Feast of the Seven Fishes

The Feast of the Seven Fishes

For our family, a traditional feast starts with a cold course including vegetables, cheeses, salads & bread baskets overflowing with an assortment of breads.  This portion of the meal usually decorates a buffet table (or bar area) for nibbling as guests arrive and mingle.  After a couple hours, everyone settles in to the formal dinner.  Linguine with red sauce is mandatory.  This might be a red clam sauce or a mixed seafood sauce including calamari, octopus, shrimp, and/or mussels.  The other pasta might be a white or butter sauce.  Shrimp with butter and garlic usually makes an appearance with or without pasta.  Then, after a break to fry, bake and grill the remaining fish, the seafood salads find their way to the table.  Marinated eel and octopus hit the table first.  Heaping platters of fried calamari, shrimp, and smelts follow quickly behind.  Broccoli and broccoli raab (or, friarielli) appear in an attempt to offset the ridiculous amounts of fried food.  Baked, stuffed and grilled fish find their way to the table as soon as the fried bits vanish.

A brief (sometimes not so brief) intermission occurs for coffee & espresso to be brewed as the wine is polished off.  Wine and rum soaked fruits appear.  Fruit bowls and baskets filled with roasted nuts (hazelnuts and chestnuts are mandatory) decorate the tables.  When the coffee finally appears, huge platters of cookies, rum balls and struffoli garnished with candied cherries and orange finish off the few remaining die-hard eaters.  Sometimes chocolate oranges are cracked on unsuspecting skulls.  Oops, we almost forgot the torrone.