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(photo: various Christmas food plates: left to right string beans, baked broccoli, baccala in tomato sauce, mussels in red wine tomato sauce, zeppole, fried calamari, stuffed squid, baked flounder, salad, etc.)
At this point in the holiday frenzy, you’re either preparing to host a holiday party or you’ve been invited to a Christmas Eve / Day dinner or lunch. If you’ve been invited to dinner then get down on your knees and pray the host can cook! If you’re hosting Christmas eve dinner (or the overused “Feast of the Seven Fishes“) or Christmas Day lunch or dinner, then you can control what you both serve your guests and the quality of the ingredients!
In Italy, Christmas food is about what’s available (or local) in your region so you see items from specialized baked pasta dishes or cheese filled pasta such as agnolotti, ravioli or tortellini to a light soup or brodo and roasted wild game such as goat, rabbit, boar, etc. to various fish, including eel and salted cod. In the north, Cotechino or New Year’s Sausage is popular as are various side dishes including including, broccoli, potatoes, zucchini and eggplants. For dessert, which Italians traditional do not consume, you’ll find Panettone, Pandoro and/or Pandolce, Torrone, Fresh fruit and fennel.
Are you hungry yet? If so, get cooking!
Appetizers:
- Focaccia with Rosemary and Sea Salt - good bread is a nice way to complement any appetizer. Focaccia would work well but you can also try making any number of our bread recipes!
- Bruschetta with just about any topping you can imagine!
- Salumi, Salame, Cured Pork – any way you slice it (no pun intended!) you must have a bit of prosciutto or cacciatore.
- Antipasto Plate - including cheese, olives, sun dried tomatoes, roasted peppers, etc.
- Arancini (see our recipe), calzoncini, potato croquets (see our recipe) or other fried delicacies
- Grilled Eggplant - a great way to get the appetite going.
Traditional Dishes, including Entries, Pastas and Side Dishes:
- Lasagna - a classic that everyone enjoys (and stuffed pasta is a tradition from Toscana to Sicilia)
- Linguine with Clams or Spaghettini with Fish Sauce
- Tortellini in Brodo
- Mussels in Spicy Tomato/Wine Sauce – buy great fish and you can’t go wrong.
- Baked Flounder
- Fried Sardines - one of our favorite fish and a classic in Calabria.
- Fried Smelts
- Scallops in Tomato Sauce
- Potato and String Beans in Tomato Sauce
- Roasted Broccoli - we make these spicy with breadcrumbs and good olive oil.
- Baccala (courtesy of Memorie di Angelina)
- Pan Simmered Baby Goat
- Roasted Rabbit - don’t be intimidated or insulted, rabbit is wonderful.
- Sauteed Swiss Chard
Salads
Wine
- What wine should I buy? - understanding wine is easier than cooking great food!
- Introduction to wine and wine basics
- Eleven basic wine questions
- Seven basic red wines - red wines are perfect for the holiday season
- Wines of Calabria
- Italian wine guide
- Amari
Desserts
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