February 26, 2011 new recipes

Tonight's recipes are from Mario Batali's Molto Italiano. For a kid who hated fish and still dislikes very strong fish flavors, I find myself fascinated by seafood. This evening, we made Barbecued Octopus with Grilled Escarole and Mint, and Broccoli Sauteed in Wine and Garlic. We drank a 2006 Regilli Frascati with this (it was also in the broccoli), which was really past its prime. So we switched to a 2009 Fontana Candida Frascati, which was much nicer, with aromas of peaches and a little grapefruit.

The octopus came out much more tender than I feared it would, and the flavors were nice, but it didn't quite pop, to use an overused term. Makes me wonder if it is the dish or the execution--I may have to try this again some time. I did learn how to clean an octopus from the folks at the Sydney Fish Market, since my frozen octopi came fully equipped with eyes, beak, and innards. It was still a fun dish to make.