[Sca-cooks] Happy Festivus To All, plus Xmas menus for those who do that...

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

On Dec 23, 2007, at 10:11 PM, rattkitten wrote:

> Merry Yule to all.
> I just had to share here.  Is it written somewhere that the cooks list
> will eat Seafood this Christmas Eve? LOL

It is, among other things, an old Italian thing, and while that's  
about the only ethnicity that is demonstrably not part of my gene  
pool, nobody growing up in Queens in the 50's, 60's and 70's didn't  
know at least ten Italian-American families doing this on Christmas  
Eve. Meatless lasagne was a frequent menu item, generally of the red- 
sauce-ricotta-mozarella type, with something like scungilli or  
calimari alla marinara (the former cooked in the sauce, the latter  
either cooked in the sauce or floured and deep-fried, with the sauce  
added later). Clams and/or mussels in some sort of white wine sauce  
(basically the Italian version of what the French call mariniere --  
olive oil, white wine, garlic -- or if you're French, possibly  
shallots -- all cooked down to a thin sauce and the shellfish steamed  
on top until they open. Shrimp in the same white wine sauce, or cooked  
in red marinara sauce, or floured, deep-fried, and marinara sauce  
added later, usually with a lot of red pepper flakes. Stuff like that...

FWIW, scungilli is probably _the_ best, barring none, seafood product  
(with bacalao in tomato sauce a close second) that can actually be put  
in a can without major textural weirdness occurring to render the food  
item something other than the fresh seafood you started out with.  
Canned clams, well, they're okay for an emergency chowder, canned  
squid and octopus are okay as long as you don't attempt to compare  
them with squid or octopus, but canned oysters and mussels are pretty  
dreadful, and as for canned shrimp, well, they're pretty insulting.  
Whereas canned lobster meat just makes me cry.

I found this article webbed here, which talks about the whole Southern- 
Italian-American Seafood mystique on Christmas Eve:

http://www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A41812

>  Seafood extravaganza for 2 here at our little abode.  Lobster Tails,
> King and Snow Legs, Shrimp, Oysters, Possibly corn... but No sausage.
> (Although I might throw in a piece or 2 for myself) All of the above
> cooked Steam pot Style.  With Scallops Rockefeller as an appetizer.

Spinach or watercress in those beautiful Rockefeller babies??? Or am I  
thinking of something else?

I doubt there's too much chance for oysters tomorrow, but we'll see. I  
_did_ extend feelers and put in my "order" for real, live, semi-local  
oysters for early February's Lunar New Year. Which, ideally, we will  
probably eat raw.

> Let's see Christmas foods
> Sausage Balls stuffed with olives for breakfast.
> Possibly shrimp grits if there are any left over from Monday...
>
> Broccoli Di Rape and Garlic Soup
> Wilted Brussels Sprouts Greens Salad (Cause our Brussels have NOT  
> really
> come in yet cause I think we screwed something up in the growing  
> process...)
> Tomato with Mozzarella
> Possibly bruschetta
> Duck a l'Orange Cause I just found some blood oranges
> Ghirardelli Individual Chocolate Lava Cakes from the add in Gourmet  
> Magazine
>
> I am doing something with a Gourmet Mushroom mix that I got just not
> sure what yet... (I think the bruschetta just went away and became  
> Wild
> Mushroom Risotto)
> Y'all get the feeling that I am working on the menu as I type?
>
> And if I can figure out how... I had this really cool idea of using
> Wonton Wrappers to make mini cones and will be stuffing those with a
> Cream Cheese and Crab meat mixture (or whatever meat we have leftover
> from Mondays Seafood meal).  ((Hmmm maybe 3-4 icing tips stacked
> together to use as a mold to deep fry the "shells"))

Leftover seafood. I'm sorry, what does that mean? Are you speaking of  
the concept of seafood left uneaten at the end of a meal? Oh, I see, I  
thought you were _SERIOUS_!!! Hahahaha, that's a good one!

> Anyways just wanted to share.
> Happy Cooking Everyone.
>
> Nichola

Sounds awesome! Thanks!

Adamantius