Vigilia di Natale

Each Christmas I'm reminded of the 7-fishes. My family's habit of serving cooked shrimp with cocktail sauce each Christmas Eve ignites the memory.

7-fishes is a religious dinner eaten Vigilia di Natale (I think that's Italian for "Christmas Eve"). It's an Italian and Catholic tradition. As a child, I was repulsed by the thought of fish. Now, 7-fishes sounds like a wonderful tradition and a perfect celebratory meal.

"Pompi" Pompelia, my brother-in-law, first introduced me to the 7-fishes. His family served it each Christmas. I remember Pompi complaining about the squid. Today, his dad "Dom," who's a legend among his goombas for his skill in the kitchen, continues the squid tradition, with and all of the other fishes.

7-fishes goes something like this -- dinner starts with antipasti. Dom's array includes his own canned peppers and tomatoes, with items like olives, artichokes and fresh mozzarella. This is followed by baked white fish, salt cod-called, Bacala, fried squid and shrimp, fettuccine with clam sauce, mussels and crab. Wonderful ingredients. It was beyond me as a child. And so it goes.

My kids are 8 and 10. Exactly the age I was when the 7-fishes didn't elicit the today's appetizing responses. I plan to give them a year or two and then it's 7-fishes at my house. We need a tradition like this. The more food related traditions, the better.

Bono Natale