Christmas 2017

I've written before that holidays are always a big food event for my family, Christmas especially. We typically have two specific meals - one focused on fish for Christmas Eve (we do a version of the Feast of Seven Fishes) and a different traditional meal for Christmas day. 

Christmas Eve

Frying, baking, prep, etc. on various shellfish.

Capellini w/ "Fish Sauce"

My family refers to this as "fish sauce" - in reality it's marinara sauce cooked with crabs in it. It's traditionally served over delicate capellini, aka angel hair. No cheese on this!

Butterflied Shrimp

Garlic Herb Butter

Fritto Misto

Fried Mushrooms, Zucchini, Squid, Scallops

Salad

Arugula, Beets, Goat Cheese, Orange, Pomegranate Seeds

Cassata

Sponge Cake, Ricotta, Marzipan, Candied Fruit

I used to hate this, but I've learned to appreciate the unique flavors of this very sweet Sicilian cake. 

Pecan Pie

This is a food blog, but I couldn't resist including a shot of my parents' beautiful Christmas tree.

Christmas Day

Some pre-dinner snacks, including pâté, roasted red peppers, marinated artichoke hearts, and eggplant. 

Lasagna

This is my family's multi-generational traditional lasagna, and is one of my favorite things to eat in the entire world. It's production is a multi-day affair, as it involves many ingredients: two preparations of sasage (one fried, one cooked in the sauce or "gravy"), tiny dime-sized meatballs, finely diced salami, diced hard-boiled eggs, ricotta, mozzarella, and marinara sauce.