So everyone curious what we make for Christmas at our house?
Well, on Christmas Eve we do Italian. Boy is half Sicilian so we do the "Feast of the Seven Fishes" as they call it -- all fish, all the time. It's a celebration found more so among Italian-Americans, and not widely celebrated in native Italy anymore. It dates back to Roman times when the early Christian church would sanctify holy days with a period of fast. This includes abstaining from eating meat, so Italians would look to the sea for their foods on these days instead. The birth of Jesus, being one of the most holiest of days was no exception to this rule, and so we would abstain from meat that day as well. As for the number 7, that's up for debate. Some say it's in reference to the number's meaning: perfection. Others say it refers to the number of the holy sacraments in the Catholic church, while others point to Creation and the idea it took God 7 days to make the earth and all in it. Given it's Christ's birthday, I'd go with option A: perfection. That seems to make the most sense.
Well, we don't go through and do all 7 courses of fish. For 2 adults and 2 little ones that's a little intense. But we have narrowed it down to a couple of courses of delicious yums:
I make Shrimp Aragonate for appetizer, which is shrimp roasted with a garlic-parmesan bread crumb topping. And then we make a big pot of Cioppino -- shellfish, white fish, basil and garlic in a tomato broth that is to die for, served with crostini to dip into the broth.
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| [Cioppino with shrimp, mussels, clams, and halibut in a spicy garlic-tomato broth] |
And then for our pasta course I do Stuffed Shells, a play on the seafood theme. I stuff mine with a kale-spinach mixture with ricotta cheese, parmesan, and herbs and bake it off with marinara sauce and shredded fontina. Recipe forthcoming in the cookbook!
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| [Stuffed Shells with kale and spinach] |
The Hubsters and I love English Christmas. Like, are unabashedly insanely in love with it. All of it. The carols, the medieval stuff, the holly AND the ivy...the whole lot. So the last two years we've done an English deal for Christmas Day. And that, of course, is a Christmas Roast of Prime Rib!
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| [Prime roast of beef] |
For sides, I do mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, and Yorkshire pudding.
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| [mashed potatoes, yorkshire pudding made in the same pan the prime rib roasted in, creamed spinach] |
And then for dessert we an assorted cookie and marshmallow galore! The recipes for the Peppermint and Creme Brulee marshmallows will be in the cookbook. Also pictured are THE brownies (check TES for recipe!), Lemon Blossoms (recipe also previously posted), and Italian Spice Cookies which I plan to blog in the next few days.
So there you have it. Christmas Enchanted Spoon style! Merry Christmas everyone and have a happy and safe holiday.
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