With the departure of Eric back to work, the whirlwind known as Christmas has come to an end. He arrived Christmas Eve, and he and his mother cooked the traditional Italian Feast of the Seven Fishes. That was followed by the viewing of Scrooged!, Bill Murray’s take on A Christmas Carol (see previous post). I was surprised Eric had never seen that version. We had a modest exchange of Christmas gifts the next morning, and the day was spent lounging around watching Netflix football, eating cookies, drinking eggnog, and cooking up some steaks we’ve had in the freezer for some time and needed to get rid of before the trip out west. This morning he flew out the door to get back to work, taking every leftover he could find.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Feast of the Seven Fishes, it is a meal consisting solely of seafood, originating from the Catholic prescription of abstaining from meat on the eve of selected holy days. No one quite knows how the number 7 came to be the traditional number of dishes, but seldom do people make 7 dishes. Except my son - he latched onto this meal and insists that seven seafood courses be served. He does quite a lot of the actual cooking, so his mother lets him have run of the kitchen (almost). Here is the menu, with pictures below:

  • Shrimp cocktail
  • Lobster Mac and Cheese bites
  • Stuffed Mushrooms with crab
  • “Da Tuna.” This is raw tuna that has been soaked and fermented in an oil-based mixture with spices for 60 days prior to Christmas. My father-in-law used to prepare this beginning in late October, and he passed this recipie on to my wife’s cousin, who has passed it on to his children. This year we were gifted with a jar of it, and it’s so delicious. It’s called “Da Tuna” in honor of my father-in-law’s Italian accent: “I make-a da tuna.” It brings strong and wonderful memories to both of us. The bread is homemade.
  • Spaghetti with Clam Sauce/Scrimp Scampi. I MUST have spaghetti with clam sauce at this dinner - it’s my only request. The sauce is store-bought, which is OK by me. Eric requires shrimp scampi. I could have eaten both, but I stuck to my clam sauce.
  • Baked Swordfish with a miso and honey glaze
  • Ciopinno. This is a San Francisco tomato-based soup/stew created by Italian fishermen. This version has clams, squid tentacles, whitefish, shrimp, and I believe a little crabmeat thrown in. Mussells were not available. I’ve argued for years that this one dish could have all seven fishes in it and make the meal much easier to prepare, but Eric won’t hear of it. It’s the first time we’ve made this dish for the meal.

We look forward to this meal every year, but it’s intense in terms of time and labor. I try to make it easier but the two of them insist on going whole hog. Eric and his mother bond over this, so who am I to interfere? My job is to eat and enjoy the meal, and do the clean-up afterwards.

Eight days remain until we head west into what I hope will be sunshine and warmth. The cabin produced a nice sunrise picture this morning, which I take to be a good omen. I can’t say there isn’t some degree of anxiety involved, but we’re committed to the adventure. I just hope we haven’t bitten off more than we can chew.

A plate of pasta with a grilled fish fillet and a bowl of clam soup are served on a colorful placemat with a glass of wine and water.A plate of assorted appetizers, including shrimp, stuffed mushrooms, a bread slice with meat, and a small baked item, is set on a colorful tablecloth with utensils beside it.A table is set with a platter of stuffed mushrooms, a plate of shrimp with cocktail sauce, and sliced bread with a jar of spread.A mug of frothy beverage is surrounded by assorted treats and a spoon, all on a colorful striped and green placemat.