Feast of Fishes

The Feast of the Seven Fishes is making a comeback in my family this year.

In recent years, we've let lapse this Italian-American Christmas Eve custom of serving seven varieties of seafood.

When I began planning a menu this year, I came up with six fishes, but still needed inspiration for the seventh fish.

My pal and frequent traveling buddy Katie invited me along to the Seven Fish Dinner at Toscana Kitchen + Bar which was held earlier this month in Trolley Square.

My photos aren't great. Sorry. It was dark in the restaurant and I was doing more talking and eating than concentrating on photography. (We had a really fun group at my table. That was a pleasant surprise. Once during a wine dinner, I got stuck at table with a drunk professor who kept dropping f-bombs and insulting people at the table. Watching this sloppy bozo was funny for a while, until it got really annoying.)

The calamari stuffed with chorizo cornbread and smoked tomato sauce was my favorite course. (Photo above.) Chef Clifton Aycock got it just right - the calamari wasn't at all tough and it married perfectly with the slightly spicy stuffing and smoky pool of tomato sauce. I could eat this quite often and be very happy. I thought about making it Christmas Eve, but I will save this kind of elaborate dish for another day. I need something a little more simple.

Another winner was the scallops and American roe. It was served in its shell with custard glaze. The accompanying wine was Germano Ettore Binel 2006, which cut through the cream sauce with some zest that wasn't too citrusy. The wine is a blend of Chardonnay and Riesling. You can buy it Moore Brothers Wine Company.



The ravioli of lobster and mushrooms (below) was perfectly fine, but I've had lobster ravioli before. It didn't wow me like the calamari. Moore Brothers matched the dish with Bardolino Superiore Corte Gardoni 2006 - a blend of Corvina, Rondinella and a touch of Sangiovese. It's a wine from the Veneto region of Italy.

The Anjou pear tartlet (below) with anglaise sauce was a beautiful presentation, but, unfortunately, the pear wasn't poached long enough. It was so hard, in fact, we had to saw at it with a knife. I gave up and mostly ate the puff pastry and anglaise. It was paired with a very nice Moscato d'Asti Giuseppe Domenico Vajra 2007, a soft sparkler.




I'm still tweaking my Christmas Eve menu as I write this, but I'm definitely making Ina Garten's Seafood Gratin. It's a one-dish casserole that seems both simple and elegant. I have no desire for last minute cooking on Christmas Eve and being a slave to the kitchen. I just want to spend quality time with family and friends and toast the holiday. Here's Ina's recipe.