Home For The Holidays - Feast of The Seven Fishes, 2013!

Smoked Salmon with Lemon Creme Fraiche on Chips
(Thanks, Nina, for my beautiful plates!)
Photo: NK

Wow, Holidays, you really know how to exhaust a girl. But you are so worth it. I may be coming to you just a bit later than usual with the holiday recap of our annual Feast of The Seven Fishes Christmas Eve Meal, but I'm happy to say that our third year of hosting was a success! 

Many dishes from last year's menu made a repeat showing, but I also made sure to add on a few new recipes for variety's sake. In fact, we increased our number of courses overall and were very proud to serve a total of eight dishes (counting hors d'oeuvres) and a whopping nine kinds of fish! Definitely a personal best for this household! 

To kick off the evening, we served up Smoked Salmon with Lemon Creme Fraiche Canapés. We made a slight change to last year's recipe by spiking the creme fraiche with about a teaspoon of lemon zest (to three tablespoons of creme) and serving the salmon mixture on a kettle-cooked potato chips! I just love hors d'oeuvres on chips, and they are much more cost effective than using blini as a base. 

Before I go on, here's our whole menu:

Feast of the Seven Fishes - 2013

Smoked Salmon Canapes on Chips (recipe HERE)

Crostini with Roasted Red Peppers & Tonnato Sauce (see below)

Individual Lump Crab Cocktails (recipe HERE)

Baccala Salad (see below)

Calamari Salad with Citrus Flavors (see below)

Zuppa di Vongole (Clams) over Savory Crouton (recipe HERE)

Shrimp & Lobster Fra Diavolo over Fettucine (recipe HERE)

Rao's Lemon Sole (recipe HERE)

Assorted Desserts Courtesy of our Guests! (scroll for photos)

Individual Lump Crab Cocktails, Photo: NK

For our next hors d'oeuvre bite, we served crostini that had been lightly brushed with a classic Italian sauce called Tonnato, before being topped with slices of roasted pepper. A personal favorite of mine, Tonnato is  a tuna-based sauce most traditionally served with thinly sliced, chilled veal. The sauce is native to the Piedmont region in Italy.  Forgetting himself, my husband cutely refers to it as "tornado." As in: "Are you making the tornado appetizer?" He sure is good for comic relief. I hope you enjoy this festive, easy, and very Italian nibble, Crostini With Roasted Red Peppers & Tonnato Sauce:

Crostini with Roasted Red Peppers & Tonnato Sauce, Photo: NK  

Crostini With Roasted Red Peppers & Tonnato Sauce 
Adapted from Food & Wine and inspired by Epicurious
Serves 8, 2 pieces per guest
Make Ahead: Tonnato sauce can be made up to 2 days ahead and stored in the fridge. Assemble crostini about an hour or less before serving. 

Ingredients:
1/4 Cup Olive Oil based Mayonnaise
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
One 6-Ounce Jar Italian Tuna packed in Olive Oil
3 teaspoons Capers (divided), drained and well rinsed
2 Tablespoons Water
6 Anchovy fillets
1 Jar Roasted Red Peppers, drained and patted dry, sliced into 1/2 inch strips
1 Crusty French Baguette, sliced into 16 thin slices, brushed with Olive Oil and toasted 
1/2 Cup finely chopped Italian Parsley

Method: 
1. Blend 2 teaspoons capers with Mayonnaise, Olive Oil, Lemon Juice, Tuna, and Water until smooth and silky. You can prepare up to this step as much as 2 days in advance. Keep refrigerated. 

2. Spread about a teaspoon of Tonnato Sauce on each slice of bread. Now top each toast with 2-3 slices of Red Pepper. Sprinkle with Capers and ample Parsley. Enjoy!

NEXT UP: 
This Sicilian style calamari salad is understated, clean and delicious. A dash of orange flavor makes it interesting and bright. Cooking the calamari just right is the key to nailing this recipe - and steaming the fish is a great way to achieve the perfect texture.  It'll become an instant classic at your holiday table, but is simple enough for everyday. 

Calamari Salad With Citrus Flavors, Photo: NK

Calamari Salad With Citrus Flavors
Lightly adapted from Lidia Bastianich
Serves 6 as a light appetizer
Make Ahead: This salad will keep nicely in the fridge for 24 hours. Bring to room temp before serving, or served chilled if you prefer. 

Ingredients:
1.5 - 2 Pounds Cleaned Calamari (medium-large size, tubes and tentacles)
1 Lemon
3 Dried Bay Leaves
1.5 Tablespoons Lemon Juice 
1 Orange, zested (for about a Tablespoon of zest)
3/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt or Sea Salt, divided
3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper or more to taste
3 Tablespoons Italian Parsley, chopped

Method: 
1. Set a large pot with a few inches of water at the bottom on the stove, enough you'll be able to position a colander inside of the pot without it touching the water. Shave all the yellow zest off the lemon using a paring knife. Avoid the white pith. Add the lemon rinds and bay leaves to the water and bring it to a simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. This will infuse the water with their aromas. 

2. While the water simmers, rinse Calamari tubes and tentacles well. Slice the tubes into 1/3 inch rings. For the larger tubes, you can fold them over lengthwise in order to slice them more easily. Trim any extra-long tentacles and discard.

3. Once water has simmered for a half hour, place the colander atop the pot and add the calamari. Cover the pot, and allow to steam for 2 minutes. Add two pinches of salt to the calamari and toss in the colander. Repeat this process about 3 times for a total of 8-10 minutes steaming time. Note:The 8 minutes is broken into 2 minute intervals where you season and toss the squid. You'll know the squid is done when it is tender but slightly springy to the bite. 

4. Remove the colander to a sink and allow the calamari to drain and cool a bit for about 5 minutes. Place calamari in a bowl and toss with crushed red pepper, olive oil, lemon juice, grated orange zest, and parsley. Taste for seasoning and add any remaining salt if needed. Serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!!   

Baccala Salad. Photo: NK

And now, for what ended up being the sleeper hit of our Christmas Eve feast, our version of Baccala Salad. But first, a confession: for years, I've felt semi-fradulent by not including de rigueur Baccala in our Italian fish menu. Baccala is dried salt cod that requires soaking and reconstituting in water before it can be used in food preparations. Truth is, I've never liked eating salt cod in fillet form, even though, interestingly, plain old fresh cod is probably one of my favorite fish. But who am I to impugn a food that generations of Italian grandmas have revered? So, with the best of intentions, I tried my hand at Baccala (a day in advance of my party, just in case the worst happened). 

For the three days preceding, I'd dutifully soaked the cod, and changed the water twice per day as directed. Still, when I finally boiled it up, I found it fishy and not that tender. Definitely not something I was comfortable serving. Granted, I probably did something massively wrong or overcooked the fish, but the show needed to go on, and I was determined to complete my cod mission. One fillet of fresh cod later and I was on my way. The result was delicious. Besides, we here at Neurotic Kitchen don't spend three days preparing anything, so this fresh cod solution was really much more our speed. With just six minutes in poaching liquid, what emerged was a stunning white cod fillet that was plump and ready to be mixed up with some mouthwatering hot cherry peppers, olives, and capers. I am drooling again as I write this. Enjoy! 

Baccala Salad
Adapted from the Rao's Cookbook
Serves 6 as a light appetizer course 
Make Ahead: You can prepare this up to 6 or 7 hours in advance. Store in the fridge and serve at room temperature

Ingredients: 
2 - 8 to 10 Ounce Fillets of  Fresh Icelandic Cod
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
2 Garlic Cloves, crushed
1/4 Cup Lemon Juice
1/2 Cup Hot Cherry Peppers, sliced
1/2 Cup Sweet Vinegar Peppers, sliced
1/2 Cup pitted Gaeta Olives, sliced in half
2 Tablespoons Capers, rinsed
3 Tablespoons Italian Parsley, chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:

1. Place cod fillets in a deep saute pan and fill the pan with water until fillets are just submerged. Bring the pan to a steady boil and turn off the heat immediately. Cover and allow the fish to poach for 6 minutes untouched. It should be opaque and flake easily when finished. Carefully remove fillets to a flat surface. Check for bones and skin and remove any that remain. Gently crumble or slice the fish into bite-sized cubes. Allow fish to cool fully and place it in a bowl. 

2. In a small pan, heat the oil and saute the garlic cloves in for 3 minutes over low heat. Cool the oil. 

3. Pour the oil and garlic over the cod and add lemon juice, the peppers, olives, capers, and parsley. Stir gently and add salt and pepper to taste. Place on a platter and serve at room temperature. 

Enjoy! 

Before I leave you, I wanted to share some of the great desserts our guests brought to Christmas Eve, and the next day to Christmas dinner at my mother-in-law's house. To say we ate well over these two days would be an understatement.  I hope you enjoyed this holiday recap and that you are having a festive season with your loved ones. See you in the New Year! 

My Mom's delicious Coconut Cupcakes (Ina Garten's Recipe)
Photo: NK

My Mom's beautiful Chocolate Layer Cake (Ina Garten's Recipe) plus holly from our backyard, Photo: NK

My Sister-in-Law's gorgeous and delectable Chocolate Berry Wreath Cake and

 Mom-in-Law's very yummy Key Lime Pie (Cook's Illustrated Recipe) Photo: NK

Musings on Meatballs - A Lifetime Quest For the Perfect Recipe

The dishes with the most familial history have always been, for me, the most daunting. Because of this, I avoided making traditional Italian meatballs for years. There is no dish, in my family at least, more revered and more universally appealing to a wide audience. As most Italian Americans will tell you, their grandmothers' made them best, and the same is of course  true for my Neapolitan grandma. After her passing, my mother and I tried in earnest to recreate her fantastic meatball recipe - but first we had to find it. This meant scouring her files and recipe boxes for her handwritten index cards and little papers shoved into issues of Gourmet Magazine decades old. Once obtained, we'd be routinely perplexed at the fact that no matter what we did or how carefully we followed along, the result was always just a smidgeon less delicious than my grandma's. My mother has always been a superb cook, and with some time, she got her meatballs to a place we could all be proud of. 

When I came of age and was finally inclined to try my hand at grandma's recipe solo, the pressure was really on. The card, written in her beautiful, curly penmanship, looked simple enough, but to my dismay, included several phrases that were up for interpretation like: "a scant cup of freshly grated pecorino." Now I know that a scant cup means just shy of a cup, but how shy??" Such uncertainties really invite neuroses, if you ask me. 

I credit my relationship with my now husband, in part, to my mother's meatball prowess. During our years dating, I would always encourage her to make extra meatballs, lasagna, or sauce for me to bring to him. At any rate, he got hooked. Now that we are married, he enjoys when I make meatballs from time to time, but he still delights in informing his mom, also a fantastic cook, every time my mother sends him extra food of any kind. I asked him once why he persisted in advertising this because after all, I wouldn't want my mother in law to think my mom was stepping on her toes. He responded by telling me with a totally straight face that he likes to "create competition" so as to obtain more gifts of food from mother and mother in law alike...

It wasn't until my mom and I became aware of the Rao's Cookbook, that our meatball recipe quest officially came to an end. Their recipe is nearly identical to my grandmother's method with two exceptions - she would use chunkier pieces of homemade breadcrumbs soaked in milk, and she'd omit one cup of water. The Rao's recipe offered me clearer direction than her index card, which of course I still use and treasure, and it took away some of the guess work by laying out the method in a clearer fashion. It has since become, to my mind, the best iteration of traditional Italian-style meatballs out there... and I can live with that, because they are so similar to my Mima's! 

I've become accustomed to superior meatballs from years of enjoying them with my family, so they just aren't something I ever order at restaurants because, well, it's rare that I am not totally disappointed. Here are some of my collected pet peeves about one of my favorite meals, and some ideas on how to remedy these issues:

The Problems That Plague Meatballs:

Flat flavor -  A lot of meatballs are tasty but not complex. They hit one flavor note.


Overly firm and dry meatballs - The outside of a meatball is a key area. When it is firm, dry, or rubbery, the meatball is ruined. Adding enough liquid to the meat mixture is necessary to achieving the ideal texture. 

The quest for the perfect spherical shape is an exercise in folly -  When a meatball comes out perfectly round, be warned. Any meatball worked that hard is likely to be sub-par. Check out my theory next time you spy a super-round meatball. 

Solutions for the Perfect Meatball:


Do not overwork the meat - I cannot stress this enough. Handle meatballs with the lightest touch possible as you form them. Please, for me. 


Use a combination of meats - The best meatballs, my grandma's, Rao's, are made of more than just beef. The veal and the pork combination with the beef is absolutely key to the flavor complexity, and imparts a buttery richness to the flavor without adding any heaviness. The meats also have varying fat contents that aid in preserving the moisture needed for the perfect ball. 


Method - Cooking method is one of the big reasons some meatballs come out too firm on the outside. I have never had a baked meatball I enjoyed as much as the fried version. The texture comes out totally different, and not for the better. Now taste and texture preferences are clearly subjective, but please, give yourself a chance to experience a fried Italian meatball. After all, the people at Rao's agree! You'll never go back to baking. Now frying does add a bit of extra time and effort, but it's time well spent. The key to frying a great meatball includes draining them well on paper towel, and ever so slightly undercooking them. You can freeze them in this state if you wish, and thaw them when ready to eat by dropping them in tomato sauce and warming them through slowly, so they are thawed and cooked completely. 


The perfect meatballs will just never be round - If your meatball is perfectly spherical, it runs the risk of being dry and overworked. As well, the moisture needed for a good meatball will simply not allow it to preserve its round shape during cooking - especially if you are frying them. If it does, the recipe is probably too dry. Baked meatballs make for a rounder result but when you fry them, a good recipe will usually end up looking like round spheres with flat tops and bottoms. For me, this is sign of a great meatball, and the natural result of frying gently on each side. Learn to love this quirky shape, and the taste will be a huge payoff. When you cut into your meatball, it should yield easily to your fork, even break into pieces a bit on your pasta. This is a good thing! Embrace it. 


Now that you've heard my very opinionated rant on superior meatballs, let's move on to why the Rao's recipe that I've shared below is so wonderful:

• The secret's in the water. Two cups of water seems a lot, but that is precisely what keeps these meatballs so tender and juicy. 
• The ratio of the three meats is well balanced. You'll get a complex hit of meatiness, fragrance from the herbs and garlic, and a bit of tangy flavor from the cheese.
• They are fried.  
Note: as with all meatballs, they get tastier the longer they sit in your fridge. 

Enjoy! 




Rao's Meatballs


Ingredients

• 1 pound ground lean beef
• ½ pound ground veal
• ½ pound ground pork
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
• 1½ tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
• ½ small garlic clove, peeled and minced
• 2 cups bread crumbs
• 2 cups lukewarm water
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil 

Method

Combine beef, veal, and pork in a large bowl. Add eggs, cheese, parsley, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Using your hands, blend ingredients together.

Blend bread crumbs into meat mixture. Slowly add water,1 cup at a time, until the mixture is quite moist.

Shape the meat mixture into balls (2½ to 3 inch balls).

Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan. When oil is very hot but not smoking, fry meatballs in batches. When bottom half of meatball is very brown and slightly crisp turn and cook top half. Remove from heat and drain on paper towels.

Lower cooked meatballs into simmering Marinara Sauce and cook for 15 minutes. Serve over pasta or on their own.
Makes about 28 meatballs

-Recipe Courtesy of Rao's Cookbook:

Click HERE for Rao's Website