Happy Valentine's Day

"The most powerful magic is Love!" -Sam-e Brown

Hope your day if filled with sweetness and joy and may love surround you and fill your heart with happiness especially on this Valentine's Day!

Happy Mother's Day

"That best academy, a mother's knee." ~James Russell Lowell.

HAPPY EASTER!

"I think of the garden after the rain;
And hope to my heart
comes singing.
At morn the cherry blossoms will be white,
and the Easter bells will be ringing." -Edna Dean Proctor

Good Idea: Finding Easter eggs on Easter Sunday.

Bad Idea: Finding Easter eggs at Thanksgiving.

Happy Easter one and all!

Happy St. Paddy's Day

May you always have walls for the winds,
a roof for the rain,
tea beside the fire,
laughter to cheer you,
those you love near you,
and all your heart might desire.
-Irish Blessing

Hope everyone has a great St. Paddy's day!

Happy Valentine's Day 2012

Here's to a Happy Valentine's Day and to "young love" no matter what your age.

I'm dedicating this Valentine post to my two daughters and the wonderful young men in their lives. May each of your hearts always be filled with the gift of true love.

Aria and Daniele

Athena and Mat

lyrics from " I'll Take Romance"

"I'll take romance,
While my heart is young and eager to fly,
I'll give my heart a try - I'll take romance.
I'll take romance,
While my arms are strong and eager for you,
I'll give my arms their cue - I'll take romance.

So when you want me, call me,
In the hush of the evening;
When you call me in the hush of the
Evening I'll rush to my
First real romance,
While my heart is young and eager and gay,
I'll give my heart away - I'll take romance."

Christmas Eve Dinner in Ohio 2011

We were fortunate to spend two weeks during the Christmas holidays with my husbands family in Ohio. Christmas Eve is the night Italian families traditionally enjoy a dinner feast commonly referred to as "Seven Fishes".*

My husband Mike and I arrived in Cleveland on the 23rd of December. His brother Rocky had done most of the shopping for the big fish dinner on Christmas eve. Together the two brothers have been planning the menu for a long time. They will be busy preparing all the dishes.

On the 24th our daughter Aria and her boyfriend Daniele arrived from Wisconsin. Now we were happily all together.

Here's Rocky and his wife Mary and their daughter Amanda

Mike's wonderful mom Lucy (85 yrs. young)

Mike's dad Nate is 89 yrs. young and can still entertain us with his sharp wit.

I love my 13 yr. old niece Amanda. She waiting "under the Mistletoe" headband for Justin Beiber!

Lots of time sit around and talk with everyone.

In the evening things are busy. The table is set for the big feast...

Mike is busy in the kitchen,

All the fish are breaded and ready for frying.

The dough is being mixed for the traditional "Fry bread".

Once the bread dough is fried sugar is sprinkled on top. Mmmm eat em while their hot.

Yummy.

The two brothers are fast at work.

Everyone has their favorites. The shrimp cocktail is a must for Grandma Lucy.

So many things cooking all at once.

A thumbs up from Rocky means we're ready to eat!

The baccala looks so tempting.

Lots of crab and lobster..

Buon Appetito tutti!

Baccala (cod), calamari, lobster, crab, smelt, oyster,shrimp and fried bread. Gotta love this tradition!

Time to relax and enjoy the family. The true gift for us is spending this holiday together!

*This is what wikipedia says about the "Seven Fish Christmas Eve Dinner":
It is believed to have originated in Southern Italy and is not a known tradition in many parts of Italy. Today, it is a feast that typically consists of seven different seafood dishes. This celebration commemorates the wait, theVigilia di Natale, for the midnight birth of the baby Jesus.
The meal may include seven, eight, or even nine specific fishes that are considered traditional. The most famous dish Southern Italians are known for is baccala (salted cod fish). The custom of celebrating with a simple fish such as baccalà is attributed to the greatly impoverished regions of Southern Italy. Fried smelts, calamari, and other types of seafood have been incorporated into the Christmas Eve dinner over the years."

See here for last years 7 fish dinner:

http://followbarbsbliss.blogspot.com/2011/12/christmas-eve-traditions.html

Christmas Eve Traditions

A tradition that I have come to love is our Christmas eve " Fish" dinner*. This is a traditional southern italian feast in which many different dishes are created with fish. Every year the menu varies a bit in our household with my husband planning and executing the meal. It takes a lot of planning and preparation and shopping at specialty stores to get just the right ingredients and best selection of fish.

Christmas 2010 Barb, Aria, Mike, Daniele

My husband, Mike usually creates a menu based on the fish each family member has requested that year. In the past we have had an assortment which included: shrimp, oysters (raw, deep fried, in a stew), calamari (deep fried, stuffed), steamed crab, lobster, baccala which is a salted cod and a variety of other seafoods in sauces, fried, and stuffed, cocktailed...you name it. It's all wonderful. Here are a few photos from past years.

Fried shrimp and a stuffed calamari ...

Two kinds of crabs.

The preparation after days of shopping takes place the morning of the feast. Pounds of fish need to be shelled, deveined, and cleaned. Mike is busy in the kitchen all day long.

Don't throw the shells out. You can boil them in water, the broth can be used for great sauces and stews.

Everyone helps out. There's alot of breading of scallops, oysters, shrimp etc.

After trays of seafood are breaded, Mike begins the big task of frying. Meanwhile pots are steaming crabs, butter is being melted for broiled scallops, lobster or shrimp and pots of mixed seafood sauces for pasta are simmering. Mmmm the dinner is almost ready.

Mike prepares the plates to serve.

This year we will be having our traditional "Feast of the Fishes" with Mike's italian family in Ohio. This night will be especially fun and meaningful as we will be feasting with his parents, his brother and his family and our daughter Aria and her boyfriend Daniele who happens to be from southern Italy. (Mike's mom who has cooked this meal throughout Mike's formative years will get to sit back and relax as Mike and his brother cook tonight). I'll have to share photos with you later.

Happy Christmas Eve everyone!

*Feast Of The Seven Fishes
The Feast of the Seven Fishes is an ancient Southern Italian Christmas Eve tradition and can actually feature anywhere from seven to 13 fishes. The feast sprang up as a response to the Roman Catholic Church's decree against eating meat and meat products on certain holy days. The whole season of advent leading up to Christmas was this type of fasting time. So, resourceful Italians turned this fast into feast of fish and seafood — traditionally cooked in oil.
But why the Feast of the SEVEN Fishes? That's not exactly clear: for the seven sacraments, seven virtues — there are all kinds of theories. But whatever the reason, the feast endured, and when Southern Italians began to immigrate to the U.S., the feast came along and became an Italian-American tradition as well.

Heading Home For The Holidays

"Oh, there's no place like home for the holidays

'Cause no matter how far away you roam

If you want to be happy in a million ways

For the holidays you can't beat home, sweet home."

Today will be a busy one. As soon as we land we will grocery shop for all the things we need for the big "7 fish Christmas Eve" dinner tomorrow night. I know there will be a lot of preparation for tomorrow's big italian dinner. Yay we're home in Ohio!

-Allen and Stilmen