Easily the coolest tradition I married into is the way New Jersey Catholic Italians celebrate Christmas Eve. Tonight, Christmas Eve, brings the "Feast of the Seven Fishes," which is a 7 course seafood meal that spans over 5 hours while consuming 8+ bottles of wine.
We'll kick off the appetizer round with (1) Beth's baked crab dip, (2) and crab claws (my favorite, I think), (3) shrimp cocktail, and (4) salmon tar-tar. There will also be some spreads and cheeses, which I waited 35 minutes in line for yesterday at Bagliani's, one of the local Italian markets that had a police officer stationed in the street directing traffic. I can't make this stuff up.
Once we're full from grazing on apps for hours, we'll make our way to the table. Tonight's menu promises (5) Uncle Pete's calamari (pronounced by New Jerseyians "gallamon") stew, (6) Uncle Pete's crab cakes. Did I mention that Uncle Pete works as a chef's assistant at a fancy restaurant? Lucky us. Then we'll cap off the seafood portion of the night with (7) Uncle Pete's pesto with shrimp.
No seafood for dessert. Beth was busy yesterday making cookies. Seven types, I think.
It's pretty much open bar with Joe tending all night, so we picked up a little bit a this and a little bit a that. I'll probably go Riesling out of the gate and then switch to Pinot. I picked up Duck Pond, which used to be one of my favorites a few years back. For the main course, I think we're tapping into that middle bottle; a local, yes, South Jersey Cabernet Franc from Sharrott Winery in Winslow. Sounds undesirable, probably. But it was a gold medal winner and goes for $60 or so. Twas really tasty last year when we visited the winery.
I must mentally prepare for tonight. I lied, Max spilled powdered sugar, gotta vacuum. Merry Christmas to all!
