Happy New Year..and for my fellow Italian friends Buon Anno

Being Italian is truly a blessing. Well, most of the time. Most Italians are really simple people. Everything is about the family. ESPECIALLY THE FOOD. For Italians, sitting around the table is something that is taken as seriously as going to church on Sundays. This is how "Sunday lunch" came to be. I will talk about Sunday lunches another time.

Fish. For years, I thought that we only ate Fish on Christmas Eve because it was holy obligation that the Catholic Church created. Well, most of my classmates in Catholic school were Italian, my teachers were either Italian, married to an Italian or just plain wanted to be Italian (LOL- some humor). So each year, we spoke about how groce it was that our mothers served "bacala" on Christmas Eve.

Well, after 36 years, I am now clear on the subject. Eating fish on Christmas Eve is an Italian tradition, not a Catholic one. I have to say, "Thank God for Italian traditions!" The very food I didn't like as a child warms my heart today. It is like I explained in a previous blog post, foods made by MOM bring you back to some loving memories. My mother is the oldest sibling in her famiy, so growing up, Christmas Eve was always at Mom & Dad's house. 36 years later, Christmas Eve is still at Mom & Dad's house.

Like most other Italian families, we fit 26 people in the basement of a Vancouver Special home. It doesn't matter that the plates and cutlery don't match. What matters is that you come ready to celebrate Christmas and the family.

Now if you are a new comer, you'd better bring earplugs. Especially if you are not Italian. About 9 years ago, my cousin brought her new boyfriend (now husband) to Christmas Eve dinner. As soon as I met him, I loved him. I saw such kindness in his eyes. I very quickly noticed something else. He was quiet and shy. After that evening, he was either going to propose to my cousin or dump her. Thankfully, he was strategically seated next to my father, who ensures all drink merrily along with him. My father is not typical of most Italian men when he drinks. He actually becomes alot of fun (unless something goes wrong with the food).

To bring myself back on topic, our Christmas Eve menu looks like this:

Pasta with Salmon
Pasta with plain tomato sauce (for the non fish eaters)
Steamed Broccoli
Steamed Rappini (broccoli rabe)
Prawns sauteed with brandy a la flambe
Bacala (salt cod)
Tuna salad (for the non fish eaters in my family, who apparently can like only tuna from the fish family)
Vegetable salad (this is a newer menu item, made with tons of love by my sister in law)
Garden Salad (radicchio grows in cold weather)
dessert - Fennel & Mandarin oranges

Just before everyone leaves for midnight mass, cookies and espresso is served. For those Italians that have westernized themselves, coffee is served earlier. However, for my parents, coffee is known as the "gentle kick out the door".

Now my father is a culinary cook and butcher by trade, so the family meal and gathering is a very important event for him. So two things cannot happen. We cannot run out of any dish, (that would signify that not enough was made)and we have a change in the menu. I was almost uninvited when I said I would bring crabcakes this year. Whoa.....

Below, I have attached a recipe for Bacala. It really is tasty. My mother follows a very similar recipe.

http://www.astray.com/recipes/?show=Bacala%20alla%20vincentina

My moms secret to Pasta with salmon is so simple. She makes a basic tomoto sauce and then opens about 3 cans of salmon and gently places then to simmer in the sauce. This is actually a great meal for those of you who are short on time. Your meal is made up of protein and carbs.

My father marinates his prawns in sliced onions. When he cooks them, he cooks the prawns alone in garlic, spices, olive oil and brandy. Here is a link to assist you with the "flambe"

http://whatscookingamerica.net/flambe.htm

I hope you enjoy these recipes. May they bring as much warmth to you as it does to me.