Octopus Questions

[erehweslefox]

One of the many things I love about marinated dishes, they just keep getting more flavor!

I'm going to look to see if I posted it here, and it is totally not Octopus, but I have a family recipe for a London Broil marinate, which is totally Mad Men, Formica, dry martini, late sixties level cooking. Can be served with green bean casserole with potato chips crumbled on top level stuff. This was back when London Broil was still a thing, and I have a butcher near here who is kind of stuck in a weird time warp. We have a vibrant retiree community that keeps him open. I have tried to get our local hipsters to start going out there, if only for ironic porpoises, but he still cuts a good London Broil.

Total non-octopus digression.

TBS (E-F)

 

[buckytom]

Sounds good, Joe.

You need a goodfella name, like Joey 8 legs (from the octopus), lol. Capeesh?

Btw, did ypu hear that the Bada Bing (Satin Dolls) is closing?

Maron a mi.

 

[Joe Pesce]

One of the many things I love about marinated dishes, they just keep getting more flavor!

I'm going to look to see if I posted it here, and it is totally not Octopus, but I have a family recipe for a London Broil marinate, which is totally Mad Men, Formica, dry martini, late sixties level cooking. Can be served with green bean casserole with potato chips crumbled on top level stuff. This was back when London Broil was still a thing, and I have a butcher near here who is kind of stuck in a weird time warp. We have a vibrant retiree community that keeps him open. I have tried to get our local hipsters to start going out there, if only for ironic porpoises, but he still cuts a good London Broil.

Total non-octopus digression.

TBS (E-F)

When I was growing up, I remember the 3 butcher shops that were in my neighborhood. I remember vividly the heavy, butcher block benches they used. I remember the bronze flattening tool (I never knew what that tool is properly known as) that he used to flatten veal and chicken in order to make "cutlets". I remember it as being about 5 inches in diameter with a flat working end, which was integral with a straight handle of about 1" diameter and about 6 inches long. The butcher would wrap hand/fingers around the handle and flatten the meat with a downward motion of his closed fist.

Those were the days when the butchers sold real, genuine PRIME meat. Not the "choice" second-rate product that you get in today's supermarkets. All of the butcher shops that I remember had "Prime Meats" displayed proudly on their store signage.

Flank steaks and lamb chops were also popular although I don't see much of either in stores any more.

All of this reminiscing makes me lust for a "nice" 1950s style tuna casserole, fava beans and some "nice" key-auntie. Or anything else cooked in a crock pot using cream of mushroom soul as a base.

For all intents and porpoises, I have never eaten purpose meat, whether boiled, flogged, braised, fried or broiled.

 

[Joe Pesce]

Sounds good, Joe.

You need a goodfella name, like Joey 8 legs (from the octopus), lol. Capeesh?

Btw, did ypu hear that the Bada Bing (Satin Dolls) is closing?

Maron a mi.

That's funny. I'll accept whatever you're offering although Joey Sef or Seph (cephalopod) would be acceptable as well.

I love octopi and cuttlefish for their intelligence, beauty, cunning and curiosity. Believe it or not I get a bit misty eyed when I deal with them every Christmas season.

In Joisey, capeesh is pronounced "gabeesh" , and maron a mi is pronounced "madonna me".

As far as Bada Bing.........never been there and never get to Satin Dolls nor do I know where it is. Unfortunately in the present day homogenized, pasteurized, Disney-ized, sterilized and politically correct society that we live in, it's almost impossible to find a place to "get in trouble" in without actually getting into trouble. Better off staying at home and cooking.

 

[erehweslefox]

Oh I misspelled on porpoise. Lets just make sure our tuna casserole is dolphin safe , actually got a good casserole dish? You did open the door my Jersey Shore friend.

Todd's Awesome Tuna Casserole

16 oz cooked pasta, your choice, I like Rotini
12 oz chunk tuna, drained
A pound of frozen broccoli cuts
1 can ro-Tel tomatoes
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
4 cups milk
1 tbsp powdered mustard
1 tsp smoked paprika
salt to taste

So the deal is heat the butter up add your spices (don't feel committed to mine), slowly add the milk to heat like you are making a standard roux. Add the cheese as well, and finally the flour, stirring it a lot.

Everything else in a casserole dish, pour the sauce over, stir, and about thirty minutes at 350 in the oven.

This freezes like a champ, so you can make it on Sunday and eat all week

Yeah, I go to Lansdale meats near me, and think I am transported back to 1984. Very old school. But too, they move with the times a bit, we have a vibrant Coptic Christian community here in Hatfield, and they have goat. I made a goat curry the other day, was excellent.

TBS (E-F)

 

[buckytom]

As far as Bada Bing.........never been there and never get to Satin Dolls nor do I know where it is ...
. Better off staying at home and cooking.

Vafanable (Va fa Napoli)


Rompere le palle.

 

[Addie]

One of the times I went out with my husband shrimping, they caught a medium size octopus in the net when hauling back. Since the shrimp was the important product and not the octopus, one of the men took out a huge knife and stabbed the octopus in one arm near the head. He stabbed it right into the deck of the boat. He was going to take it home. That dang animal just kept slamming his other arms on the deck hard enough to make the deck shake. When all the shrimp had been processed, the man went back to the animal and cut off the rest of his arms. By that time the dang thing was finally dead.

His wife met the boat at the dock the next morning and was so excited to hear about getting the animal for supper. I was more excited at taking 10 free pounds of shrimp home.

 

[erehweslefox]

So my natural question now is can I make an Octopus casserole? What would such a thing look like? Is it worth doing?

 

[buckytom]

One of the times I went out with my husband shrimping, they caught a medium size octopus in the net when hauling back. Since the shrimp was the important product and not the octopus, one of the men took out a huge knife and stabbed the octopus in one arm near the head. He stabbed it right into the deck of the boat. He was going to take it home. That dang animal just kept slamming his other arms on the deck hard enough to make the deck shake. When all the shrimp had been processed, the man went back to the animal and cut off the rest of his arms. By that time the dang thing was finally dead.

His wife met the boat at the dock the next morning and was so excited to hear about getting the animal for supper. I was more excited at taking 10 free pounds of shrimp home.

I hope you realize how cruel that was. The guy was keeping it alive as long as possible. NOT COOL.
If you are going to harvest an animal, as we do often with fish, kill it quickly.

So my natural question now is can I make an Octopus casserole? What would such a thing look like? Is it worth doing?

NO.

 

[Addie]

I hope you realize how cruel that was. The guy was keeping it alive as long as possible. NOT COOL.
If you are going to harvest an animal, as we do often with fish, kill it quickly.

I wasn't too happy with the whole thing. It took us about 25 minutes to process the last haul of shrimp and to hear that animal thrashing began to really get to me. He couldn't kill it fast enough for me. I almost got up and wanted to pull the knife out so it could slither off the deck and nurse it wound in the ocean.

 

[CraigC]

So my natural question now is can I make an Octopus casserole? What would such a thing look like? Is it worth doing?

If you are thinking along the lines of tuna casserole, looks like the ball is in your court to create an octopus casserole. Let us know how it turns out.

 

[Joe Pesce]

Oh I misspelled on porpoise. Lets just make sure our tuna casserole is dolphin safe , actually got a good casserole dish? You did open the door my Jersey Shore friend.

Todd's Awesome Tuna Casserole

16 oz cooked pasta, your choice, I like Rotini
12 oz chunk tuna, drained
A pound of frozen broccoli cuts
1 can ro-Tel tomatoes
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
4 cups milk
1 tbsp powdered mustard
1 tsp smoked paprika
salt to taste

So the deal is heat the butter up add your spices (don't feel committed to mine), slowly add the milk to heat like you are making a standard roux. Add the cheese as well, and finally the flour, stirring it a lot.

Everything else in a casserole dish, pour the sauce over, stir, and about thirty minutes at 350 in the oven.

This freezes like a champ, so you can make it on Sunday and eat all week

Yeah, I go to Lansdale meats near me, and think I am transported back to 1984. Very old school. But too, they move with the times a bit, we have a vibrant Coptic Christian community here in Hatfield, and they have goat. I made a goat curry the other day, was excellent.

TBS (E-F)

I'm not much of a casserole guy, but your recipe sounds delicious. I was wondering where the cheese was in the ingredients list, then saw "add the cheese" later on. So, how much and what kind?

I remember a bean casserole that my aunts and mother made "back in the day". I don't have an exact recipe but can "wing it" for you if you'd like it. Contains ground beef, onions, tomatoes, navy beans and other ingredients. I made it a few years ago so can write a recipe on the fly for you. Let me know. It' great with BBQ, burgers, etc.

 

[Joe Pesce]

So my natural question now is can I make an Octopus casserole? What would such a thing look like? Is it worth doing?

Boil octopus. Cut the cheese (literally). Add Velveeta cheese. Add Campbell's cream of mushroom soup. Add French's French Fried Onions (original).

 

[erehweslefox]

I was wondering where the cheese was in the ingredients list, then saw "add the cheese" later on. So, how much and what kind?

Darn, left out the cheese! Yes, it should have one cup shredded swiss cheese, and one cup shredded Asiago. I add it slowly to the milk, just under a simmer, until it is all melted and such.

This is why I really have to go through and type up all my recipes. I have a beat up leather journal type book I've had since college with kind of cooking notes, I wouldn't call them recipes in their current form, that I use to remember what I've cooked in the past. seriously need to formalize and organize the whole thing. It ranges from a very detailed recipe for, say, sourdough apple and walnut stuffing, to one page that basically says cheese, ground beef, macaroni, butter? Cheese good. (direct quote there).

One of these days I'll buy one of those fancy three ring binders you see in all the rich people's office supply stores, take the computer printer off the cinder blocks in the back, replace the ink tubes, and go to town on it. I already have a three hole punch, so we are like 25% there!

TBS (e-f)

 

[erehweslefox]

My new goal in life, Octopus casserole.

Secondary goal, be able to spell casserole without using spellcheck, a random a keeps on sneaking in.

TBS (E-F)