Surf’s Up – Fried Squid

Glen Maverick spends his days keeping eggs warm. His brother Cody, spends his days riding waves. The 17-year-old penguin fell in love with the sport when legendary surf champ, Big Z, gave him a shell necklace and the courage to be the best.

Imagining the sun glistening on water on the coast of Cali or Hawaii? Nope, this ambitious surfer is from Shiverpool, Antarctica, riding freezing cold waves on an ice-carved board.

Ignoring his mother’s disinterest and his brother’s jealousy, Cody does whatever it takes when a surf recruiter comes to test his skills for the 10th Annual Big Z Memorial Competition, honoring Cody’s deceased hero. When there are no waves in sight, the recruiter leaves Cody and his dreams behind. But it takes more than that to stop him, so he chases after the recruit team as it swims away on a humpback whale (literally).

When Cody arrives at the tropical Pen Gu Island, he makes friends with Joe the chicken from Wisconsin and falls in love at first sight with Lani, and island lifeguard. But it doesn’t take long for him to find trouble. Tank Evans has been the surf champ ever since Big Z’s death and when Cody overhears him talking smack about his idol, he challenges him to a surf contest. He is practically eaten by the wave and wakes up on an examining table with Lani’s Uncle Geek taking care of him.

After discovering a hidden beach and surfboard hut, Cody realizes it belonged to Big Z. From here it doesn’t take him long to realize Geek is actually Big Z and he has been in the presence of his hero for days. With some help from Big Z, Cody might actually have a shot at winning the competition. You may not have the luxury of a campfire and live music by Big Z, but fried squid can still be awesome. Can you dig it?

Fried Squid Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2-3 lb. squid
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/4 c. red wine
• 1 oz. dark cider vinegar
• Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in large frying pan. Add cleaned squid cut into quarters or smaller if desired. Toss in olive oil. Add red wine and vinegar.
2. Cook on medium heat 10 minutes. Then cover and simmer for 25 minutes until only a thick gravy is left of the juices. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cooking time: 35 minutes. – Servings: 4. – Back to Top

Tags: antartica, Big Z, big z memorial surf contest, Chicken Joe, cody maverick, Fried Squid, geek, koa, lani aliikai, mikey abromowitz, poisonous urchin, renato mendes, rockhopper penguin, rory nubbins, shiverpool, surfer, tatsuhi kobayashi, zeke topanga