Feast of the Seven Fishes

Does anyone celebrate the Feast of the Seven Fishes?
The Feast is an Italian tradition celebrated on Christmas Eve - La Vigilia di Natale - and consists of at least seven seafood dishes. There is no consensus as far as I know as to why the number seven, although there are some obvious Biblical connections.
The eating of fish is connected to the view that Christmas Eve was a day of abstinence (no eating meat), although there are differences of opinion on that.

It is a tradition that I follow and am preparing the following for the celebration with family:

Octopus salad - Insalata di polpo;
Squid with ptatoes and peas - Calamari con patate e piselli;
Shrimp with garlic and red peppers - Gamberi con alio e peperoncini
Cod baked in a Sicilian style - Merluzzo al forno Siciliano
Risotto with lobster and truffles - Risotto con aragosta e tartufo
Linguine with seafood - Linguini a la fruta di Mare.

I have flounder and clams and am thinking about what other dish to make.

Is anyone familiar with this Feast?
Buon Natale.

I once had an Italian gf whose brother was a chef. The feast was quite tasty.

My favorite night of the year, even more so than Christmas itself. Shrimp scampi, homemade fettuccinni alfredo with shrimp, homemade angel hair pasta with clam sauce (red and white), baccalla, calamari, scungilli. oysters rockefeller. I’m going to bring a growler of St Bernardus Christmas Ale to share with the gang, but there will be plenty of different wines and some bourbon going down too.

Buon Natale!!

I’m having cracked Dungeness. 20 minutes ago it was alive, and now it’s been cleaned and is sitting on ice for this evening.

Very familiar with the TRADITION, but not alot of fish eaters here. [cry.gif]

Buon Natale

Paul

Buon Natale. We’ve always followed the tradition of no meat on Christmas Eve though no specific number of fish courses.
Last night we had oysters, fish salad, shrimp, lobster tails, sea bream (orata), pasta with mussels and cicale (langostines).

BTW merluzzo is mackerel.

From another board berserker John Tomasso did a Feast of the Seven Fishes a couple of years ago: Some images from the Feast of the Seven Fishes

A successful meal and fun with family. We were 20.

The wines enjoyed - all splash decanted and poured back into the bottle (even the Chardonnay):
2009 Auteur Chardonnay Durell Vineyard - Golden yellow; good fruit; not much oak; some butter but a tad bit sweet;
2009 Rhys Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains - Good acidity, crisp lemon and green apple; smooth finish; delicious;
2008 Kosta Browne Keefer Ranch Pinot - Rich and complex; sweet fruit but balanced with a woodsy/spice component;
2009 Loring Pinot - Rosella’s Vineyard - Nice fruit, good spice, and a citrus component that kept it interesting. Light when tasted after the Kosta Browne.
2007 Realm The Falstaff - Big and dark; tannic but shows depth of black fruits and some oak. Needs more time.
**2007 Clos St. Jean Chateauneuf du Pap**e - This one went quickly so I barely had a taste; black fruit and an earthy, leather side. Actually paired with the the pasta and fish stew.
2009 Rivers Marie Napa Cab - opened up and splash decanted and enjoyed after the dishes were cleared away. Dark and rich, showing a touch of vanilla and chocolate along with black fruits. A crowd favorite. Tasted this while cleaning up and eating some of the Gorgonzola with honey drizzled over it.
Finally, opened a 2003 Rieussec Sauternes. A bit of a disappointment; a nice wine with honey and ripe peach, mango and pineapple. Good mouthfeel - really coats the palate. It has a woodsy note but overall, it is lacking in depth. RP bestowed 96 points and WS gave it 95. Tasted again this morning and still have the same view - good but lacking in depth.

My error on the “merluzzo”.
I know baccala is the dried codfish. I have not heard it used when referring to fresh.
I think the Black cod is actually sablefish.
Anyway, it was the least favorite of the dishes.
The lobster risotto with truffles was the favorite.
I stuffed mushrooms with a stuffing made of chopped flounder, egg, bread crumbs and sprinkled a little truffle oil when they came out of the oven. They were my favorite dish.

I wish I could get crab fresh; that looks seriously good.

I prefer shellfish and mollusks and cephalopods; don’t care much for fish. This was more seafood than anything else.
There was little leftover after the family went through the various dishes.
The only seafood left were about a dozen clams. Made for a nice breakfast.

If anyone is interested, the NY Times had a great way to cook octopus - parboil for 1 minute and then bake in a 200F degree oven for about two hours (depending on age and size of the octopus). Made for a tender octopus.

Buon Natale.
Best wishes to all.

T.