Pancakes - Three Ingredient Breakfast

While I am generally skeptical of any recipe that uses the word "magic" in its title, I thought the deliciously light breakfast you see below was deserving of such a designation. With just one more ingredient than it takes to make a humdrum bowl of cereal, you too can have Magic Pancakes. Trust me, you're not going to believe how well these work. 

Easiest Pancakes You'll Ever Make, and healthier too! Photo: NK 

I first learned about today's clever, three-ingredient recipe a few weeks ago as I was listening to a radio show in the car. The hosts were interviewing an author but I'd tuned in too late to catch her name. At any rate, they asked her what her favorite breakfast was and she explained that every day she makes her own personal portion of pancakes, and that her method is easy and fast. She wasn't kidding. The recipe was so simple that I was able to commit it to memory.

Fast forward to a recent family breakfast. My husband was going to make Pancakes but realized too late that we were out of baking powder. As we all glanced disappointedly towards the cereal boxes on top of our counter, I remembered the radio show and decided to seize the moment. I'll admit, I wasn't a true believer that this would work until I tasted the results myself. 

Make Magic Pancakes if:
You love an easy 3-ingredient breakfast perfect for 1 but easily multiplied for a family
You like the idea of a lower carb (thanks to less Flour) pillowy-light, fluffy pancake
You've got nice ripe or even overripe Bananas that would otherwise go to waste (even slightly underripe Bananas will work). 


You'll be a believer too. Enjoy! 

Magic 3 Ingredient Pancakes 
Per serving (about 3 four-inch pancakes)

Ingredients:  
1 medium to large mashed Banana, 
2 tablespoons any kind of Flour (regular, whole wheat, coconut or other gluten free types, etc), 
1 lightly beaten Egg. 
(Optional Butter or light Cooking Spray)

Method: 
Mash Banana in a bowl, add beaten Egg and Flour. Blend - this can remain a little lumpy and it will still turn out fine. 

Pour onto a hot skillet (you can lightly butter or spray it if you prefer) and flip carefully when Pancakes begin to get golden. Finish and serve.