Cow brains eh?
Well, I've had sheep/lamb brains.
Texturally it's quite like firm silken tofu. It kind of has a very slightly liver-like texture, though a lot softer. Like all organs, it tends to taste like the flesh of the animal but it's less pronounced.
I'd get the brain, ziploc/vac seal it with some seasoning, then freeze it.
This makes it easier to slice without it falling apart/getting everywhere.
Take it out when it's half way to frozen, cut it into 1cm slices.
Then flour/bread it in a seasoned mixture. I'd recommend the inclusion of some lemon zest and chilli powder, similar to a schnitzel mix.
Pan/shallow fry until golden/brownish. Drain. Serve.
If you get it right...and the semi-freeze helps with this also...it'll be crunchy on the outside, and quite soft inside, it may remind you of a slightly more solid bone marrow.
I'd put a bit of lemon juice or a vinaigrette/glaze drizzled over the top - just not enough so that it becomes wet and becomes compromised in texture.
The texture contrast is really needed with brains in my opinion...it's very soft, and some people would liken it to pudding in texture, which to me, doesn't really work for this kind of thing.
Same as tofu when it isn't part of a soup - Really needs the crunch.
Nothing to be afraid of, but you'd want it fresh from a butcher. Right now it's not really an "in" cut, at least not here anyway, so it's pretty much super cheap.
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Where do you live again? NZ or AS? I love calamari too. Especially deep fried, butter and lemon. I'm pretty sure I've never had octopus, it's all squid here in the midwest US, but I don't know if they taste any different, do they?
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Australia yeah, I'm in Sydney. The place with the bridge and that funny spiky building down by the water.
It's kind of like the difference between two types of fish. It's there but it's not super pronounced. Usually with the squid the more desired part is the head, which is long and almost conical - that's what they cut the rings from.
With Octopus, the more desired part is the tentacles - which are a lot thicker ratio wise than the squid tentacles.
I find Octopus has more of a resistance/bounce to the texture, squid is "softer" when cooked. They are similar, I can taste the difference but I'm not entirely sure how to articulate it...I think Octopus has a more pronounced flavour or like higher concentration of flavour.