Maria-

Fried bacala with olives? Please tell me more.

Smelts! We used to make the smelts but after my father died nobody ate them so we stopped. I forgot about those little guys.

We never really did 7 fish per se but we always did what I'd refer to as the "Endless Night of Fish"...there was a LOT of fish prepared in a lot of different ways. Both of my parents were born in Italy and my mother prepared the same things as her mother did. Actually the traditional stuff was the calamari & the bacala (and the eel). I suspect that the shrimp was added later on to appease the more American and/or not as adventurous palates. I'll ask my mom tonight.

Sue- I'm just curious but is your your family's traditional menu or one that's been developed over the years?

Interesting how many of us are cooking very different things & how many of these menus have plain ol' bacala & calamari showing up. That's why I think it's very important, Nancy Jean,(you still there or did we scare you away?) that you ask your husband what sorts of things he'd like you to cook. Because no dish may be wrong but there's bound to be some that aren't "right".

Nina

Lou,
Your "Fish" cakes are just too cute! I want mine to look just like yours, I must have them!

You Whooo Nina, have you seen anything like Lou's fish molds in the area??

Dad was a stickler about having "7 Fishes", however typically there was more than the 7.

Lucy

How cute are those fish cakes? No, Lucy, the only fish molds that I've ever seen are the fancy copper ones. Lou, tell us about the molds! Like I don't have enough to do on Christmas Eve already...

Shambo- your story about the squid stew reminds me of when my mother would make tripe. Ugh! The exact same thing. I'd walk into the house, smell it & walk right back out. I've never tried it, even though her tripe stew is supposed to be excellent. I just can't get past that awful stench.

And in spite of numerous Christmas Eve feasts & growing up in a very Italian household I had never been able to bring myself to try calamari until I met my husband. His attitude towards food is if somebody, somewhere likes it he's willing to try it. I'll eat it now...but I still can't do the tentacles.

Nina

Nina,

The menu has changed over time. When my Grandmother did it, it was quite different...I am certain there was baccala on the menu!

For as long as I can remember, we had baked clams, shrimp salad (the celery, garlic and lemon/olive oil combo), linguini and clams, and lobster tails. Then Dad invented the shrimp with prosciutto and the men in the family wouldn't let that one go, but then they wouldn't let anything else go either...so the feast got bigger and bigger.

Somewhere along the line my sister developed a seafood allergy, so I added calamari and salmon to the menu.

My beloved BIL, DH and the rest of the crew would start talking about the Christmas Eve menu on Thanksgiving day, making sure I was not going to drop any dishes.

A couple of years ago my sister had her allergy tested and lo and behold she didn't have one...so I dropped the salmon like a rock.

One year I tried to make it like a real dinner instead of an endless array of entrees, but that didn't go over too big...veggies don't seem to matter, nor does starch (I don't always do pasta, I find it is simply too much!

This year we're foregoing the shrimp and prosciutto in favor of lobster medallions (still have to figure that out)...no one has room for a whole lobster tail and it's such a waste..the cats are well fed after dinner.

We've tried different fried calamari recipes, but none have been great...I think they were too elaborate and that I have to get back to basics...I recall seeing something on Epic or Foodtv...got to use my deep fryer, it's the only time of year it comes out!

Sue

Lucy: The little fishes were not made in mould.
I shaped them by hand, using the Salmon or Crab Cake recipe ,
as in the previous Thread ( Baked Salmon or Crab Cake )

Another thing I forgot was the stuffed Flounder Recipe.

Stuffed Flounder or your favorite Fish Fillets

Stuffing:
In a large mixing bowl put in:
3 cups of unflavored bread stuffing cubes
2 cups of flavored bread crumbs
2 cups of Onions & Celery chopped small & micro waved 2 min.
!/2 teaspoon of Garlic Powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon of Black Pepper
1/4 teaspoon Bay seasoning
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 heaping teaspoon of Parsley Flakes
8 Oz. Package of Imitation Crab meat (Chopped )

Tumble this with a large spoon.

Add 1 egg beaten with a cup of water
Mix this thru and add more water if needed to make a damp stuffing mix.

Preparing Flounder:

1 small can of Spaghetti sauce
10 pieces of Flounder Fillets

I lined a 10 X 16 in pan with aluminum foil
Put half the Sauce in the pan
Lay 5 pieces of Flounder in the pan a shape like a fish
Put the stuffing mix on the flounder and shape by hand
Higher in the center.
Lay the other pieces of flounder on top of the stuffing.
Pour and spread the remaining sauce on the Flounder.
Sprinkle with onion , Garlic powder and Parsley flakes
Peel an onion an cut in half. Make 1/4 in. slices ( half Moons )
Lay these of the fish to resemble scales. Put a black olive in for the eye after baking.
Bake in 325 Deg. oven for ½ hour

OR YOU CAN USE THE BAKED CRABCAKE RECIPE !!! for stuffing.
It was delicious But I hope you can make it look
more like a flounder than I did.
Lou

{{gwi:1518626}}

The flounder is great!!! Lou you are so creative with the fish...I love it!

Michelle

Smelts! Maria & Sigh you reminded me of one of my all time favorite fish dishes -- fried smelts! My dad, of course, would make them often and so would I. I can get them frozen (already cleaned w/heads removed) at most of the grocery stores in my area. Every once in a while the large Greek festival in Sacramento serves them too. But after one try, I won't eat them there. The smelts used are really small and have not been gutted; they give off a nasty odor & bitter taste.

Nina, your story about tripe was cute. My grandmother would make tripe soup, but she'd make it in her small apartment. My mom & I would visit her every weekend. One of my fondest memories was having lunch with her one Saturday. She had tripe soup prepared for her & my mom. But she made a nice plate of fried chicken for me. Now that's love!!

Lou......amazing fish!!! How clever....Sue, your menu has my DH drooling ( and me too)!!! He asked me to cut & paste the entire menu and make each dish. This is what I was looking for- I love shrimp and thought it would be good to make a few shrimp dishes rather than just 1 shrimp dish. I have no food memorys at all...its kinda sad but my Mom never cooked anything memorable..just alot of boiled meat-I still can't eat meat to this day.I love the Italian food and family and lifestyle. Very loving. I'm always willing to learn new things so this Christmas eve will be FUN... I'm very excited!! Thank you all so much...thank god for ThatHomeSite...this is where I come for all my questions to be answered...NJ

Glad that we could help, Nancy Jean! And your husband is prepared to help you in the kitchen, of course ;-).

Christmas Eve is fun. One of my favorite holidays. It's all about the food, tradition, and family while keeping the vigil until midnight.

Shambo- no Italian (or Greek...or Jewish...or..) grandmother worth her salt would have expected you to eat something you didn't like. The important thing is that you EAT!

Sue- I think that a menu that everyone enjoys is as important as the tradition. Fortunately my family enjoys the standards. My husband and I would love yours as well. What time should we (and our cat) show up?
I do know that our Christmas eve menu changed numerous times over the years in order to accomodate any guest that had allergies, dislikes, etc. But the assorted baccala/calamari/fried filet always remained as constants.

I know what you mean about the pasta. I always felt that it was too much but my mom insists and so we do. For the past few years we've used fresh pasta and that's been much lighter.

It's funny, I was talking to my mom yesterday & mentioned that my niece might not be able to help with the cooking this year so I was working on streamlining the menu a bit.

"Good," she said "then we can make it more traditional"

I was baffled. "What did we make that wasn't traditional?"

"Well...the scampi had all of that butter in it"

"Everybody loved the scampi. The scampi was devoured! There wasn't even a tail left."

"I don't like all of that butter."

"So because it's something you don't like it's not traditional?"

"We never made scampi on Christmas Eve."

"You never use butter, either!"

My mother...is an excellent cook. But she is notorious for trying to make things lighter and healthier. Which means that things like butter, oil, cream etc will be virtually eliminated from all recipes. This means that when you taste the "real" recipe it comes as a shock. This is what it's supposed to taste like?! Who knew?

Nina

I keep remembering different things we cooked.

We did Clams Casino at an Uncles. He would buy a bushel of Cherrystone clams.
My job was to scrub them and test them to make sure they were live.
If any were open I would tap them with the knife handle.
If they closed on their own, they were live.
Then they were opened and cut free from the shell,saving the juices.
One shell was twisted off and placed in a cupcake tin.
The shell with the clam was laid on top of this, ready to bake.

We only used Olive Oil, Garlic, Parsley and Bacon.

The Bacon was fried very little to cook out the fat.
Then it was minced and mixed with the very finely chopped Garlic and Parsley.
This was spooned on to each of the Clams.
They were baked in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes.
This went on for a long time, while we had all the other fishes.

Another tasty item were large Sea Scallops wrapped with Bacon, seasoned and broiled.

I have to stop thinking of all these things.
I'll probably have sacrifice myself again and
try all these recipes out next week, to make sure they are good.
LOU

Maria- you got me thinking about what dishes were truly traditional and what were added on one my family got to America so I consulted the "Official Keeper of the Secrets of Christmas Eve" (my mother).

She said that because we came from a small mountain town the main players in the Christmas Eve feast were anchovies & baccala. Because they weren't near the ocean they only really had fish that was dried or preserved. Also eels, because those were caught fresh in the lake. Calamari didn't make it onto the table until they came to America (see, and here I was thinking that it was part of the official Christmas Eve lineup when really it was just a latecomer).

My niece's husband is Sicilian and he makes a cold seafood salad for their Christmas eve following his grandmother's recipe. That features fresh scungilli, baby octopus, fresh calamari. They must have lived near the coast.

Nina

Ninaaaaaaaaa: It may be different in many provinces in Italy.
For instance in Badolato, Italy ( Calabria )
They may have had all the fishes. My Grandmother cooked all these.
The same with Abbruzzi. My Uncle cooked many different fish dishes.
My MIL was Sicilian, she also cooked different fish dishes.
Maybe inland Mountain towns didn't have too much to chose from.
LOU

Nina - Fried Bacala with olives - after soaking for a few days and changing the water take an nice boneless fillet of bacala and cut in approx 2 x 3 inch pieces. Flour and fry on both sides in olive oil - serve sprinkled with red pepper flakes, dried/cured black olives, chopped fresh parsley(flat leaf please) and lots of lemon wedges. The frying of the bacala was always my Nonno's job...he would set up the electric frying pan under the deck and fry outside to save the house from the smell....Lou, I think the traditional foods were also economical. And don't you just love smelts! When they are hot, crispy and fragrant with olive oil and a sqeeze of fresh lemon! Also, having bacala is the true test of a dedicated Italian-American!!! ;)-maria

Maria- thank you! Now I wanna make fried bacala over the weekend. It sounds delicious. And of course, I mentioned the smelts (and the whole thread) to my mom so now she's agitating to make some for Christmas eve. Anybody want to share some smelt recipes?

Lou- considering that back in the day most of the transprt was via foot or donkey it doesn't surprise me that the menu would vary by province...or even by city. If you lived in a big city like Rome you were bound to have a lot more options than a little town like Casalciprano (population 600). Not to mention the items or traditions that are specific just to the towns. My mother insists that frying the balls of dough filled with baccala or allici is specific to our hometown. I just find all of this really interesting.

Nina

My husband is Italian, and his family gets together on Christmas Eve for the Feast of the 7 fishes. Since I am not really into some of what I would consider 'exotic' dishes, I have taken seafood lasagna. I use shrimp and fake crab meat. You have to go easy on the crab, though, it will overpower the shrimp. I make a white sauce...the storebought alfredos don't taste right for it.

Sue I would love the following recipes if you have time:

Linguini and clams (fresh clams in delicate broth)

Pasta with garlic/chicken stock reduction with shrimp broccoli rabe

Shrimp parmesan

Baked salmon with mustard cream sauce

Joe just came home with some beautiful, and very cheap, Calamari Steaks which are delicious just sauteed in butter.

I think we will plan on the Feast of the Seven Fishes. I've always wanted to do it and since this will be our first Christmas in our new kitchen, this is the year!

Michelle

Nina: I had to laugh at the way you explained it.
By foot or donkey ( population 600 )
Don't get your mother upset and tell her I want to try one of the dough balls, filled with Bacalla.

Michelle : Go for it !!! Cook all the goodies.

LOU

Lou- we ship. My mother would send a care package of baccala filled dough balls to her brother in Florida every year. They're not nearly as exquisite reheated (I doubt that I could get them to you hot, even if I packed them in those silver bags that pizza places use) but I'd be happy to send a care package to PA. My mother would love it!

If you're serious, as we get closer to Christmas I'll touch base for your address.

Michelle? What's part of the calamari is the steak?!

Nina

Bump

wow, I had fun reading everyone's menus! I'm going to enjoy hanging out here!

we also did the 7 fishes--when my grandma was alive it included fried eel and bacala (funny story about me confusing bacala with baklava when I was a kid...). After she passed away we streamlined a bit and now that my mom is gone, too, we are down to only 2 of the fishes..

Shrimp cocktail
vermicelli with lobster sauce

there was a bit of a panic the year my mom died when we realized no one had the lobster sauce recipe! But it was found the week before Christmas (thanks mom!). My brother and his wife host and I get to bring the huge antipasto and all the cookies (18 different kinds this year!)

Wow !!! I forgot how many threads there were.
Did anyone mention Broiled Scallops wrapped with Bacon ???
LOU

Nina -
This must be the Portuguese variation on the cod cakes.

Maureen: You'll have to stop bumping me! I could get to like that !!!!!
Lou

Lou, bump bump. The bumps were to remind me to check this thread which you wanted to see ...remember???

And Lou, for my gracious gesture of bumping this thread up, could you please post your recipe for the stuffed calamari? It's been a long time since I cooked squid, and I like it in most forms ...esp cold in salad.

Maureen: My favorite is, in Gravy, on Spaghetti.

You can use the Salmon Cakes mix but
I would Nuke the Onions and Peppers for 2 minutes and
Substitute Immation Crab Meat for the Salmon.
Here is the Recipe, so you don't have to look for it.

LOUS - Baked Salmon or Crab Cakes

Chopped small , 1/3 cup of : Onion, Celery , Red Bell Pepper and
Micro wave for 2 minutes. Let it cool .

In a Bowl , put 1 - 14 ¾ oz. can of Pink Salmon or Crab Meat and
break up larger pieces. ( You can substitute Imitation Crab meat )
Sprinkle with : Black pepper and add:
½ teasp. of Garlic Powder , Onion Powder and ¼ level teasp.of Old Bay Seasoning.
2 level teasp. of Parsley flakes
3 heaping tablespoons of Mayonnaise
Fold and Blend this together and add: 1 cup each of Italian Bread Crumbs.

Beat 1 egg and add 1 teaspoon of Baking Powder, beat well.
Add this to the Salmon mix and blend with a fork ( Just enough to mix it through.)
If the mix is too wet add a little more Bread Crumbs

Make 6 Balls ( work easy ) and flatten slightly to 4 inches round and ¾ inches thick
.I baked them on a cookie tin , lined with Aluminum Foil, sprayed with Pam

Bake 20 to 25 minutes at 320 Degrees. Then brush with melted butter and
Broil on Low for 5 minutes or until a Golden Tan.
Serve Hot or freeze separated w Plastic wrap , in a Zip Lock or container.

Bon Appetite

Stuff the Calamari and sew or use toothpicks to close the ends.

You can cut the recipe in Half or make Crab Cakes with the
leftover.
Do you know how to make the sauce ???
LOU
PS When are you coming to the Pocono's ???

Michelle (msafirstein),

I just saw your request for some recipes, and hope I'm not too late. I haven't yet gotten Dad's recipe for linguini and clams on paper, but will find one that approximates how he does it and include that at the end. Fresh ingredients are the key.

Here's the others you requested. Happy Holidays!

Pasta with Garlic Reduction Sauce
The key to making this dish is to slowly burn the garlic and to reduce the final liquid until thickened.

1lb Penne pasta, cooked
3/4 C Olive oil
10 Garlic cloves -- sliced
2 C Chicken stock (a good stock is important; use canned low-sodium broth in a pinch)
1 Small head radicchio -- separate and rinse
3 C escarole -- rinse and tear into pieces

Heat olive oil in a saucepan.
Add sliced garlic and saute on medium until dark brown (takes about 10 minutes).

Carefully add chicken stock.
Continue to cook on a high-simmer, reducing the liquid until slightly thickened (about 20 minutes).

About 5 minutes before serving, add the radicchio and escarole.

Mix sauce with pasta and serve.

Note: Can add grilled shrimp or chicken to final dish.

===============================================
Shrimp Parmesan

40 Jumbo shrimp -- shelled and cleaned
16 oz. Mozzarella cheese -- sliced
1 1/2 C Pasta Sauce (see below)

Preheat oven to 375.
Spoon a little sauce in the bottom of a baking dish (I use glass dishes)
Arrange shrimp in single layer in baking dish.
Spoon a little tomato sauce over shrimp.
Cook shrimp until pink, about 15 - 20 minutes.
Remove baking dish and arrange mozzarella on shrimp - can spoon a little bit more sauce on top if desired.
Return to oven and bake for another 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Serving Ideas : Serve with garlic bread and pass some grated Romano or Parmesan cheese. Serve with angel hair pasta

Note: This is a fresh tasting dish that requires minimal fuss. I think the key is the fresh sauce with bright flavors, and a good pasta and garlic bread to round it out.

Quick, Fresh Sauce
4 T. olive oil
3 Garlic cloves, chopped fine (not minced)
2 cans fine quality tomatoes, crushed (I use RedPack)
Healthy sprig of fresh oregano, or 1 teaspoon dried.
Salt/Pepper
1 t. dried basil (or 10 or so fresh leaves sliced thin)

Heat oil in saute pan, then add garlic and saute over med/low heat for 2 minutes, taking care not to burn.
Carefully add crushed tomatoes; stir.

Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, then add oregano, and salt/pepper (to taste).

Cook 2 minutes more, taste, season as needed.
Turn of heat and stir in fresh basil shreds.

=======================================================

Roasted Salmon with Creamy Dijon Sauce

Olive Oil
4 Salmon filets or steaks
Salt/Pepper

Mustard Cream Sauce
3 Tablespoons Flour
3 Tablespoons Butter
3/4 Cup Milk -- warmed (or cream)
3/4 Cup Chicken stock -- warmed
3 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 Tablespoons White wine

Salmon:
Lightly coat a baking dish (I use glass) with oil. If grilling, coat an aluminum pan with oil.
Place salmon filets or steaks in dish, and top with salt and pepper.
Drizzle with a little extra oil.
Add some white wine to the pan, just enough to cover the bottom and come a 1/4 inch up the salmon.
Cook at 375 for 20 minutes or until desired doneness (we like it cooked through). Alternatively, grill indirectly on a hot, closed grill until done.

While fish is cooking (this can be done ahead of time as well)...

Sauce:
Melt butter in saucepan over medium-high heat
Add flour and combine.
Let cook, stirring for 2 minutes so it doesn't burn.
Add milk; whisk well.
Add chicken stock; whisk well.
Whisk constantly until mixture starts to thicken (thickening will begin to occur when sauce reaches boiling point)
Add mustard and wine.
Whisk until thickened.

Serve with salmon.

==========================================

If you just want the Dijon taste, but not the sauce, consider the following preparation:

Lightly coat a baking dish with oil.

Mix well 2 T. Dijon mustard (2 T.) and 3 T. mayonnaise (trust me), and slather on top of salmon.

Prepare a mixture of 1/2 C breadcrumbs (I coarsely grate fresh white or whole wheat) and 1/2 C Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs available in international section of most supermarkets).

Sprinkle breadcrumb mixture lightly on top of salmon, and drizzle lightly with olive oil.

Cook at 375° for 20 minutes or until desired doneness. Top should be golden and crunchy.
=============================================

I found this at a classic Italian cooking site, and it pretty much is how my Dad cooks it. some folks add red pepper flakes, but I'm not a fan of that.

Don't skip the parsley, it makes the dish. Serve with hot crusty bread to sop up the juices.

If you want some tomatoes for a 'red' variation, add a few handfuls of shopped tomatoes in with the clam juices.

Linguini White Clam Sauce
If the idea of shelling more than a dozen clams doesn't appeal to you, ask them to shell them for you at your favorite fish market. Just make sure they pack them with their juices when they give them to you.

Serves 4

3/4 cup of olive oil
4 cloves of Garlic chopped
1 and 1/2 Dozen Cherrystone Clams shelled and chopped with juices reserved (you can buy a bottle of clam juice, and also add some chicken stock or broth)
1 pound of linguini
2 Tablespoons chopped parsley

Heat olive oil in large saute pan over medium heat.
Add garlic, cook until lightly browned.
Add Clams with their juices, bring to a boil then lower heat to a simmer and cook for 5 more minutes.
While the sauce is cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and the linguini.
Cook uncovered over high heat until Al dente.
Drain pasta, put back in pot add some of the sauce to the pot and mix it up.
Dish out pasta spooning remaining sauce over top.
Garnish with chopped parsley.

Lou, I'm losing your train of thought..

Make the salmon or crab(fake or real) cakes, cook them, and then stuff THEM? into the raw calamari bodies...

Then what...simmer the lot in the sauce/gravy? Or have you steamed or some way cooked the squid before stuffing???

No rush...I have to get calamari sometime...but it won't be this week.

Believe it or not, I have never been to the Poconos tho I spent my early years (after Philadelphia) in Hazelton and I almost drowned in Harvey's Lake. More than you wanted to know, huh??? ;-)

Maureen: You already lost my train of thought.
Mix the Crab Cake mix. Don't cook it !!! Stuff the Squid .
Sew or use toothpicks to close the end.
Put some Marinara sauce in the pan. Lay the squid in the pan.
Put some of the Sauce on top and Bake in the oven, until tender,about 25 minutes.
I posted the Marinara Sauce in another post. I'll try to find it.
LOU

Maureen: I found it.

Marinara Sauce

Ingredients :
1 - 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
1 cup of Chopped Onions
1/2 cup of Chopped Green Peppers
4 Cloves of Garlic chopped small or
1 teaspoon of Garlic powder
Spices:
1/2 teaspoon of Basil
1/4 teaspoon of Oregano
1/4 teaspoon of Old Bay seasoning
1 Teaspoon of Salt, add more later to taste.
1 tablespoon of Sugar for acidity
1/3 cup of fresh Parsley or
3 tablespoons of Parsley flakes
1/4 teaspoon of Black Pepper
an Italian pinch of Red pepper, if you like it hotter.
I start with a 28 ounce can of Contadina or Tutto Rosso
Crushed tomatoes
I have used San Marsano but they cost 5 times more.
and I get the same results.
Put the Tomatoes in a pot, on the range top and start to
simmer. Total time about 30 minutes.
Add a little water if it is too thick, stirring often.
If you burn it, you get the wooden spoon treatment.
Meanwhile : Put the Onions , Green Peppers and Garlic,
in a Micro wave safe bowl with 2 tablespoons of water.
Nuke them for about 2 minutes , or until softened a little.
Then put them into the simmering Tomatoes.
Add all the spices.
When the Tomatoes have simmered at least 1/2 hour.
Give them a taste test . Add whatever spices you like.
I use a lot of garlic and parsley in Marinara Sauce.
I dont cook it as long as Spaghetti Sauce.
Lou

Thank you Lou...next time I make it to the big Asian market where they sell squid, I'll try to do this one. I think I now have all the bits of your recipe.

We've done a lot of Italian dishes this month which makes it seem like Christmas to me! Hard to believe I'm half Irish and half Lithuanian. ;-)

I'm wondering if Nancy Jean is still out there & how she fared?

For the first time ever I singlehandedly cooked the Christmas Eve fish fest...and everything was good! I even managed to sneak in a cat nap around 3 (sitting up on the couch but it was still a nap). My SIL wanted to bring stuffed clams but everything else was all me. And the best part was my mom sitting at the edge of the kitchen, keeping me company while I worked. It was almost like old times, when we'd be doing the cooking together.

Cooking started at noon, for dinner at 6 and I just made myself a schedule & paced myself. Everything got to the table hot (though some things did have to rest in the oven to stay warm).

We had our traditional bacala wrapped in dough & fried, along with some anchovies done the same way. With that first bite, hot out of the oil & long before the rest of the dinner was ready, it was truly Christmas.

Lou, it never occurred to me to seal the calamari so that the stuffing couldn't scoot out! I'm doing that next year because the bodies always end up on the other side of the pan no matter how loosely we stuff them. But we stuff them with a breadcrumb stuffing, like we do peppers or artichokes.

My mother was very pleased with how everything turned out & how truly traditional it was. I think the real reason for her sitting in the kitchen was to check out my technique, to make sure that the torch (or frying pan) was being passed to capable hands ;-)

msazadi- in a pinch you should be able to find calamari frozen & already cleaned (though fresh is nice...but the fresh that I got this year was positively tiny!).

Nina

Lucy, can I have your Struffoli recipe? My grandmother made them all the time, and although they're fried, I'd love to make them for my parents. Everyone knows I'm "fry phobic", but it would be a labor of love:-)
DONNA

Nina, what a wonderful day that sounds like. (I'll be the food was per-d good too.) My mother never cooked (Nana did all that) and she died when I was 35 so I've never had the experience of cooking with a relative. Nana used to shoo me out and away till I was a teenager and Julia Child on tv taught me to cook. You're a lucky woman to have the experience you did. A sigh from me.

Luuuuuuuuuuccccyyyyyy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Donna's calling you !

Nina; Why do you have to wait a year to make the Stuffed Calamari.
Make some for your mother now !!! and
use the same stuffing that you use in the Peppers.
LOU

LOOOUUUUUU!!!!!! I heard ya! I sent the info. to Donna

;-)

Tante grazie amici!!!!!

I'm going to check my e-mail right now, Lucy:-)

Lucy, how did you hear Lou calling you all the way from PA???
DONNA

OH Nina I so wanted to do the Fish Feast too! Your dinner sounds fabulous and I wish you had taken some pictures. I'd love to see the table.

I've always wanted to try it but there were too many last minute happenings for me to prepare a meal with all new recipes.

But I hope to try it next year.

Michelle

Nina,
How wonderful for you, and having Mom's approval too, what an accomplishment! The "TORCH HAS BEEN PASTED, TRULY"

Congrats!!

Since Christmas Eve was hosted by my cousin, all I made was a bacala salad as far as fish was concerned and while it's still fresh on my brain, I'll need to write out the recipe, so my daughter & son will have it in written form. Instead of a little of this & that :-)

My DD had purchased torrone on Mulberry St (Little Italy) in NYC. She didn't know that I had made it. Well! Mine received kudo's for having a better taste! Color was still off, I'll work on that..

Lucy

Yum, now that this year's feast is done, i have made my notes for next year's Christmas Eve. Everything was great, and there was more than enough food for leftovers and some doggie bags for the kids.

My only failure was the ravioli, which fell apart because they cooked at too high a boil.

The final menu....

Appetizers:
Hot artichoke dip (sis didn't get creative, but that's fine because it disappeared in a flash)
Antipasto salad
Fried calamari (flour, salt, and pepper, 375 degrees until golden)

1st course
Lobster Ravioli with butter/sage sauce ravioli's fell apart, sauce stunk - what a waste)

2nd Course
Dad's baked clams
Shrimp salad (jumbo boiled shrimp cut into bite-sized pieces, celery, lemon, olive oil, salt/pepper)

Main Course
Shrimp wrapped with prosciutto in white wine/chicken stock reduction
Crab cakes
Carmelized broccoli with garlic

Dessert
Dad's Tiramesu
Oreo Truffles
Assorted Home-made cookies, including peanut butter buckeyes

Tonight is leftovers, with some food from Christmas Eve, from Christmas Day (we cooked at my house and served it at a friends house), and from DH's birthday dinner at a nice restaurant in town that some of our friends hosted for DH (lucky me!).

s

Sorry I was not keeping up with the thread and then the holidays and out-of-town...yada..yada..yada!

Michelle? What's part of the calamari is the steak?!

The first time I ever had it was out in Las Vegas at one of the big hotels. It was an appetizer and just saute in butter. When we moved to boonieville, I found a local restaurant, closed a few years ago, that also had it on their menu again as an appetizer and prepared the same way. It is a large, solid piece of calamari about 6-7" long by about 4-5" wide. And you do need to cut it with a knife, it is not tough but solid like abalone with a milder taste. It must be one of the larger species of calamari.

The frozen calamari that Joe brought home was not very good, it tasted like it had been frozen for a long, long time and rather watery. I did not like it at all.

cookingrvc, thanks SO, SO much for taking the time to type up all those recipes. I have copied each one and have them saved for next year. I think I will practice a bit inbetween now and next Christmas Eve though. New recipes for a large dinner always make me nervous, especially with seafood!

Michelle

Lucy : Look what I got for Christmas !!!

{{gwi:2083072}}

But I took a bite Christmas Eve, While everyone was eating fish.
LOU

Lou, Yummo!!!
I don't know if you read in my post above, here it is once more:

My DD had purchased torrone on Mulberry St (Little Italy) in NYC. She didn't know that I had made it. Well! Mine received kudo's for having a better taste! Color was still off, I'll work on that..

Lucy

Michelle,
I had thought about taking pictures but I guess all of that frying wiped my brain smooth. ALso, after seeing that cookingrvc had dinner in nice, civilized courses while ours was more of a fish free for all I realized that our christmas eve dinner probably wouldn't photograph very well :-). Plus the picking that goes on while things are being cooked and who ends up getting smacked with a wooden spoon for trying to sneak a piece of something while it's cooling off.

We had (all thrown down on the table at the same time):

Baccala, wrapped in dough & fried
Alici (anchovies) wrapped in dough & fried
fried smelts (dredged in seasoned flour & quick fried)
fried calamari (same prep as smelts)
Baked baccala & potatoes
Baked, stuffed calamari (filled with the same stuffing we use for peppers but not sealed so the bodies shot across the pan away from the stuffing..next year I'm sewing them shut!)
fried shrimp (flour, eggs and panko)
angel hair with marinara sauce
salad (our nod to a green vegetable)
Stuffed clams (my SIL's contribution)

And I just now realized now that I forgot to make the fried flounder! But nobody even missed it (including me) or asked for it. I'd better let my mom know that it's still in the fridge.

The real trick was getting everything to the table hot but I was able to keep some things warm in the oven & saved the shrimp, smelts & calamari for last since they cook so fast.

Dessert was a bunch of assorted cookies, hazelnut cream puffs with dulce de leche filling (oh my GOD these are good) and pandoro, cut into layers like a Christmas tree & topped with a candle so that we could sing happy birthday to baby Jesus. No torrone. I had brought a box to my mom about a month ago but apparantly it got eaten. Funny how that happens!

Nina

Nina,
Funny! "picking that goes on while things are being cooked and who ends up getting smacked with a wooden spoon for trying to sneak a piece of something while it's cooling off"

I didn't pick at ALL!! ;-)

Here's what our Christmas Eve Dinner consisted of:

Appetizers:
Shrimp w/Cocktail Sauce
Stuffed Clams
Breaded Calamari Rings w/Tomato Hot Sauce
Various Cheeses & Crackers

First Course/choice of:
Linguine w/White Clam Sauce or
Angel Hair w/ Aglio e Olio (Garlic & Oil), sprinkled w/toasted buttered bread crumbs

The Freast!
Fresh Salmon Cakes
Flounder w/crab meat stuffing
King Crab Legs
Lobster Tails
Bacala Salad
Broccoli
Cauliflower

Desserts:
Tiramisu
Christmas Cookies
Torrone
Pandoro
Panettone

My DD trademark goodies:
Chocolate Covered & Decorated Pretzel Rods
Chocolate Covered & Decorated Marshmallows

There was a total of 12 of us, and way too much food, but then that's always the case.

Lucy

I think we're all getting into the act! What wonderful recipes, memories, and pictures! We did ours on the 23rd, and we're not Italian, but we love the idea.

I'll post pics soon. We had a seafood tower (shrimp, oysters, mussels), mini crab cakes, oysters rockefeller, seared sea bass over a spinach ball over vanilla saffron sauce, shrimp with feta, a seared scallop in brown butter, and last but not least, "Mac & Cheese" ala the French Laundry, which was lobster claws in a lobster stock infused creamy orzo pasta. My oh my!

I'm getting into the act too !!!!!

Lucy: I saw your Thread . I couldn't comment because,
I didn't see you new batch,to compare. Hint , Hint , Hint!

Went to my Daughters for Christmas Eve Dinner,
down near Philly.

Here is the Menu :

Christmas Eve 2007

Appetizers

Sardines, anchovies and smoked oysters
Roasted peppers and bread
Stuffed cherry peppers
Smoked salmon, cream cheese and capers on bagels
Breaded coconut shrimp with apricot mango wasabi
Steamed shrimp with sweet and tangy cocktail sauce
Mussells in garlic sauce
Clams casino

Polyanna S gift

Dinner

Lindas famous crab cakes
Striper fish freshly caught by Wendys mother
Stuffed calamari Joannas specialty
Pasta shells and little neck clams
Very little lobster tails
Fresh asparagus
Little red potatoes
Salad

Desserts

Pound cake, assorted homemade cookies by Ellen
Pizzelles by Ginny, pineapple upside cake by Lou

Happy New Year Everyone, You too Torrone !!!

Lou,
I need to find a source for those little lobster tails, do you know their name??? I haven't seen them around, but have heard of them.

They would workout so much better, with everything else going on. It's not a good thing to have leftover lobster tails!

Lucy

do you know their name???

I googled and found a reference to small lobster tails, 3-4 oz, being called Slip Lobster.

I would just get shrimp instead but I prefer shrimp over lobster any day.

Michelle

Thanks, Michelle

I haven't seen them, only have heard of these small lobster tails. Maybe next year we'll do Jumbo Shrimp w/a lobster stuffing & cut out lobster tails altogether.

Lucy

Lucy : I think she got them in Pathmart. No biggy !!!
I just as soon have Jumbo Shrimp but then you can't say,
" I had Lobster Tail "

Last year we had 1 full size Lobster Tail each.

We have a Poly Anna every year. Everyone brings a $5 gift.
Numbers are placed in a bag and everyone picks one.
If the next person likes the previous pick, they can claim it.

There is a different Letter every year, that we use for the gift
We used the word Christmas. We will have to use a new word now.
This year the letter was "S". The last " S " in Christmas.
I brought Shaving Razors, a pair of Socks, a pair of sissors and
a small bottle of Shampoo , all in one bag.
I won a container of Sea Salt and a can of Maine Maple Syrup.
LOU