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Crispy, Crunchy Calamari

My Dad's in town... which typically turns the Practical Whimsy test kitchen into a lunatical (but extra-thriving) locale.

Dad's the one who signed all us boys up for "Bon Appetit" subscriptions at age 12. We pretty much learned how to cook from him. (For some reason, almost exclusively men cooked on both sides of my Cuban and Italian ancestry). So, when Dad visits, culinary odysseys are de rigeur.

I've been wanting to nail a decent recipe for fresh, fried calamari... particularly after I noticed how much sodium packaged frozen varieties contain. Calamari is actually squid, with tentacles and all. Maybe it sounds exotic (or not)... but it's a dish that makes a heck of an impression when you have people over. Calamari fritto (fried calamari) has become such a popular restaurant appetizer (at P.F. Chang's, for instance) that I've wanted to add it to my repertoire in a family-friendly version.

With Dad at the helm, we found fresh calamari at the seafood counter of one of my regular grocery stores. Since it was sold already-cleaned, we only had to cut it into rings; the tentacles, already separated, could be left intact. We dipped each piece of the raw calamari in a cup of milk beaten with a couple of eggs, and then dredged it in two cups of flour seasoned with paprika, freshly-ground black pepper, and a scant cup of yellow cornmeal. Once coated, the calamari were transferred to a medium saucepan of hot vegetable oil, where they were deep-fried for two to three minutes.

For a dipping sauce, I sauteed two diced chipotle peppers in olive oil, and added the mixture to a cup of low-fat mayonnaise.

Everyone -- kids included -- dove in... and loved every bite.

Chalk up (yet) another one for my Dad.