The Feast of the Seven Fishes

One of the first mentions of the Feast of the Seven Fishes was in a 1987 NYT article, “A Seven Course Feast of Fish.”

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There are no hard-and-fast rules for a Feast of the Seven Fishes menu, but a few unofficial guidelines are followed by many Italian Americans:

• You must serve baccalà (salt cod)

• Also, calamari

• And a pasta dish.

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I promise myself every year that I’ll keep it simple, give myself enough time to do much of the prep ahead of time, or make dishes that can be completely prepared ahead of time. Maybe this year I will keep my promise.

Here’s my tentative menu for Christmas Eve 2021:

I’m committed to keeping gratitude in my heart this year, as I am so thankful to be able to get celebrate the Feast in-person with loved ones, rather than remotely. May our Zoom celebrations be a thing of the past, with nothing but bear hugs, kisses and seafood pasta in our future. Buon Natale everyone!