Published December 31, 2023

Slowing down for the holiday season continued in December. The focus for the month was all about Christmas and celebrating the end of the year with friends and family. I wanted to take the end of year off to disconnect from work, enjoy the seasonal traditions (like decorations, holiday movies, and intricate recipes).

The Feast of the Seven Fishes

The highlight of Christmas for my family is The Feast of the Seven Fishes, which we started doing during the pandemic, when our holiday traditions changed.

The Feast of the Seven Fishes is an Italian-American tradition on Christmas Eve with a celebration of seven seafood dishes. According to what I’ve read, this tradition originated in Southern Italy, due to the proximity to the coast and access to fresh seafood. My family is from Northern Italy, and while we always had large Christmas Eve celebrations — with delicious Italian dishes — I had never experienced the Feast of the Seven Fishes until a few years ago, which has become an exciting tradition to look forward to.

The Seven Fishes Menu

Appetizers

The month of December is spent planning the menu. Traditionally, the seven fishes are broken out across the day. Our first dinner a few years ago featured a number of fried items for the entree, which we found to be too rich and heavy. Each year, we’ve tweaked the dishes and timing until we’ve found the best balance.

For us, serving a variety of seafood appetizers has worked out the best. While most families make their seafood salad, calamari, and appetizers from scratch (which we have done and is a ton of work), we elect to order these items from a local Italian restaurant.

This year, we had fried calamari, sweet mussels, bacon-wrapped scallops, stuffed clams, and crab cakes. This was also the first year that I learned my dad’s secret recipe for making the stuffed clams. We spent a whole day in the kitchen opening and filling each of the clams in preparation for Christmas Eve.

The kitchen is the hub for any celebration. It doesn’t matter if food is being served or not — everyone enjoys sitting around the kitchen island, listening to music and catching up. This provided a nice break between each appetizer. Since we’re a foodie family, we even have non-seafood appetizers like spring rolls, mini hot dogs, and charcuterie boards to snack on throughout the afternoon.

Entrees

The Feast of the Seven Fishes is literally an entire day of eating. After a break for exchanging Christmas presents, we start the official sit-down dinner with homemade shrimp cocktail. This year, I have also learned all of the spices that my dad uses to make homemade shrimp cocktail.

After a salad course and preparing all of the side dishes, we get to the star of the meal, and the seventh fish — the lobster tails. This is a special treat that we have once a year, specifically for this holiday, and I love how my dad prepares them. I have assisted in the kitchen with opening the tails and seasoning them, but my dad is still the top chef when it comes to preparing all of these dishes.

Dessert

If you can believe it, we still have dessert after all of these courses. Sambuca and coffee are served alongside cookies, chocolates, and cakes. In the past, we have also had Italian pastries, but this year the star dessert was a cheesecake from the Arlington Diner. If you’ve never had their cheesecake, I recommend you add it to your list. It’s the best cheesecake I have ever had.

Overall, Christmas Eve and The Feast of the Seven Fishes was another holiday success. The rest of December had other Christmas celebrations, get-togethers with extended family, dinner with friends, and a chance to reconnect before the end of the year. I’m grateful to have the time off from work to rest and recharge and look ahead to the exciting adventures and dishes in 2024.

What’s your end of year highlight?

How was your end of the year? Leave a comment below with your favorite holiday memory, activity, or highlight.

To catch up on my top blogs from 2023, click here. Stay tuned for new blogs, recipes, and adventures coming in the new year. If you haven’t already, subscribe to my newsletter to get these posts delivered directly to your inbox.