No one is ever going to mistake me for Italian.
One glance at this ruddy complexion and 'distinctive' nose tells you I'm all Irish.
But 28 years ago I had the great fortune of marrying into a very Italian family. And I became immersed in the traditions that accompany such strong families.
For example, Sunday dinner was served at 1 o'clock sharp. Your attendance was expected. That created some problems during Eagles season.
Easter morning was accompanied by something called a frutata -an exotic egg dish. The week before on Palm Sunday it was holiday soup. I love the soup, but I don't eat eggs. Thankfully, my mother-in-law usually presented me with a heaping plate of bacon adn toast.
But without question the biggest mystery to me rolled around every Christmas Eve, with something called the Feast of the 7 Fishes. Now I need to make a confession here. I don't eat a lot of seafood, with the exception of maybe some fried flounder during Lent (heavy on the bread crumbs, if you please). I am assuming fish sticks don't really count as seafood.
So I was always fascinated by the Christmas Eve feast, in particular the kinds of fish and the long traditions that were upheld and revered.
I soon realized this was a very important thing with Italians. I always wanted to do a feature story that focused on this holiday rite.
Last night I did better than that. I actually got to sample a 'feast.'
I will be eternally grateful to chef Jacquie Peccina-Kelly, part of our blogging team and the Cucina Chatter gang, who brought an entire Feast of the 7 Fishes in and walked us through it on our 'Live From the Newsroom' Internet broadcast.
Jacquie did a great job going through each course, what kinds of fish are usually used and the meaning and lore behind all of it. It was an eye-opener - and delicious to boot.
We were joined by chef/actress Natalie Stone, chef Dom Condo, and Cucina Chatter host Lorraine Ranalli. They all added in their own family's twists on the tradition. We even had some readers offer questions and their own family's special rites.
If you missed the show, you can watch it here. We also will repost it on Christmas Eve to enjoy with your own family traditions.
Consider it our holiday gift to you.
Mangia! That's about as Italian as I get.
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