Tasty Tuesday: Fried Calamari

I hope you all had a good Christmas and are planing a Great New Years Bash. Here is a recipe you can use as an appetizer.

2 lbs Calamari  Tubes and Tentacles
2 Cups of Corn Meal
1 cup of All Purpose Flour
2 Tbs. Salt
1 Tsp of Black Pepper
1 Tbs Granulated Garlic
1 Tbs Dried Basil
1Tbs Dried Oregano
1Tsp Dried Thyme
2 Cups Milk
8 cups of Vegetable Oil
Cast Iron Frying pan or a counter top fryer
1/2 cup of Grated Parmesan Cheese for dusting after the cooking is done

Soak Calamari in Milk for about 1 hour. This will make the squid tender.
Mix all dry ingredients together and set aside.(except for the Parmesan cheese)
Remove Calamari from milk and allow excess milk to drain off. Best thing to do is drain in a colander.
Place about half of the Calamari in the corn meal mixture and coat really well, it will clump together, but do not worry it will separate when frying.
Place about half of the first batch into the hot oil and cook until golden brown about 4 minutes. Do not over cook if it is over cooked it will be tough and very chewy.
Repeat  in same size batches with the rest of the Calamari .
After it is all cooked place in a bowl and add Parmesan cheese and toss.
Serve hot and with some Marinara sauce or Pesto Cream sauce.