It's nice to have a traditional meal like this. Especially when its not "typical."
But the fish, prawns and clams would surely have added to the flavor of the broth! It's a shame to eliminate them just becasue they don't get eaten. Maybe that just means more leftovers for you?
Sounds a lot like one of my all time favorites: Bouillabaisse!
We don't celebrate Christmas per se, but we have a traditional Solstice dinner.
Roast Cornish hens, glazed with bitter orange marmalade. I usually butterfly them, so they cook evenly and quickly.
Wild Rice. Sometimes pilaf style with pecans and dried cranberries or cherries in it.
Roast Acorn Squash. When I take this to holiday parties I serve it in orange peel cups, sprinkle some brown sugar and butter over the top, and broil for a bit of a glaze.
We feast right around sunset, and then put out all the electric lights in the house except the tree, and hang out all night playing games or reading aloud or napping by candle light until dawn. Then it's stockings and and toasted stollen and oranges for breakfast, hot chocolate and coffee all around and gift time.
AnnaEa:
Sounds like you have a fun and festive time during your celebration.
I will try turning off the lights except the three this year. We play games mainly because there are kids who love to do that. My four grown sons remember all the games that we would play and they still love to do with their children.
Bye and Happy Holiday to you.
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Its really a great Chritsmas celebration, what a delicious crab chiappino christmas dinner! Sounds yummy to me, its really good to see this post. Thanks for sharing with us.
Julbord i Stockholm | Stockholms bästa julbord
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
In 2008 several days before Christmas I went grocery shopping since I was doing the annual family Crab Ciappino Christmas dinner. I bought twelve crabs already cooked, cleaned, but not cracked. I have been getting them from Lee since 1969.
Lee one of the owners of the local Market said to me, When you come to pick them up just let someone like Kevin know and we will have them ready for you. When you leave you have to go out the side door. We don't want to make the customers waiting in line upset. They have to wait while it is done for them.
“ Sure I can do that.”
“Just take the labels and pay for them at the check stand then you leave by the side door.”
When I picked up the crabs there must have been a hundred people waiting in line for crabs each with a little number. They were delivered fresh from Bodega bay, California. Where the movie "The Birds" was made.
I remember the first time I decided to make the crab Chioppino Christmas dinner. Grandpa Bert, who was Italian and a meat cutter helped me the first time.
Bert said, we must have one crab for each adult. So make sure you get at least 16 crabs. Make sure you get a pound of prawns, some clams. Make sure the clams aren’t open, if they are open that means they are old. Also get some fish to throw in there.
I bought about 16 cleaned crabs and all the other stuff. We cracked them in the sink. We made the sauce for them with tomatoes, tomato paste and sauce, onions, garlic, an array of herbs and we poured a bottle of red wine for flavor. We let them saturate over night.. .
Dinner was Crab chiappino. White rice with crab Chioppino sauce over it, fresh tossed salad, fresh real French bread, real butter. Margarine was allowed in my home, Pepsi or root beer. Bert was allowed to have wine cause he was Italian. Coffee cause grandma likes it, with dessert.
Desert: Pumpkin, apple pie and vanilla ice cream with whipping cream.
I got some butcher paper and made large neck bibs for everyone for dinner.
“You don’t wear a bib, you don’t get any crab, I told everyone. Also you adult can only have two of the breast in the pots. If you cheat you get no dessert.”
It was the first time our whole family had crab for Christmas. Just before dinner was served, we had to set up several tables that extended into the living room.
This dinner turned out fun, with much laughter and talk. It was a noisy affair since my home is small but that was always part of the fun.
Most of the prawns disappeared somewhere in the sauce. The clams were there but only Bert ate them. The fish couldn't be seen it must have disintegrated, but nobody cared for it, except for Bert.
Everyone just wanted the crab. Some cheated changing the breast for claws and some getting more than two breasts by being sneaky, including me. There is always someone trying to end up with more than two crab breast.
Some of the bibs got very red with the sauce from the pliers and the nutcrackers being used on the crab.
The Chioppino that I make now is simple but no prawns, no shrimp no clams and no fish. I let the cracked crab marinate for a whole day, so the sauce flavor is throughout the crab.
I serve white rice with the crab Chioppino sauce on it. Some one brings the tossed salad. Apple pies that some one brings, real French bread, with real butter. Lot's of napkins and a few nut crackers. I do such a good job you just have to use your fingers to eat it.
I suck and slurp on the crab when I eat it. I catch hell from everyone. I always promise to be better.
We don't serve any liquor, but we have real Pepsi or apple cider in bottles.
Back to my cooking: During the week, I bought hand onion dicer since my old one has broken. It turned out onion dicer was a disaster, I should have bought the more expensive one. I ended up shedding tears using the dicer on the onions. It would have been faster if I had used a knife and diced the onions. After I was done I found out I could have purchased onion already cut up at Trader Joe’s.
Bert and Jo our grandparents won't be with us this year. I think it will be a great Christmas for us.
I wish all of you a Merry Christmas.
What do you cook or how do you celebrate Christmas if you do?
Bye for now . . .
DENVER