Panettone

Special Italian dessert bread for holidays. This version comes from Auntie Bucksnort.

3 tbl. yeast

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup warm water

6 egg yolks

1/2 cup soft butter

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. lemon peel

1/2 tsp. salt

3 cups flour

1/3 cup candied citron

1/2 cup raisins (mix dark and light if you wish)

2 tbl. melted butter to brush on crust

Soften yeast in 1/4 cup warm water with a little sugar. Mix the remaining ingredients (except for 2 tbl. butter), adding more flour as necessary to make a soft dough. Knead until smooth, let rise in a greased bowl until doubled.

Form into a round loaf and let rise on a greased cookie sheet until doubled. Bake at 400〫for 10 minutes, then brush with melted butter. Continue baking at 350〫for 30 to 40 minutes until done.

Cool on rack.

Rigatoni with Dried Tomatoes

Here's a much simpler recipe from Ciao Italia, by Mary Ann Esposito. It's just another of my mom's dog-eared pages...

--1 cup Sun-Dried Tomatoes, soaked in Olive Oil
--1 clove Garlic, minced
--1 pound Rigatoni, cooked al dente
--3 tbsp Fresh Basil, minced
--1/3 cup grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese
--1/3 cup grated Asiago Cheese
--Fresh-ground Black Pepper

Drain the tomatoes, reserving 2 tablespoons of the oil. Chop the tomatoes very fine by hand. In a saucepan, saute the tomatoes, oil and garlic for 2 to 3 minutes. Toss with rigatoni. Add the basil and cheese and toss some more. Grind in some pepper to taste.

White Lasagna With Pine Nuts

One of the cookbooks that I inherited from my mother was Ciao Italia, by Mary Ann Esposito. Here's one of the recipes that we cooked from it. It's a "light" variation on lasagna, though closer inspection looks heavy to me! I'm sure that mom has some variation. The filling is perfect for stuffed shells too!

Filling:

--1/2 cup Pine Nuts, toasted
--3 10-ounce packages of fresh or frozen Spinach, thawed, drained and chopped fine if frozen. If fresh, wilted over medium-high heat for 4 minutes, drained and chopped fine.
--3 cups Ricotta Cheese
--3 Eggs
--3 tbsp minced Fresh Parsley
--1 and 1/2 cups diced Mozzarella Cheese
--2 tbsp room-temperature Butter
--1/4 lb Prosciutto, diced
--1 tsp grated Nutmeg
--1 tsp Salt
--1 tsp White Pepper

White Sauce:

--4 cups Milk
--1 stick Butter
--1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour, sifted
--1 tsp Salt
--1/2 tsp grated Nutmeg
--1 and 1/2 tbsp finely minced Fresh Sage

--Lasagna Noodles
--1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese

In a large bowl, combine the spinach and the pine nuts. Beat in the eggs. Add the remaining filling ingredients and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

In a large saucepan, scald the milk (bring to just under a boil). Remove from heat and set aside. In a large heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high. Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Stir in the milk, salt and nutmeg and stir until the mixture comes to a boil. Cook, stirring, for 5 to 10 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat and stir in the sage. Cover and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Boil the lasagna noodles in water until al dente. Drain. In a 9x13-inch pan, spread 1/2 a cup of the white sauce. Cover with a layer of lasagna strips and spread about 1 and 1/2 cups of the filling on top of that. Spoon on a thin layer of sauce. Repeat 2 more times, the top layer lasagna noodles. Spread 1 cup of the white sauce on top of that, then sprinkle with the grated Parmesan or Romano cheese. Cover with Aluminum Foil. Bake for 30 minutes, then let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

Italian Easter Wheat Pie

When Beez's Italian aunties, Mary and Pucci, were much younger, they served this labor-intensive pie at Easter time. I got this recipe, which is very like theirs, from Cooks.com. It makes 3 pies. 

Part 1 - Preparing the Wheat
3/4 lb. spring wheat
1/2 c. milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. sugar
10 c. water

Place wheat and 5 cups of water in large covered bowl and refrigerate for 48 hours. Drain water from wheat and place wheat in a 2 quart covered pot with 5 cups of fresh water. Cook over medium heat until boiling then reduce heat. Let simmer at a low boil for 3 hours or until tender, stirring frequently. Add water as needed and do not let wheat stick to bottom of pot. When wheat is tender drain water out and add milk, salt, and sugar. Cook over low heat for 7- 8 minutes. Remove from heat; set aside and cool.

Part 2 - Preparing the Pie Crust
3 c. sifted white flour
3/4 c. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
4 egg yolks
1 1/3 sticks butter
6 tbsp. milk or more, if needed
1 tbsp. lemon rind

Place flour in large mixing bowl and add sugar, salt, butter, mix well with fork. Add egg yolks, milk, and lemon rind mixing well. Take mixture and place on floured board. Knead until dough is smooth and manageable. Adding more flour or milk as needed. Place dough back in bowl, cover and refrigerate.

When ready to use cut dough into 6 parts. 3 parts for bottom and 3 parts for lattice tops.

Roll dough out on floured board large enough to cover a 9 inch pie pan. For lattice top roll out 10 inch strips and cut 3/4 inch wide, 24 strips for 3 tops.

Part 3 - Preparing the Pie Filling
1 1/2 lb. ricotta, regular or part skim
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
6 egg yolks
4 egg whites
1 tbsp. lemon rind
2 tbsp. orange marmalade
Prepared Wheat mixture

Place in large bowl ricotta and sugar mixing well until creamy. Add egg yolks, orange marmalade, lemon rind, and cinnamon; mix well. Add to bowl your prepared wheat mixture and mix evenly. Place in separate bowl egg whites and sugar. Beat until stiff. Fold stiff egg whites into wheat mixture.

Fill your three pie crusts with wheat filling evenly. Cover with lattice pie crust. Criss-cross 4 pieces on bottom and 4 pieces on top. Trim off all excess pie crust.

Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes. Check by inserting knife in center. If knife comes out clean pie is done. Remove from oven and cool before serving.

Focaccia

I first saw this made on one of Jeff Smith's Frugal Gourmet TV shows. I later bought his book, The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Three Ancient Cuisines so I could have my own copy of this recipe and all the others he was demonstrating in this series.

Note: Since I put this recipe on the blog, it's become our favorite bread. We just cut it up and freeze it and warm up a square at a time.

Makes 2 loaves

• 2 cups tepid water (90 degrees)
• 2 packages dry yeast (2 tbl.)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 5 1/2 cups wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon salt

Toppings

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• garlic, to taste
• rosemary, to taste
• kosher salt, to taste

In a large bowl, mix water, yeast, and sugar. Stir in the oils and 1 tsp. of salt. Add 2 - 3/4 cup of flour, mixing well until spongy. Add enough remaining flour to make stiff dough.

Turn onto floured surface and knead until elastic. Cover with bowl and let rise til doubled.

Divide dough in half, spread on greased cookie sheets using your fingers.

Mix crushed garlic with olive oil; brush over bread. Sprinkle w/ dried or fresh rosemary and kosher salt. Cover and let rise.

Bake at 375 for 1/2 hour. Cut into squares and serve.

NOTE: You can also slice squares in half horizontally for sandwiches.

Arancini (Rice Balls)

This recipe comes from Jeff Smith's The Frugal Gourmet Cooks with Wine.

2 cups short-grain rice
1 quart homemade chicken stock
1/2 cup (1/4 pound) butter, melted
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup grated cheese (Parmesan or Romano)
2 eggs, well beaten
1/4 pound lean ground beef
1/4 pound lean ground pork
1/2 cup each (diced, about 1/4 inch): Genoa salami,mortadella,provolone cheese,mozzarella cheese
2 additional beaten eggs for dipping
2 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs for coating
Peanut oil for deep-frying

Wash and drain the rice and place in a 2-quart saucepan which can be covered. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil, uncovered. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and cover, simmering for 20 minutes, and then remove from heat and leaving covered for another 20 minutes.

In a mixing bowl, stir into the rice the melted butter, parsley, parmesan or romano and the beaten eggs. Gently but thoroughly blend and leave to cool.

In a skillet, saute together the ground pork and beef. Drain off any fat and cool. Add to this the diced coldcuts and cheeses, mixing all together well by hand.

With moist, but not wet hands, form a ball of the rice mixture roughly the size of a golf ball (about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 inches in diameter) in the palm of one hand, and, using the other thumb, make a depression as deep as the first joint of your thumb. Into this depression, place some of the meat/cheese mixture. Pull the rice surrounding the hole over the filling to cover and seal the filling.

When all of the balls have been formed in this fashion (you may or may not have a bit of filling left over), dip each ball quickly in beaten egg and then roll in breadcrumbs to coat.

Heat the peanut oil to 350° in a skillet or wok. You want the oil to be about as deep as the radius of your finished rice balls. Fry the rice balls a few at a time, gently turning with a spoon until light brown all over.
Drain the cooked rice balls on brown paper and keep warm until serving.

Baked Polenta

This recipe comes from Jeff Smith's The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American.

1 quart water

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup polenta

1 cup grated parmesan cheese or romano cheese

1/4 cup butter, melted or olive oil

Bring the water to a boil. Add the salt and slowly stir in the polenta. Turn heat to medium and stir constantly to avoid lumps. After the mixtures begins to thicken you can stir less frequently. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until very thick.

Pour into a greased loaf mold or bread pan, and allow to cool in the refrigerator overnight.

Cut into 1/4-inch slices and layer like tiles in a baking dish. Pour the butter or oil over the top and then the cheese.

Bake in 375º oven for 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and all begins to brown just a bit.

Chicken Piccata

Another recipe from The Frugal Gourmet, by Jeff Smith. It's a wonderful Italian standard. Note: This recipe gives portions to serve 8 (or 4, if you eat like I do).

--1 Small Yellow Onion, peeled and chopped
--2 Garlic cloves, crushed
--4 Green Onions, chopped
--2 tbsp Olive Oil
--8 Chicken Breasts, boneless and skinless, pounded flat
--1/2 cup Flour
--Salt and Black Pepper to taste
--2 tbsp Butter
--2 tbsp Dry Sherry
--2 tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice
--1 tbsp Capers, chopped

Saute the yellow onion, garlic, and green onions in the olive oil until tender. Remove from pan and set aside. Mix the flour, salt and pepper, then lightly dredge the chicken with it. Brown the chicken in butter, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Add the sauteed onions and garlic. Over high heat, add the sherry, lemon juice and capers. When this has thickened into a nice gravy, remove from heat (if it becomes too thick, add a little chicken stock or water). Garnish with thin lemon slices and fresh parsley.

Pesto

Each summer in NH, one crop would dominate the vegetable garden. No matter what we planted or how the seeds were separated, one veggie a year would rule them all (except for the volunteer rhubarb plant that annually controlled the compost pile). The Year of the Tomato. The Year of the Yellow Squash. The 'ear of the Corn. The Year of the Green Bean. Mom says there was a "lack of vegetables" in our diets, but she glosses over the fact that we always had a fresh garden bounty. The Year of the Basil was particularly successful, though how much basil can one really eat? We filled the freezer with a lifetime of it, wondering how we could use it. Then, a violent thunderstorm knocked out the electricity and we lost the whole crop. But not before we started putting pesto on everything! The Frugal Gourmet, by Jeff Smith, lists the pesto recipe that we used:

--4 cups Fresh Basil (FRESH ONLY)
--1/2 cup Olive Oil
--2 cloves Garlic
--6 sprigs Fresh Parsley
--Salt and Pepper to taste
--1/4 cup Pine Nuts
--1/2 cup Fresh Grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese

Place the basil in a blender with the olive oil, garlic, parsley, and pine nuts. Blend until all are chopped very fine. Remove from the blender. Add the Parmesan or Romano cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. The uses for this are limitless, though tossing with pasta is always classic.

Pasta Carbonara

More pasta from The Frugal Gourmet, by Jeff Smith.

--1/4 lb. good Bacon (thick-cut would be good)
--1 stick (1/4 lb) Butter (or less, if you're not into heart-attacks)
--1 cup Milk
--2 tbsp Wine Vinegar
--1 lb Pasta
--2 Eggs, whipped
--1/3 cup Fresh-Grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese
--Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Cut the bacon into small pieces and cook in the butter. Heat the milk in a small saucepan and add the bacon and butter. Add the vinegar (this will turn the milk into cheese). Simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the sauce is smooth. Cook the pasta al dente. Drain and return to the pan while it's still very hot. Immediately add the eggs (gotta cook it with that heat), cheese sauce, and grated Parmesan or Romano cheese. Toss and season with salt and pepper.

Pasta Primavera

The journey through The Frugal Gourmet, by Jeff Smith, continues. Now, on to pastas!

--2 cloves Garlic, minced fine
--1 tbsp Olive Oil
--1 Small Yellow Onion, peeled and diced
--2 ripe Tomatoes, chopped
--Salt and Black Pepper to taste
--1/2 tsp Basil
--1/2 tsp Oregano
--2 medium Zucchini, grated into coarse pieces
--1/2 cup Dry Red Wine
--1 Egg, beaten
--1/4 cup grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese
--1 lb Pasta, cooked al dente

In a large frying pan, saute the garlic in the oil until it is lightly browned (be careful not to burn it though!). Add the onion and saute until it is clear. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, basil, and oregano. Simmer for a few minutes and add the zucchini. Cook on high heat for about 5 minutes or until the moisture is almost gone. Add the wine and simmer for a few to reduce the moisture. Add the egg and cheese, and mix with pasta. This sauce is also good to pour over meat or fish.

Sole With Rosemary

As I've flipped through my food-spattered paperback copy of The Frugal Gourmet, by Jeff Smith, I've taken a culinary trip down memory lane. We cooked with whitefish a lot. We only made this a couple of times, but it's worth posting:

--1 1/2 lbs of Sole Fillets
--2 tbsp Olive Oil
--1 tbsp Lemon Juice
--2 tbsp White Wine
--1 tbsp Fresh Parsley, chopped
--1/2 tbsp Fresh Rosemary leaves, chopped (or 1 tsp Dried Rosemary if you must, but remember that rosemary is the star of this dish, so go for broke and get the fresh stuff)
--Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the sole in a baking dish so that the fish fits snugly. Mix the olive oil, lemon juice, wine, parsley and rosemary. Pour over the fish and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the fish begins to barely flake.

Pucci's Italian Cookies

The Mary and Pucci stories are legion in our family, but this is probably not the place to start telling them. Here is what I will say: Mary and Pucci are my husband's aunties. They were born in Italy and came over to America on a boat in the early 1930s. Their Pappa had built a house for the family in southern Connecticut and these two unmarried ladies lived in that house all of their lives. 

Pucci is gone now, but I can still picture her making these cookies in her kitchen on a wonderful old metal table, rolling out the dough with what looked like a sawed-off broomstick. Apparently there are versions of this cookie made all over Italy--called, variously, cenci (rags), chiacchere (gossips), lattughe (lettuce leaves), nastrini (ribbons), or lover's knots. We'll just go on calling them Pucci's Italian cookies. 

1 - 3/4 cups flour

2 tbl. olive oil

1/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tbl. anisette liqueur

a pinch of salt

Pucci used to pile the flour on her table, make a well in the middle, add the remaining ingredients, and mix the dough with her hands. I suppose you could mix the dough in a bowl. Knead the dough slightly and roll out thinly to about 1/8 inch thick.

Using a pasta cutter (serrated rolling wheel), cut the dough into strips about an inch wide and about the length of your hand. Fold each into a bow-knot and fry carefully in hot olive oil. 

Pile the finished cookies on a plate to drain. 

Since Pucci never wrote this stuff down, I found some of my information about these cookies on About.com: Italian Food.

Chicken Saltimbocca

I'm still working my way through the recipes that Marsha and I accumulated. There are quite a lot from the Food Network website. This is another "favorite" from Giada De Laurentiis. How many "favorite recipes" did we have anyhow? Marsha said to me the other day, "We used to cook a lot!"

Yep...this one can legitimately be called a "favorite." It has prosciutto ham in it.

--6 Chicken cutlets (about 3 oz each), pounded to evenly flatten
--Salt and fresh-ground Black Pepper
--6 paper-thin slices of Prosciutto
--1 10 oz box Frozen Chopped Spinach, thawed
--3 tbsp Olive Oil
--1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
--1 14 oz can low-salt Chicken Broth
--2 tbsp fresh Lemon Juice

Sprinkle the flattened chicken cutlets with salt and pepper. Lay 1 slice of prosciutto atop each chicken cutlet. Squeeze the frozen spinach to remove the excess water, then season it with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, toss the spinach with 1 tablespoon of oil to coat. Arrange an even, thin layer of spinach atop the prosciutto slices. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese evenly over each. Beginning at the short tapered end, roll up each chicken cutlet and secure with a toothpick. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken rolls and cook just until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Add the chicken broth and lemon juice, and scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium. Cover and simmer until the chicken is just cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a platter. Simmer the cooking liquid over high heat until it is reduced to about 2/3 cup, about 5 minutes. Season the cooking liquid with salt and pepper to taste. Remove toothpicks from the chicken. Drizzle the reduced cooking liquid over the chicken and serve immediately.

Mini Pizzas

As a little boy, this was the first food I can remember constructing on my own. My growth-spurt instincts instructed me to constantly sneak around in the kitchen, foraging for sustenance. I can't remember where I found the idea for this recipe, but it represented my 2001 moment, combining ingredients for the first time in a giant evolutionary step... PIZZA!!

It's ghetto fabulous for sure. I'm almost ashamed to be posting it as an "appetizer" for fear that I will be blamed when this gets served to company. But it's a great simple recipe for kids and a delicious snack for anyone. The basic concept is also very flexible (English muffin + any sauce + heat = crazy delicious). Below is just MY version, but YOU should play around, substitute ingredients, add, subtract... Explore the kitchen, kids! Just don't burn your mouth.

-- 1 English Muffin
-- 4 Tbsp. Pasta Sauce, warm (Marinara works well)
-- Pinch of Oregano
-- 2 Slices of Cheese (Mozzarella works well)

Split the English muffin. Spoon 2 tbsp. of sauce onto each half and spread it around, filling the little holes. Crush a pinch of oregano between your thumb and pointer finger, sprinkling over everything. Lay a slice of cheese over each half.

Broil in a toaster-oven if you have one or your oven broiler if you're an adult. Remove when the cheese is completely melted and slightly golden in color. Don't forget to unplug the toaster afterwards!

Homemade Pasta

1 egg, beaten

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup flour

2 tbl. water

Combine flour and  salt. Make a well in the flour and add the egg. Mix well, adding water as needed. Turn out onto lightly floured surface.

Knead dough for 3 to 4 minutes. Hand roll or put through a pasta machine. Cut into strips. Dry for at least 20 minutes before cooking. You can store the dried pasta in air tight bags and freeze it, if you wish. 

Homemade pasta seems to cook faster than store bought, so check it often for doneness. 

We used to spend Saturday afternoons making pasta--fettucine, linguine, and ravioli. We would hang it on an old-fashioned wooden laundry dryer, but that had to go up on top of a table because our old collie, Leafy, just loved those noodles. 

Eggplant Parmigiana

Most recipes for eggplant parmigiana will have you salt the eggplant slices, then drain and fry them before baking. The salting is to remove excess moisture from the eggplant so that it doesn't absorb so much oil in the frying. I've simplified the recipe and find that the results are perfectly good and far healthier.

1 medium eggplant, sliced 1/2 inch thick

1 can tomato sauce with the following added: Oregano, marjoram, red wine, ground pepper

Italian bread crumbs 

Parmesan cheese

Place the slices in a buttered casserole, top with the sauce, sprinkle with the crumbs and then the Parmesan. Bake covered for 45 minutes at 350, remove the cover and continue baking a few more minutes until the top crisps up. 

Oma's Manzo Brasato; Beef in Red Wine (Italian)

4 lb. beef pot roast

4 tbl. olive oil

1 tbl. butter

2 cups dry red wine

1 1/2 cups onions, chopped

1/2 cup grated carrots

1/2 cup diced celery

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. rosemary

1 bay leaf

Dash of ground cloves

1 1/2 cups tomatoes

Brown the roast in a large pot with the olive oil and butter. Pour over the remaining ingredients. Cook covered on top of stove until tender (approx. 4 hours). Discard bay leaf. Place beef in baking pan. Puree vegetables in pan juices, spread over meat. Bake at 450 for 15 minutes. 

Cannoli

Cannoli Shells: 1 1/3 cups flour, 1 tbsp shortening, pinch of salt, 1/2 tsp. sugar, wine (sweet or dry).

Mix flour, shortening, salt and sugar. Add enough wine to make a stiff but workable dough. Roll into a ball and let stand for about an hour. Roll out dough 1/8" thick. Cut into 5" squares. Place cannoli tube* across the corners of the square. First fold one corner around the tube, then the other corner and press the corners together. Deep fry one at a time until a dark golden brown. Remove carefully and let cool completely before filling. Makes 12.

* Cannoli tubes can be found at specialty stores, or you can get a aluminum tube from the hardware store. Get a tube about 8 inches long and about an inch thick. Or if all else fails, use an unpainted broom or mop handle.

Ricotta Filling: 1 pound ricotta, 2 tbsp. chocolate chips or shaved chocolate, 1 tbsp. candied orange peel or rind, 1 jigger of almond liqueur or crème de cacao, or any other liqueur you prefer, 2 tbsp. powdered sugar.

An Italian Christmas Eve Supper

Since this blog is for my son, I am attempting to include several different traditions that have influenced our family cooking over the years. Here is an article that I found at the Post-Gazette.com Magazine, quoted in its entirety.

The tradition of the Italian Christmas Eve Feast
Monday, December 20, 1999
By Suzanne Martinson, Food Editor

It's difficult to precisely pin down the origins of the "seven fishes of Christmas Eve" that many Italian-Americans serve, but Rizzi DeFabo has tried.

The restaurateur, whose family owns Rizzi's Malabar Inn in Crabtree, says he always heard the seven fishes talked about for Christmas Eve dinner, but there was never an explanation. Three theories:

The Seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church -- baptism, penance, Holy Eucharist, confirmation, marriage, holy orders and the sacrament of the sick.

The seven sins of the world -- pride, envy, anger, gluttony, sloth, lust and greed.

The seven days it took Mary and Joseph to travel to Bethlehem.

"Some say it's the seven hills of Rome, some say it's the seven winds of Italy, or the Seven Wonders of the World," he says.

DeFabo says the northern Italian people "don't really know about this custom. It's from Naples on down, a southern Italian tradition."

Many Italian families will serve many more than seven fish -- up to 21 types of various preparations. As for the fixed number of dishes, DeFabo Rizzi says, "Southern Italians are very superstitious. I'm very superstitious." His roots are in the south of Italy, too, his father from the Abruzzi region, his mother's town in the Molise region.

"No expense was spared to buy the fish for Christmas Eve," DeFabo says. His own family will be host for 32 family members for the traditional Christmas Eve dinner at their home near the restaurant. This marks the 85th consecutive year the family has gathered.

Family togetherness is important, DeFabo says, if you want to follow the popular Italian saying "Natale con I tuoi; Pasqua conchi vuoi," which means "Christmas with your family; Easter with whomever you wish."

Through Thursday, the restaurant is serving smelt, calamari, , shrimp, eel and baccala three different ways -- stewed, in a salad and deep-fried. It is accompanied by spaghetti with raisins, walnuts and breadcrumbs with garlic and oil. His grandmother always made cauliflower battered and deep fried. The signature dessert is panettone, a holiday cake.

DeFabo considers baccala, which is dried cod, the most popular holiday fish. Lou Dell'Aquila of Leet Township also includes baccala at his traditional Christmas Eve party for family and friends. He says many cultures besides the Italians enjoy dried cod, including Scandinavians, Portuguese and the Spanish. "They salt it right on the boat," he says. "The key man on the boat was the man who knew how to salt -- too much destroys flavor, too little salt and it would rot."