Feast of the Seven Fishes

last evening was a feast of fishes. the menu consisted the following:

stuffed calamari

3 lbs calamari

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups homemade bread crumbs

3/4 cup pine nuts

2 eggs

olive oil

salt & pepper

sauce

1 garlic clove, minced

2 cans crushed tomatoes (i use san marzano tomatoes)

1 bay leaf

2 tbls dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

place in heavy sauce pan and simmer for 1 hour, or more.

stuff each calamari body and place in baking dish. cover with sauce and some parmesan cheese. bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

this dish was my favorite.

octopus

this past summer we had a spanish man named pablo stay with us for a couple of days. the last evening of his stay him and his crew made a typical Spanish meal. he cooked the octopus in my kitchen as i wanted to learn how this galacian dish is prepared. he boiled water and placed the octopus in the water. i tried to repeat this dish and what ended up happening was that we were having contests to see how long we could chew and swallow. many of us gave up and had to spit it out. i guess i need to go back to octopus cooking school.

baccala

salted cod fish

black and green olives,chopped

2 garlic cloves, sliced

pepper

overnight, soak the fish in cold water. place fish in boiling water until fish turns white in color. break pieces up and ad the olives, garlic, olive oil, and pepper. this dish is served cold.

eel

cleaned eel

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbls dried oregano

1 tbls dried basil

3 bay leaves, crumbled

cut eel in 3 inch pieces. marinate for 2 hours. cook on grill.

this dish was better than i thought it would be. i have to tell you that i have prepared many dishes and cutting these snake like pieces gave me the chills. i thought to myself, this better be tasty and worth it, and i was pleasantly surprised. dylan was the grill master for this dish.

shrimp cocktail

this one is the easiest to prepare, as i choose to buy the cooked, frozen shrimp.

cocktail sauce

ketchup

horseradish

worcestershire sauce

lemon juice

depending on how hot you like your sauce you can adjust all of the quantities above. give it a taste and add more of what you like.

smelt

cleaned smelt

flour

salt & pepper
eggs

olive oil

in a skillet, heat up olive oil. dip smelt in egg and then in to the flour (add the salt and pepper to the flour). fry until golden and crispy. my friend jess helped to fry these tasty treats.

pasta with tuna fish sauce

olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1 large can of tomato paste

1 large can tomato puree

1 bay leaf

2 tbls dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

2 cups, or more of water

2 cans tuna fish, in water

2 lbs angel hair pasta

saute the garlic in the olive oil. add the other ingredients and simmer for at least an hour or more. before serving, add the two cans of tuna. put on top of cooked pasta and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

additional dishes

in addition to the above i made a few antipasto plates that included: roasted red peppers, marinated artichoke hearts, black and green olives, lupine beans, pepperincini, marinated anchovies

broccoli rabi sauteed with garlic and olive oil

tossed salad

dessert

pizzelle

ewand

grandma theresa's cookies

brownies

wines served

la crema chardonnay

mark west pinot noir