Feast of Seven Fishes A Traditional Christmas Eve Dinner A traditional Italian feast celebrated on Christmas Eve, although the meaning of number seven is a mystery most believe it represents the Seven Sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, Healing, Holy Orders and Matrimony. The seven sacraments touch all the stages and all the important moments of Christian life. Usually seven types of seafood are served. Here is my suggestions for seven seafood dishes for your Christmas Eve menu. Add a few vegetable side dishes, and a tasty dessert, and enjoy! Seafood A La Mediterranean Recipe Serves: 6 Recipes Ingredients: 18 large shrimp 18 cherrystone clams 18 mussels 6 (4-oz.) lobster tails 3/4 cup light olive oil 2 onions, finely chopped 3 cloves garlic, finely minced 2 cups white wine 3 cups plum tomatoes, drained 2 bay leaves 1/2 tsp. dried oregano 2 tbsp. chopped Italian parsley salt and freshly ground pepper 2 tbsp. chopped curly parsley Recipe Instructions: To prepare shellfish, de-vein shrimp, leaving shell intact. Scrub mussels and clams well, discarding opened ones. Cut tailfins from lobster tails and leave meat in shell. Cut into 1-inch pieces. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add chopped onion and cook over low heat for 2 minutes. Add garlic and continue to cook for another minute. Do not brown. Add lobster tails and shrimp. Cook for 2 minutes. Add the wine, tomatoes, bay leaves, oregano, Italian parsley, salt and pepper. Increase heat and cook briskly for 6 more minutes. Add the clams and mussels, cover, and continue to cook briskly for 12--15 minutes, or until the clams and mussels are open. Discard any unopened clams or mussels. Remove bay leaves. Transfer stew to a heated serving dish. Sprinkle with chopped curly parsley and serve with crusty bread and a crisp salad. Eel 2 lbs. of eel-cleaned,skinned, and cut into 2 inch pieces 2/3 cup of olive oil 2 garlic cloves-crushed 1 tsp. of sage bread crumbs salt, and pepper place eel in a bowl, and sprinkle with salt,pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil/refrigerate for 2 hours/coat eel with bread crumbs/heat oil in a casserole/saute garlic, and sage/add eel in a single layer, and bake at 350 for 40 minutes Baccala Note that the baccala needs to be soaked for an entire day in advance and the water changed several times. Serves 4 as a main dish 1 pound dried salt cod, cut into 4 x 4-inch pieces 1/2 cup olive oil 3 onions, sliced 3 pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4 -inch dice 4 cups chicken or fish stock 1 tablespoon fresh thyme 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley 1 cup Sicilian green olives, pitted and sliced salt and pepper to taste Soak the cod in cold water for 24 hours. Change the water 5 times to remove the salt. Drain and pat the cod pieces dry with a towel. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Add the cod to the pan (do not overcrowd) and brown on one side. Carefully flip with a spatula and brown the other side. Once browned, remove the cod from the pan. Drain on paper towels and set aside in a warm spot. Brown the onions in the same pan that the cod was cooked in. Once the onions are nicely browned, add the potatoes and cook until the potatoes are also browned. (If the pan is too dry, add a few drops of chicken stock.) Once the potatoes have browned, add the rest of the chicken stock and bring the liquid to a boil. Lower the heat and allow to simmer for 5 minutes, then mix in the thyme, parsley, and olives. Lay the browned cod on top of the potato mixture, cover, and cook for 10 minutes. Turn the cod over carefully and cook for 10 minutes more. Remove carefully to a warm platter using a spatula and serve immediately. Insalata Di Scungilli 1 lg. can of scungilli 1 sm. sliced onion 1 garlic clove - minced 1 stalk of celery - sliced 1 tomatoe cut into small wedges 10 small black olives (pitted) Lettuce 1/4 cup olive oil juice of 1/2 lemon dash of salt and pepper 1 tsp - parsley Place scungilli in mixing bowl/mix with onion, olives, celery, garlic and parsley - mix olive oil with lemon juice - make sure it's not too lemony - pour over scungilli and vegetables and toss well - line serving bowl with lettuce leaves - place scungilli in center and surround salad with tomatoe wedges.