An Italian American Christmas

As far as food goes, you cannot go far past the Italians for seafood in almost all of their celebrations. For us, last night, dining with Len, Stefie (she is of German and Latvian parents) and friends, neighbors and family, it was wall to wall food. If I groan, it is because it was all so good, and far too much for ten people, but we ate till we just sat and looked at each other and wondered where we could put something else...shake a little to the left???Not likely!

Len had been up until midnight the night before preparing this epic feats. He is truly in his element in the kitchen, and it is a thing of wonder to behold:)

He is the chef with all the equipment that comes out of capacious cupboards, and places unknown. There is two of everything and a professional cook top and oven and warming drawer to keep things hot.

I marvel at his ability to juggle all the dishes at once, but he is super organized and everything tasted perfect! It is always a treat to taste something new and find out about cultural traditions. Len's sister Janet was at hand to help if needed (mostly not! ) and she made many of the delicious desserts.

But I am getting ahead of myself...

 

Coming into the festive home from the Pool enclosure.

 

The Christmas Tree so tastefully adorned with lovely ornaments and white lights...my favorite!

The Table for Ten!

 

Len, on the left behind the bar, Stef, her mom Heidi (here from Olympia, Washington) and Len's sister Janet, with Waz.

The same people with me tacked on the end.

Mr and Mrs Brown...It was cool enough last night to necessitate the wearing of a long sleeved blouse!...then I rolled the sleeves up:)

The yeast dough for the Zeppole...Deep fried balls of dough which can include something savory or sweet in the middle, or just fried plain and dipped in icing (powdered) sugar...YUM!! Len did both plain and some with anchovies (called Alege? or alezhe? )  in the middle, which were superb.

The anchovies.

The fryer meister

In the process....

Done!

I remember eating something similar to these  when I lived in Venice...only they had a satiny cream custard filling...they were a daily staple for me, along with an espresso:)

 

We were offered and supplied with drinks at the bar when we first arrived, and then the food began arriving also. First up was the Jumbo shrimp with a fantastic cocktail sauce...made from scratch by Len, and included Horseradish, which gave it an excellent flavor. Then the hot scallops wrapped in bacon. Nothing beats the smell of cooking bacon, to my nose. They were delicious also.

 

Friends started arriving...Tony is Len's business partner and long time special friend. His parents were Sicilian immigrants to the USA, and ran an Italian bakery in New York. They were formerly farmers, in Sicily, but coming to a new country, they had to have a way to make a living, and baking was the obvious choice, with so many other Italian immigrants in the city. Tony regaled us with stories of how he started work in the bakery at age 11, graduating through the various 'chores' before being allowed to do the baking by age 17. Fascinating:)

 

 

Tony's partner Ruth helping herself to the ice. You can see the Shrimp cocktail and also the scallops wrapped in bacon. Talk about mouthwatering!!!! apologies for the flash in the glass...should know better!!lol.

Ruth and Tony gave a timely gift to the chef.

:)

Perfect!

 

 

 Next to arrive were next door neighbors Carl and Penny. Carl is another Italian:) They are part time residents here and in New Jersey. This was the 6th year Carl has enjoyed Len and Stefies Christmas  hospitality...and he was bragging:).  Delightful couple. They have been married two years! Penny is still working full time in a Bank as a senior officer in New Jersey, so Carl is often down here on his own for short periods.

Len doesn't sit down to the meal with the rest of us, and I had been warned not to chide him for that...it is what it is!

Before sitting down at the table, we gathered around the kitchen counter to sample the food off the assembly line.

 

After we sat down, the food arrived...and arrived...and arrived some more...

The calamari was superb! So tender!!!

Marmalade was served with the sweet potato fries, tartare sauce for the crab cakes, butter to go with the handmade Italian rolls...

...sweet, perfectly cooked lobster tails...with dipping butter....

Janet made the delicious chock full of meat crab cakes. I am something of a crab cake connoisseur...in case you hadn't noticed....I eat them whenever possible!

Pan fried seasoned crab meat

Blackened and pan fried scallops...wow!! they were so good.

baby octopus...Yum!

 

The sweetest, most tender lobster tails... or did I say that already, lol....

 

I think we counted 9 seafood dishes. Apparently there has to be an odd number for a real Italian Feast:) Traditionally 7, I am told.

 Then came the coffee and dessert!...yep! more food!!


Ruth and Carl brought the Italian pastries, made locally....Cannoli and Choc. eclairs....

 

 

American shortbread cookies.

 

Janet was obviously a busy cook too, and made the following...

Pignoli cookies (pine nut) and Calzone, which are pastry crescents stuffed with chestnut puree and chocolate.

Rum balls with nuts and coconut. You could definitely taste the rum in these!

Pizelle (the snowflake rounds in the center), ginger snaps, shortbread and sugar cookies, also made by Janet.

 

Our gracious and incredibly generous Host and Hostess, Len and Stefania

 

Post dinner, we decided not to wait for the midnight deadline...it was 11pm-ish, anyway...and get into the gift giving/unwrapping. I was designated hander-outer, and Tony was the paper/trash picker-upper.

 

Len got a bit carried away with the decorations...deciding that once the baby has arrived, he will kind of  ummm..'gift-wrap' himself for Stefie! ..nice going, Len:)

 

'Oscar the terrible' couldn't get enough of the action. He checked out everything under the tree, and then did the rounds of the opened gifts.

He is one of three cats, the other two being sibling of the Rag Doll variety....one of which didn't photograph well...

I think this is the brother, Topper, checking out which of the other cats had been sleeping on the sofa, last. The female is Tiffany.

 

And so a very good night was had by all. We had full tummies, full hearts, and much admiration for the host and hostess, preparing the dinner and decorations and orchestrating the whole shebang!

 

We are grateful for family, friends and neighbors who take virtual strangers into their homes and shower them with goodwill and hospitality.

 

Thank You to them all.

 

Tomorrow?? Christmas Day!