This one is for you, Nana and Grandpa.
I was randomly REALLY craving some fruta del mar, and didn’t think I could hold out until our heavenly Christmas Eve feast. Suddenly, I was overcome with an intense surge of motivation and ambition [that I really should be applying to my schoolwork instead of cooking/blogging right now but oh well] as an epiphany dawned upon me: I’ve watched and helped you make it enough (and certainly have eaten it enough) that I could absolutely just make it on my own! So, I did. And it was an excellent decision.
Obviously not nearly as good as the family's, but it was still molta deliziosa! Next time, I will splurge on all the necessary seafood ingredients, buy one more lemon, put a little less onion/celery in the ratio, and let it marinade longer!
Lizzie in Firenze 
Looks pretty authentic. You’ll have to whip some up for us when we visit. 🙂
Oh my oh my, what a wonderful surprise!!! It looks great! I have a smile on my face a mile wide. You’re going to do an awful lot of cooking when you get home, because we will want to taste everything you’ve learned. Just one thing, don’t add the lemon juice until you’re ready to serve. It has a tendacy to make the calamari a little tough.Proud of you.
Thanks for the lemon tip! And most of what I’ve been cooking is not from what I’m learning here, but from what I learned from you, Grandpa and mom 😮 …But I will of course be cooking for you nonetheless!
Dopey me, spelled “tendency” wrong. Sorry.