HOW I SPENT MY CHRISTMAS

December 21, 2010. The first day of winter. Br-r-r .In four day We’ll be celebrating Christmas eve and Christmas day. I still celebrate the same way my grandparents did with no meat on the night before.

We’ll have red sauce made with Italian tuna an anchovies over angel hair pasta, then Bacala,[salted cod] squid, fried smelts, stuffed artichokes, cream cheese stuffed into jumbo olives, stuffed celery and salad.

Water and white wine with our meals. I prefer white zinfidal as it is on the sweet side.

Author Linda Cardiello

Dessert: Along with espresso coffee, I’ve made 70 panforte, [my son came over and ate 4 while I was wrapping them in tinfoil. Had to wack his fingers with my wooden spoon or he’d have polished off a few more. I just finished frosting 74 Itallian Sicilian fruit filled cookies, struffli, [honey clusters covered with honey and nuts,] butterfly crisps, cherry biscorttis, and the hard biscorttis with almonds. Those you need to dunk in coffee, cranberry bread, zucchini loaf cakes. I don’t make as many pastries as I used to.

Christmas day is red sauce with meatballs. I make them with beef, veal, pork and spices. I make my raviolis with the same ingredients. We like meat ravioli better than the cheese. And of course all the food that was left over from the night before.

My godmother and I used to play scrabble after dinner while we drank espresso, and dunked our almond biscorttis. She was great at the game. I remember she won a huge score with the word Fez. I challenged her and lost. I learned Fez was a Turkish hat. You know the high red hat with the tassel? Believe me, I never forgot that word.

POSTED by JACLYN DI BONA