Thanksgiving is behind us, and now it’s time for the Christmas season! Does anyone else feel like the holidays start way too early? I saw Christmas ornaments and decorations up as early as October, almost skipping over Thanksgiving entirely. What’s up with that?
I hope you all enjoyed the stuffing video. I’ve realized I need to make it more often—I forget how delicious it is! My next video will be stuffed artichokes, another treat I usually only make around the holidays. A lot of people have told me they don’t make them because they’re not sure how, but they’re really simple. You’ll see!
On Christmas Eve, I typically have the whole family over. It’s not just my immediate family (kids and grandkids), but also nieces, cousins, and more—about 30 people altogether. I prepare the traditional Feast of the Seven Fishes, which includes dishes like linguine with crab sauce, clams oreganato, seafood salad, lobster tails, fried calamari, and shrimp scampi. Sometimes I even make baccala because it brings back so many memories.
When I was a kid, we also had huge family dinners for the holidays. My aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins all gathered together. My mother was one of 14 children, so you can imagine how big the crowd was! I remember my mom making me eat a bite of eel on Christmas Eve, saying it was for good luck. I hated it, but I took a bite just to make her happy. Baccala was a big favorite with everyone back then, probably because my grandfather was a fisherman, and it was a staple in their home. The younger generation doesn’t seem to go for it as much.
Speaking of the younger generation, my sons don’t like fish or seafood at all. My mother and especially my grandfather wouldn’t have been pleased! They used to eat shrimp and fried flounder when they were younger, but somewhere along the way, they lost their taste for it. My mom used to tell the story of when I was three years old, and they took me to Sheepshead Bay for seafood. I tried a clam and spit it out, which upset her at the time. But she got over it, and eventually, I came to love almost all fish and seafood. On Christmas Eve, though, when I make the Feast of the Seven Fishes, I still have to make chicken parmigiana with spaghetti for my sons!
What matters most during this special time of year is La Famiglia—the family. Love each other, treat one another with respect, because you never know when it will be the last time you see each other. Everything else is secondary.
