This story is all about the challenge to out do last years dinner. Before we get into that there are a few things I’ll quickly clear up so you’re up to speed. Italian Christmas Eve is traditionally referred to as “The Feast of the Seven Fishes”. To understand the history of this Italian tradition and its origins, read this. To understand the Anello’s bastardized version of this yearly feast, review this or this. Now that that’s out of the way let’s get to the meat of the post, or should I say “the crustacean”.

Taking the seven potential fish dishes and focusing them on one fish done seven ways was a formidable challenge. It was first proposed back in September by my Uncle Brian, the ring leader of Anello/Nardone over-indulgence. Taking the challenge under consideration he and I began swapping recipes to attempt a sort of coup de grace Christmas Eve feast. The jury is still out whether we succeeded. Never-the-less, below are the dishes and stories from the front range (electric BTW) on what worked, broke, surprised and wowed.

Dish 1

Lobster Bisque

This rich and tasty soup made it’s debut 2 years ago. We decided after it’s short break on the bench last year it needed to come back into the starting lineup. It took us several days to break down our lobster allocation on paper. We ordered 31 lobsters and 3 pounds of lobster meat. The bisque called for two raw lobsters so the liquor inside the shell helped flavor the broth. We threw in an extra pound of meat for good measure and doubled up on the cream and booze. The result was a smash hit except for one minor detail. Thickness. We wanted a thicker soup than what resulted so we decided a quick roux would help us out. After all, how could more butter and flour hurt this thick, bold soup.

Dish 2

Lobster Roll

This summer was definitely the year of the lobster roll in NYC as well as perhaps the rest of the US. With Luke’s, Redhook Lobster Pound, Ed’s and, my own neighborhood favorite, Lobster Joint turning out as many sammy’s as their customers can claw up, I decided to pay homage to the trend with my own concoction. Granted I stole a few secrets from the aformentioned lobster leaders, researched Maine’s original recipes and did a bit of test kitchen work before calling anything “my own” Lobster salad (the base for any great roll). For me, the key is the cucumbers. Cucumber came up in a lot of recipes during research and I love the fresh taste. The Canadian is Indian. I know, confusing but go with it. My mother-in-law makes a mean raita, a traditional cucumber and yogurt Indian sauce. I thought I could borrow the principals of a raita to keep my lobster salad light and cool but still creamy and decadent. That should make for a winning roll. The trick payed off with amazing success. It was one of the best dishes of the seven for sure. The only downfall was finding the proper buns. Tough to do in NYC. Even tougher to do in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Where? Exactly.

Dish 3

Lobster Pouch

What can be better than a buttery To-Go pouch full of lobster? That’s obviously rhetorical but the answer, if you must, is nothing!…except maybe number 5 on this list. But for convienience you can’t beat this. Especially when you are preparing 6 more dishes to feed the hungry 20 plus people eagerly waiting at the 30 foot table next to the heated pool and jacuzzi. Yes, the difference between the kitchen and the table are worlds apart. Of course we didn’t just stuff these glistening pockets with straight lobster. Six tablespoons of unsalted butter, finely chopped scallions, some white wine, heavy cream, a pinch of flour and a little salt and pepper mixed with the 2 pounds of lobster formed our heart-stopping stuffing. After about 15 minutes in the 350 degree oven these crispy, flaky triangles welcomed us to discover their soft, moist surprise inside. Phyllo is a great ingredient to use to quickly and easily make something tasty and impressive. Next time you have some left over anything consider a phyllo pocket. You might just find your favorite new appetizer.

Dish 4

Lobster and Shrimp Risotto

We’ve had risotto on the menu for a few years now but we’ve laid off the lobster until now. Keeping in theme we tossed in a pound of lobster meat along with a pound of shrimp. I wanted to keep some of the silkiness of the risotto intact but  also wanted eaters to see the fish while they ate. The compromise was chopping the fish into about quarter inch pieces. The rest of the risotto was fairly standard. I like risotto cream free and so I normally just use stock (chicken in most cases). Since we had crazy amounts of lobster shells and dairy was in almost every dish, I followed suit. I substituted a cup of lobster stock for the chicken stock towards the end of the cooking process. It gave the rice just a bit more sea flavor to compliment the visual chunks of meat. Pure fish stock and no chicken stock would certainly make this too fishy. At the very end, after I added the lobster and shrimp, I finished the dish with 3/4 cup of heavy cream. Yes it was an over the top move but the table seemed to revel in the extra creamy, dairy driven delight each rice kernel contained as it grabbed some lobster and shrimp with each bite.

Dish 5

Lobster Lollipops

Lollipops were a bust. In theory they were great. On paper they were beautifully dramatic. In the kitchen they were a mess. The recipes we found all called for using raw lobster chunks in a beer batter on a stick. We substituted beer batter for tempura because we wanted a slightly lighter pop. (Don’t ask why. I know we are inconsistent.) As the deep fryer reached temperature our first few trials slipped from the stick, clumped up the batter and spit out the undercooked lobster. We needed to call an audible. We 86ed the sticks, changed the batter and made our lobster chunks bigger. We dropped those, sans sticks, straight into the fryer resulting in the perfectly cooked, organic looking batter designs you see above. To accompany this “saved” course we made a quick garlic/lemon aioli and an asian hot sauce based on Sriracha. A good save but not our best dish of the night. I’d be surprised if this sees a repeat visit next year.

Dish 6

Steamed Lobster with drawn butter

Of the 31 live lobsters purchased 21 were reserved for steaming. The evening usually starts with two giant propane fueled burners raging like  F16′s in the far corner of the pool. Atop these after burning torches sits two goliath steel pots filled with water. As soon as they begin to bubble we start dropping lobsters. About four per pot at 11 minutes a round. With a quick calculation I’m sure you realize this is a 4-5 batch operation and therefore takes a bit of time. One man is usually designated to this job as their sole task for the evening. I said man and I meant man. See, one odd thing about my family, which breaks the stereotypical Italian-American tradition, is woman don’t come in the kitchen at Christmas. It’s not that they are not allowed. It’s just that the men do all the prep, cooking and cleaning (or most of the cleaning). The woman sit out by the pool sipping wine, chatting and noshing as we send courses out to the table. It works out great but probably isn’t what you expect given The Sopranos and Goodfellas education you possess.

Dish 7

Lobster and Crab Cupcakes

The first picture of this story is the last official lobster dish. I though cupcakes would be fun to play with. To serve a savory cake last on the menu makes it that much more psychologically pleasing. The cake was not a flour cake at all. In fact it was the farthest thing from a cupcake. I modified a basic crab cake recipe to make it a little less dense and, of course, added in the lobster. These were placed in cupcake pans and put in the oven to warm and crisp up. In the mean time I prepared a lemon tarragon cream for the frosting. Most of you know I don’t subscribe to the molecular gastronomy craze but in this case it seemed appropriate. I pulled the hot cakes from the oven and tried to frost one. As I triggered foam from my nitrous charged container the heat from the cakes blew the frosting off the cake top. I tried a second cake. Same result. I realized there was a barrier created by the hot cake and the very cold foam. When the two would collide they would repel each other spraying the foam away from the cake. Very cool to see the science in action. A quick remedy was to allow the cakes to cool just enough for this barrier to be eliminated. When the cupcakes hit the table we heard oooohs and aaahs but they were barely touched. It seemed the previous six courses had taken their toll on the stomachs of the eaters. The kitchen quickly snapped up a few. They were tasty but next year I’ll opt for mini cupcakes so they become bite sized finishing snacks.

Despite the full bellies we kept going with a few audibles and creative twists.

Addition 1

Lobster and Shrimp Stuffed Puff

About midway through the above frenzy we created this dish from the left over risotto stuffing. Mixing in some scallions and old bay we created a make shift stuffing for a box of puffed pastry found in the auxiliary refrigerator. Yes, we were operating in a double refrigerator situation. It’s a glorious thing. Again we had used a buttery, flakey vessel to deliver our savory lobster and shrimp. This was another big hit at the table. We started to see a theme. Flakey, warm, buttery dough is king.

Addition 2

Lobster Shaped Strawberry Semifreddo

As a final lobster dish and the inevitable bridge to the dessert course, I decided to whip up a strawberry semifreddo. Recently I have become quite interested in alternative cream desserts beyond the typical ice cream. I blame the panna cotta and gelatos in Italy. I topped the semifreddo with finely chopped strawberries to give the bottom a bright red color and add some extra flavor. My intention was to create a giant lobster using a cake mold but all I could get my hands on was a cookie cutter. So I made baby lobsters. Truthfully not the prettiest or easiest of dishes but it did taste great. One miscalculation was with the water content of the strawberries. They froze solid making the cutting difficult. I should have macerated them with some wine or booze. This would have kept them from completely freezing because of the alcohol. Lesson learned. In the end I discovered a semifreddo to be a simple alternative to home made ice cream if you don’t have an ice cream maker on hand. Give it a a try.

You may be wondering who ate all this food.
There are too many people to name. The house is sort of a swinging door of friends and family on Dec 24th. Below is a glimpse into the core family and main eaters of the 4 day, seasonal food extravaganza. Chalk each of them up for about 40,000 calories each. Of course yours truly is missing from the shot but believe me, I ate.

The Eaters

If you know anything about how our family celebrates the holidays it is not like your ordinary family holiday. No, our holidays is packed with a ridiculous amount of food. Basically, if there is 10 people coming to eat we cook for 30. What do you expect, were Italian and we like to eat our delicious food more than just one day. We eat it over the course of a week, sometimes more. For instance, for dessert we made 15 different christmas cookies. Some of them were made 3x the regular recipe amount. Lets put it this way, picture your family dining room table that seats about 8. Now picture that entire table filled with tins of christmas cookies some 2 or 3 tins high. Oh and by the way, we also had a few cakes to make things interesting. Here is the rundown of the homemade goodness:

Black and White

Butter Horn

Pignoli Cookie

Long Walnut Cookie

Chocolate Filled Cookies

Tortalina

Rainbow Cookie

Chocolate Brownie Cookie

Peanutbutter Cookie

Gumdrop Cookie

Cherry Cookie

Butterfly Cookie

Butter Cookie

Pistachio Cherry Biscotti

I mentioned earlier that we had 15 different cookies but if you were counting I only have pictures of 14. There was a new comer to the christmas cookies this year. The Ricotta Minicakes and they were such a hit that they were all eaten before I could take a picture of it. I guess everyone was curious about the new cookie and they were really good so they went fast. No worries, I’m sure they will make it to christmas again next year.

I think our wine choices explains the general feel of all the men and woman in our house today. We hope you all are having a great, tasty, over-filling day.

Nonsense happens at the holidays. I am sure for many families that comes in different forms. With no surprise my families nonsense comes in edible form. The crux of this derelict family trait is THE COOKIE TABLE. It sits in the corner of the dining room and taunts us all with silent sweetness. The first “official” cookie course doesn’t come until Christmas Eve but each of us quickly falls into temptation after the confectionery seduction uncrosses it’s proverbial legs. By the time dessert on Christmas Eve arrives each of has already dipped our fingers into one or more of the tightly sealed but loosely guarded cookie tins.

Every last dessert is made with an ingredient that I find precious and necessary to make delicious food. From my Aunt Joy’s pignoli cookies to my mom’s tortalina’s, pictured above, each has at least a half cup of love as a main ingredient. Now that might seem like whimsical bullshit but every single person I have ever seen eat a cookie off the table lights up with their first bite. I’m not implying back flips and cartwheels but if you take notice there is a little flicker as their incisors crack into the sweet dough like an internal dimmer switch was turned up.

This cookie table taunts us for three days as we struggle to keep away from it while preparing lunch, dinner and even breakfast. I thought I’d share some of the addictive residents calling this years table home so you can attempt to understand the crisis my family is subjected to each year. Ironically it’s self inflicted. Double ironically we are oblivious to our vice.

1. Tortalina (pictured above)

These are the most decadent and delicate of all the cookies. Two separate batters make up their character. A flakey outside crust cups a deep, rich decadent nut, brown sugar and vanilla flavored center. A powdered sugar drizzle completes the process. These are most irresistible late at night. Sneaking them causes powdered sugar trails so be careful to not wear the evidence. They also take a long time to make. Therefore, there is a lower numbers of them on the table. If too many of these are stolen it results in others noticing the dwindling tortalina population.

2. Orange-Crasin Cookies

New to the line up these bad boys tempt the tummy any time of day. A great breakfast coffee dunker is part of their charm. Luckily they come in abundance and are fast to make. The downside, they never run out. They are always bragging about their crunchy exterior and chewy soft interior. If a cookie could talk these would be stand up comedians.

3. Chocolate Truffles

The chemical warfare agent of the cookie world. These bad boys are silent until the first bite. They lure you in with their smooth and rounded tops and dropped white lace decoration. Once you bite you fall hard into the deep, dense chocolate center. It assaults your stomach as quickly as your tongue shooting signals around your body almost as fast as when you stepped on that rusty nail as a kid. Of course, it’s the good kind of pain.

4. Rainbow Cookies

A classic and a staple. In the Italian culture these fall in the same iconoclastic category as the horn, wife beater, IROC-Z and chicken parmigiana. Make no mistake that this cake-in-a-cookie disguise is a birth right. Eating one is more of a mandate instead of a choice. At least that is how we rationalize the consumption. The edible version of a nations flag is a tough thing to resist particularly when fruit preserves separate the colors.

5. Russian Tea Balls

Think palette cleanser between cookies. These scrumptious balls are lined up like powdered sugar soldiers in their airtight bunker waiting to be airlifted by a pair of sticky fingers into the tunnel labyrinth behind enemy lines that is your throat. I guess that description is a bit more Vietnam than the Cold War inferred name but in any case these deceiving simpletons pack a flavor punch and once across the DMZ fill up the tummy quickly. Tread lightly with these.

6. Gum Drop Cookies (top)
7. Butterhorns

Gum Drops are just what you think. A baked version of the childhood original candy. The colorful bite sized treats are surrounded by doughy goodness and then frosted. Probably the simplest on the table but that doesn’t mean they get ignored.

Butterhorn’s are another time consuming baking process. These cookies fall into the same delicate scrutiny as the tortalina’s. A butter dough is rolled out very thin and then cut into a triangle. It is sprinkled with cinnamon and finely chopped walnuts then rolled up into what look like mini croissants or “horns”. Although not inherently evil they will still get you in trouble.

8. Pignoli Cookies

A delicate darling but made right they trump the entire table. My aunt Joy’s rule the roost and at $40 per pound for the pignoli nuts they are the most costly as well. Unfortunately these are so easy to wack down and she makes so many, that it sometimes feels like you have one of these between every course. If I was stranded on a desert island with only one item on my cookie table it would be a pignoli. In fact, I think I need one now.

9. Butterflies

A cast iron, butterfly shaped sweetness wand is dipped in a simple batter and dunked into 400 degree oil. Deep fried to perfection they are then splashed with honey and sprinkles. Lots of people probably make these cookies in different shapes, sizes and styles but in this family it’s strictly a butterfly thing. Every household has the same iron and they are passed down generation to generation. That adds generational love to every cookie. Very powerful.

10. New York Style Cheesecake

You may already know of my penchant for the Italian cheesecake. I prefer the ricotta over the cream cheese any day unless that day is December 25th. My Uncle Doug kills it in the cheesecake department. I am not sure how the ricotta was lost when the Sicilians came over from Italy but the ingredient switch to cream cheese makes a denser and richer cake. Perhaps it should be blamed on the Jews and the overlap between NYC neighborhoods. This might also explain why Jews and Italians are so similar. Regardless of the reason, this graham cracker bottomed goodness sits a few feet from the table in the refrigerator but not out of reach of my paws. Those in the know also make the quick stop for a a forkful. It’s density makes it a lingering treat. Usually one of the last items to finish, we consume the cake as a delicate-bite-dessert instead of the “grab and go” chaos some of the other sweets endure. The moral of all this; keep an eye out for the non-direct table stuff.

11. Cannoli Cake

This is always crazy hyped as the best cake at Christmas. Personally, I beg to differ but filled with all the ingredients of a cannoli mixed with cake batter can’t really be bad. This is the only item not homemade but it’s close enough because we have the baker make this cake special for us each year.

12. Kiss Blossom
13. Chocolate Filled Walnut Cookies

Imagine a Hersey’s kiss jumped out of a burning building and a fresh ball of cookie dough broke its fall. Then imagine they were placed back in that burning building for 7 minutes, turned 180 degrees and removed after another 7 minutes. That is a Kiss Blossom. A layered and delightful contrast with the ability to distinctively taste the chocolate and the cookie dough in each bite.

Walnut cookies are one of my favorites. As a kid I pounded these down by the dozen. My mom traditionally makes them in logs icing them with red or green for the holidays and then slicing them into half inch wide cookies. Down south chocolate is folded into the logs before they hit the oven baking a rich velvety center into the light and brittle walnut dough. Iced the same it turns this childhood classic into an adult deviance.

14. Mini Marshmallow Topped Fudge

Watch yourself here. Danger. You can use these to build a cookie tin to keep all the other cookies fresh. That’s how dense they are. A tiny square goes a long way but with nuts inside and marshmallows on top there is just enough to break up the chocolate and trick you into grabbing another one. This is also a new addition to the table this year but they fared quite well against some of the classics. They play nice with a pignoli or a butterhorn but are sworn enemies of the truffles and cheesecake. Eat them in moderation and have milk or coffee at the ready.

I hope that I have been able to properly explain the incredible indulgence my family and I have to endure each year. I even hope I have inspired some of you to dig deep into the recipe books and perhaps pull out that long lost family recipe. If you do watch for that little glimmer that lights up in peoples eyes when they take a bite. But, what ever you do, don’t set them on a table out in the open. They will taunt you until you break. Unless of course you are that masochistic type.

Christmas is NOT historically about giving. The modern day Christmas has become a frantic race to buy “crap” for people who you think will by you “crap” before the date reaches an arguably, fictitious, birthday in December. Today’s modern American culture has produced a true Christmas in July. More and more each year I hear that people start shopping for Christmas back in the summer. By comparison, people get engaged after dating for less time, spend less time organizing their finances for their tax return and plan expensive family vacations in a quarter of that time. Add to that fabricated days like “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday” and the frenzy hits pandemonium status. Major big box chain stores open their doors at 4am. Retailers run sales called “door busters”. Really? That passed Kohl’s legal review? Why don’t they just call it “leg breakers” or “throat slashers”. Saving $10 on a $40 toy that will be played with for 5 minutes before your kids attention moves to the next gift hardly seems worth it. But then again, I don’t have kids.

I am sorry about the rant but I wanted to raise an eyebrow or two, make you think a little and set up a solution to this maddening cultural disaster. When, and if (Mom), I do have kids all presents except one will be edible. I wish I could say this practice is in full effect in my family (Thanks Uncle Doug for the awesome iPod alarm clock) but we are getting there. Giving edible gifts solves a few problems. First, it eliminates thinking about and buying Christmas gifts in July. In fact Black Friday and Cyber Monday will cease to exist as well. Second, You don’t have to worry about the gift fitting or being disliked by the recipient. Watch what they eat on December 23. Go to the market and get that. Simple. Done.  Third, No one has ever busted down a door to get into a butcher shop before 100 other people so they could get a discounted piece of meat. On a side note, never buy discounted meat. There has to be a reason why it is discounted and trust me, it is not because they produced too many cows this month at the factory and need to move the inventory. Fourth, It is sharable. Edible gifts promote curiosity, conversation and comradery (we talk a lot about that on this blog). Fifth, and finally, If by some reason you don’t like the gift it is out of your system and life in no more than 24 hours. We don’t like to discuss that on this forum but think about it for a second…..Ahhhh, yep, you got it.

I have narrowed the edible category of gifts down to a simple, easy to remember phrase that applies not only to Christmas but to any gift giving occasion. GIVE MEAT! Meat is universal. Excluding vegetarians, vegans, Hindus, Buddhists, Jainists, slaughter house workers, Seventh-day Adventists, Rastafari, Hare Krishnas, people in PETA and my friend Kevin, who doesn’t LOVE meat?

I have been practicing this for years in our house. The 6 bone ribeye roast above has become the staple gift of Christmas day. The first thing we open is the roast. Everyone gathers around and gawks. Then we dress it up in its Christmas best and get it spinning. As the day progresses everyone is always peeking into the kitchen and checking on the meat. Our olfactory systems are acutely tuned to that first wiff of hot, crisping beef fat mixed with fresh herbs and garlic. With the meat as the king of gifts the turkey is the queen. The royal court changes from year to year but always is made up of an incredible line up of antipasti, casseroles, sauces, dips, bread, and desserts. This year was no exception.

Instead of calling out each dish I felt it better to post the below slide show. It will show all the gifts, both edible and non-edible. Hopefully through the slideshow you can see the joy around the giving of meat as well as the curiosity, conversation and comradery I mentioned earlier.

I can barely move. I am not kidding. For the last 168 hours I have done very little but eat. My goal to eat smart and healthy between Thanksgiving and Christmas succeeded but I find myself asking to what end. Since the 24th I have put an ungodly amount of food down my throat. The best recap would be here. But let’s see if we can do a quick run down below.

12 dozen homemade cookies
11 piping hot side dishes
10 Tiger Shrimps a leaping
9 lobsters dancing
8 made of milk and cream sauces
7 fishes on Christmas eve (look for the post)
6 bone ribeye roast (another post)
5 linguine and clam sauce rings
4 plus 21lbs of turkey bird
3 french garlic breads
2 plates of lobster/crab risotto
1 Cold Stone creamery run

On the way home from the beach today I stopped by this market/restaurant for a late lunch. A few years back my grandma and uncle had taken me here. The great part about this joint is that they have the freshest fish around because their main business is supplying all the local restaurants. When you walk in there are always fresh catch specials and deals of the day.

I decided on a bucket of peel and eat shrimp

And this jerked dolphin sandwich. Both hit the spot after a long day on the beach. If you are interested in the full Florida set, check it out here.

New England Fish Market
1419 NE Jensen Beach Blvd.
Jensen Beach, Florida
772-334-7324

I know I told you guys that the eating goes on all week. Today is when it all gets a little more relaxing. Everything is cooked already the work is only in deciding what you are going to craft from the myriad of options. Here we have a fresh turkey sandwich with lettuce, tomato and mustard. On the side some cauliflower and eggplant caponata. If you are interested in the full Florida set, check it out here.

Christmas day starts off with a bang, and I am not talking about a frenzy induced, wrapping paper ripping, gift mania. I am talking about food. For better or for worse, my family does not do much if there is not food involved. I woke up in my grandmothers house which is covered in Santa Claus’. My parents were already stirring. My father had on coffee and my mom was making eggs. It was only about 9:30am. The tree, gift ceremony and “real” food would be back at my Uncle Doug’s. Kickoff? 10:30am.

Ant woke up, grandma came out of her room in her favorite new Christmas outfit. I have one of those awesome grandmas that has several outfits for each holiday. Love her! By this time the coffee and eggs were ready and the family had a quick Christmas breakfast before loading into the car and heading over to my uncles.

On the left is out breakfast and on the right is meat pie. Meat pie is a specialty made by my Uncle Brian’s favorite deli in Tampa Florida. He has the same feelings about this pie that my Aunt Joy has about an Apple Crisp, but we will get to that a little later. As we enter my Uncle Doug’s house before you see any people you see meat pie. The warm and delicious scents set off olfactory alarms as you get bombarded with Merry Christmas hugs, kisses and the occasional hi-five. As the hellos subside I wandered into the dining room to find a table already filled with antipasti.

Homemade eggplant caponota and fresh made hot soppressata. We noshed for a while but then some of the prep for dinner could not be put off any longer. The trick was to get all of the big dishes going and then start the 4 and a half hour present ceremony. The idea is, once we are done with gifts dinner would be ready. Tonight we had a turkey and a prime rib as the main event. As sides, there was probably 4 or 5 of them. But before all that we had to rig up the Prime rib on the, now standard tradition, Ron Popeil Showtime Rotisserie.

The roast and the turkey go into their respective warming vessels and the gift giving, getting, ripping, playing begins. Highlights from this year include a special golf club, a Yankee Shakespeare mask, an awesome truck for little Nate and a convertible for my grandma. Just as planned about 30 minutes after we finished with the gifts, dinner was piping hot and ready to go.

23lbs Turkey and 8lbs Prime Rib

My now famous cauliflower dish(recipe at bottom). Roasted Asparagus with toasted breadcrumbs. Moms Italian stuffing (some goes in the turkey but we always do a separate dish too because it is a crowd favorite). And of course we can not forget the fettuccine alfredo (pictured at top). Shortly after that we slide into, yep you guessed it, dessert.

This is a homemade, giant peanut butter cup made by Amy. I have never seen anything like this before. It was outstanding.

Of course it was accompanied by several familiar friends from last night and the apple crisp I mentioned earlier. Forgive me for not having a picture of it. In my meat and sugar induced coma I must have forgot to snap a pic of the deconstructed, crustless, apple pie. My aunt made quick work of it anyway, so the chances of getting an appropriate picture would have been low.

As the evening came to a close I think my grandma expressed it best with her simple, wordless expression in this picture.

If you are interested in the full Florida set, check it out here.

Cauliflower and Chick Peas
ingredients:
1 head Cauliflower-cut into small florets
2 Lemons juiced
zest of 2 lemons
1 can garbanzo beans
capers-just a little
caper brine if so desired
Parsley-chopped
olive oil

directions:
Coat cauliflower lightly with olive oil. Roast cauliflower in Baking dish for an hour at 400 degrees. Let cool. Mix with all other ingredients. Serve warm or at room temperature

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house ever creature was stirring except a mouse. We just finished a feast made up of copious amounts of seafood, cheese, olive oil and vino. Not that I am surprised. This happens every year. Italian families have this Christmas Eve tradition called the Feast of the Seven Fishes. Now, started in southern Italy back in teh day the meal consisted of, well, seven fishes. Over the years, the country skipping and the desire to mix up the menu have sort of modified the traditional seven fishes to be more of a it-has-something-from-the-sea-in-it menu. Before I get into examples lets set the stage a little more. My brother and I pulled up to my Uncle Doug’s house a few hours ago with my parents in the car. That is 4 people. Start counting. Already at the house was Debbie, Sunshine, Lisa, Sonny, Paco, Paco’s mom, Paco’s grandparents, Stu, Nate, Stephanie, Billy, Aunt Joy, Uncle Brian, Jonathan, Amy, Josh, Stu’s wife, my grandma and, of course, my Uncle Doug. That would equal, say it with me, 24 people.

Because my uncle believes in one lobster per person, and I am one of the relied on cooks in the family, I parked the car went in the front door, kissed everyone hello, walked out the back door and went straight into steaming 25 lobsters. (the 25th one was for good measure) As that was going on, I was prepping the mussel dish, Uncle Bri was heating up two Quiches, Uncle Doug was shucking clams, Ant was chopping herbs, mom and Debbie were setting the table and everyone else was running around doing various tasks in between glasses of wine. Part of the fun of this night is seeing how much vino you can get in your system before you actually sit down and start eating. About an hour and a half later we were ready to plate and sit down at the table. One of the big tricks, and a personal pet peeve, is timing everything so it hits the table at the same time and is hot. Tough to do with all the food and the limited heating elements available.

Uncle Bri’s mussels in Wine and Basil. Stephanie’s crab cakes. delicious.

Raw and against the law clams on the half shell. Uncle Brian’s Lobster quiche. Man, does that man like his lobster.

What happens next might be quit alarming. Shortly after the last mussel is slurped up and the final bit of meat is squeezed from the last lobster leg, the scent of coffee brewing fills the air signaling it is time for dessert. Try and keep in mind that these desserts last the entire week of eating from Christmas Eve to New years day. I don’t really think that will help you understand this any better so I am just going to jump into this.

Chocolate stuffed walnut cookies (Uncle Doug)
Cream cheese cookies with jelly fill (joy)
Chocolate dipped cookie balls (doug)

Butterhorns(camille)
Rainbow cookies (joy)
Tortalina (camille)
American cheese cake (doug)
Peanut butter kiss cookies
Butterflies (doug)
Assorted goodness
Pignoli cookies (joy)
Italian cheesecake

That about wraps up the evening. I need to go lie horizontally for a while. After all, it is a only 6 hours until Christmas and the whole feeding frenzy starts again. You are not going to want to miss tomorrows update. If you are interested in the full Florida set, check it out here.