SC - need calamari advice

[Robin Carroll-Mann]

I've eaten squid before, but never cooked it.  I was redacting a recipe 
from de Nola (which I will post soon) which called for the squid to be 
gently fried (sofrito), then cooked in an almond milk sauce.  I fried it on 
medium for 5 minutes, then simmered for 30 minutes, which seemed to 
be a time recommended by many recipes on the web.  The rings (cut 
from the body, not tentacles, if that matters) were edible, but not quite 
as tender as I would have liked.  Should I have cooked them longer?  I 
kept testing them throughout the 30 minutes, and could not cut them 
with the edge of my wooden spoon, so I kept simmering.  Incidently,  
cuttlefish is an alternative fish for this recipe, and I saw several recipes 
that suggested *it* be simmered for 40-45 minutes.

So what's the deal here?  Should the squid be cooked longer?  Does 
cuttlefish require more time than squid?  (And how does it differ from its 
cousin?)  Can the two be cooked together without causing problems?

The sauce, BTW, was lovely -- almond milk made from toasted almonds 
and diluted vinegar, with raisins, almonds, and pinenuts in it.  The recipe 
is definitely worth tweaking.


Lady Brighid ni Chiarain
Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)
mka Robin Carroll-Mann
harper at idt.net