Like most folks, Christmas Eve and Christmas were big deals in my family—but especially Christmas Eve. Besides Santa and gifts, and decorating the tree and all that, the theme of the holiday was fish (as reflected in last week’s song blog).

Just like going to mass, the “Feast of the Seven Fishes” is believed to be a religious celebration by Roman-Catholics who are usually also of Italian heritage, and not solely a culturally-based feast.

It is said to be an Americanized Italian tradition that evolved from the original immigrants of southern Italy’s coastal regions that enjoyed an abundance of seafood on Christmas Eve, because they believed in abstaining from meat on that day. This was supposedly done as a sign of respect for the animals that kept baby Jesus warm in the manger. The preparation of seven relates to the representation of the seven sacraments. There are several other myths and ideas, but I go with that one personally.

Thankfully, this delicious tradition is still intact in my home, and those great days are still experienced. Everyone has their favorite dishes on Christmas Eve and I have to say, there’s really nothing I don’t enjoy on the table. For the fish feast, we always have shrimp (cocktail and fried), along with the fried calamari and two kinds of baked clams: oreganata and casino style. These are the staples. Some of the other interchangeable fishes that come and go (and come again) are the baccala, smelts, scallops, scungeel, and the anchovies and sardines. Some years we’ve had crabs and mussels ma-dee-na (marinara) with our spaghetti, and always my mom’s homemade delicious lump crab cakes. A few of the non-fish entrees we enjoy are my aunt’s homemade pizza and breads, stuffed mushroom caps, and probably a half dozen other items I am forgetting…

So here are two recipes, one for “Cappellini with Cosenza’s Clams” and the other is “Christmas Eve Gala-ma.” Enjoy!

Combine the following ingredients in a pot for your clam sauce: ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, three tablespoons of unsalted butter, juice from a large lemon, one cup of clam juice, one can of Cento brand diced clams, three tablespoons of minced garlic, two peeled fresh garlic cloves, one cup dry white wine, oregano, cracked pepper and a small handful of red chili flakes. Allow to simmer on the stove for a minimum of one hour. Once the sauce is ready, boil a pot of salted water. Carefully toss in 1 ½ pounds of scrubbed New Zealand clams (purchased at Cosenza’s in the Bronx) a few at a time. As the clams rise to the top of the pot and open up, remove them one by one and set aside on a plate (discard any unopened ones).

Once all of the clams are taken out of the pot, bring the water to a boil once again (do not add any more salt) and cook one pound of capellini. Drain the pasta, pour it back into the pot and ladle clam sauce all over, mixing thoroughly. Transfer capellini to a serving dish with all of the opened clams arranged neatly on top. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and sliced lemon halves. You can also add a few capers if you like. (To make the clam sauce into a red variety, omit butter and add two large cans of crushed tomatoes to the sauce recipe. Add in cooked calamari, shrimp and mussels for the ultimate Zuppa Di Pesce).

“Christmas Eve Gala-ma” (calamari, or squid rings) is another Feast of the Seven Fishes must-have. Here’s what you do…Clean, and season a pound of calamari rings with salt, pepper and a dash of nutmeg. Place them into a plastic zip-lock bag (squeeze out all the air) filled with milk, and refrigerate. This is both to tenderize the rings and to allow the milk flavor to absorb in.

After about two hours, take the calamari out of the fridge and carefully dredge in flour, egg and breadcrumbs. Drizzle a shallow pot with extra virgin olive oil and once the oil is hot, fry the rings (a handful at a time) for about 3-4 minutes total, flipping each ring once. Drain and enjoy with marinara sauce (add a small palm-full of red pepper flakes to the sauce recipe for “mild,” add 3-4 palm-fulls if you like it “hot.”)

Merry Christmas cugines!