PREPARING FOR CHRISTMAS

I bought the Butterball turkey for our Christmas dinner. Not too big. Lobster tails were on sale last week too so bought some for Christmas Eve. We do not do a big dinner anymore- just the two of us so we make the seafood dishes good. I will be going to a grandson's special hockey game today so I am bringing some food bank items for the event. Barb does the majority of the preparations, I just do some of the food shopping.

CHRISTMAS COOKING NEEDS PLANNING

As the busy Christmas cooking season is around the corner, it takes planning to know when to buy the ingredients. For Italians, the Feast of the Seven Fishes is huge for Christmas Eve. I have written posts on these dishes and may revisit some over the next few weeks. Some fish items can be bought frozen but many need to be fresh. So knowing which fish market is best really helps. I will be thinking about what to give my two working daughters to help with the season too. Time for more soups that can be provided in "take out" containers to them. I get to cook. Barb gets to do all the other stuff that comes with Christmas. But she does get to eat to keep her energy going!!

A hearty December soup to start the week was good.

CHRISTMAS EVE DINNER/LA VIGILIA DI NATALE

Christmas is Italy was a religion holiday. There was always good food. For Catholics there is no meat before the religious days. Thus the tradition of having seafood and fish on Christmas Eve while everyone waited for the birth of the baby Jesus. My mother would cook a variety of dishes. Apparently according to some research I did, eel is the most popular delicacy. We never had eel because no one liked it. The meal also is called the Feast of the Seven Fishes or Festa dei Sette Pesci. Coming to Canada when I was 9, we started to acquire Canadian customs such as a Christmas tree and exchanging presents on December 25th. The one important Italian tradition maintained in not only our home but other families of Italian descent was the Christmas Eve seafood dinner. For many Southern Italians not just those from the Ciociaria area, baccala-salted cod fish was the basic staple for the meal as it was very affordable to the poor. Today baccala continues to be eaten in a soup, fried or baked in the oven. There are several dishes to make for this festive meal. Over the next weeks, I will post a dish or two at a time. Years ago when my mother was alive, she would make the Christmas Eve dinner and Barb would make the Canadian Christmas dinner- a real blend of two cultures. Our children love seafood too. During the year both Barb and I try to enjoy a meal from the sea as was apparent from our trip to the St. Lawrence Marked last summer when we bought some fresh PEI mussels. Canada is home to a variety of fish and seafood. Just ask any Maritimer about the great lobster. Once a meal for the poor, anyone who purchases fresh fish and seafood knows it is actually a very costly endeavour.

#ChristmasEvedinner#\italiantraditiononChrismasEve#theprescipio#feastofthesevendishes#festadeisettepesci#lavigiliadinatale

BRUSSEL SPROUTS-CANADIAN YET ITALIAN

Barb and I love Brussel Sprouts. It is a regular dish at Thanksgiving and Christmas and in between.

I boil them first usually early in the morning for any festive dinner.  Since I am up at 2 or 3 in the morning, what else is there to do.

Closer to the dinner, I fry some garlic in olive oil then put the brussel sprouts in the pan flipping them to get some oil and to heat them. If it is just Barb and me, I add some flecks of hot peppers to give them some kick. My kids love them too as it is another vegetable to add to any dinner. Does anyone have a different way of preparing Brussel Sprouts? I would love to hear as I will try something new.
#brusselsprouts#canadianfood#greatatThanksgiving#greatatChristmas#agoodvegetable