Italian 7 Fishes Christmas Eve

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Christina Smith

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Aug 3, 2024, 5:27:07 PM8/3/24

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Today I have the enormous honor of welcoming Robert Tinnell, one of the authors of Feast of the Seven Fishes: The Collected Comic Strip and Italian Holiday Cookbook and of the Seven Fishes Blog.

When I was kid, eating fish on Christmas Eve was just something you did. We never called it by name. I never even bothered to question why we did it, especially as I had not been raised Catholic. All I knew was that December 24th meant a delicious meal of exotic foods, cooked up by my ancient great-grandmother, Isabella Oliverio, on her wood-fired stove in the basement of her modest home in Rivesville, WV.

Once I finally took an interest in recapturing the magic of the Feast of the Seven Fishes, far too many older relatives had passed away. Fortunately my grandfather and his brothers were still alive and took me under wing, initiating me into the wonder of the preparation of the Feast, as well as the viability of polkas as Christmas carols.

The dinner itself is a marathon, however, and is no longer limited to seven fishes. Instead it has evolved into a melting pot of traditional family recipes and new and exciting efforts. The smelt and whiting and baccala and eel, all prepared using the methods passed down through my family, sit snugly beside the octopus (grilled over open flame and served over a bed of sea salt) and the grilled sardines (drizzled in lemon juice atop anchovy angel hair pasta).

I did read about this event in her place and was really surprised to hear about the italian tradition of fish .
Actually till yesterday when i read the event, i thought turkey was the tradition for everybody.
I cannot even recreat my moms rdishes, i can but i always remark the taste is not same as when she is making.

These days Christmas is my love and myself since he is critical on call to his company. But that is okay. We have each other and we have all that we need in life. The important things. Our home, health, love and life.

I keep the tradition of The Feast of The Seven fishes and we all look forward to our favorite every year. My husbnad loves baccala, I love lobster, my son love the stuffed squid and my daughter the breaded and fried shrimp! My mouth is watering just thinking about it. There is nothing better than bing together and celebrating Jesus birth than in this happy and delicious meal.