christmas eve – traditional seafood feast

Christmas Eve, a perfect time for that special dinner with immediate family and close

friends. It really adds to how special the holidays are. It was always such a tradition when I

was growing up and coming home from college to Josephina’s Italian seafood feast was just

incredible. It starts with planning the menu and deciding where to shop for the best

seafood. We have a few good choices here from a really good super market to a fresh

seafood market, with lots of live choices, down in Sacramento.

You can set this all up as a buffet or as a family style meal whatever your crowd warrants. I

like using small round chafers and let everyone serve themselves, set the table though as

you don’t want them wandering around cracking the crab, shells a flyin.

depending on the size of your family you can pick all or any of these recipes and add a few

more if you like. A nice fresh salad of baby greens thin sliced red onion, orange slices (

either blood orange or clementines) grapefruit slices, avocado wedges, sliced black olives,

cherry tomatoes and blue cheese crumbles with a raspberry or pomegranate vinaigrette is a

great compliment to the following recipes. And don’t forget a nice loaf or two of fresh baked

crusty bread from your local bakery and don’t worry about having to much bread as you can

use left overs for tomorrows dressing or make your own bread crumbs, never throw away

left over or stale bread.

THE MENU

seafood newburg in puff pastry shells

pan roasted dungeness crab OR sauteed king crab in white wine

oysters Rockefeller w/ tomato and provolone AND OR clams casino

cod fish cakes with egg sauce ( my all time favorite)

oven BBQ shrimp

oven roasted green beans and broccolini

corn pudding (not a desert) DON’T PASS THIS ONE UP IT’S ONE OF THE GIRLS FAVORITES

pineapple whip – this is desert

SEAFOOD NEWBURG serves 10 to 12

2 cups lobster meat

2 cups firm white fish like cod or sea bass

1 cup cooked medium shrimp ( cut in half )

1 cup bay scallops

6 tbsp unsalted butter

sea salt and white pepper

1/8 tsp nutmeg

4 tbsp flour

1/8 tsp paprika

2 tbsp dry sherry

2 cups light cream

10 pepperidge farm puff pastry shells ( or any brand available)

melt butter in large deep skillet, add lobster, stir often until butter turns red, remove

lobster. Add flour to butter stir until smooth. Add cream gradually until smooth and

thickened. Add all ingredients to sauce, cook until hot stirring often. Season to taste with

salt and white pepper, if to thick add a little milk. keep hot and spoon into pastry shells

when ready to serve. CAN BE MADE A DAY AHEAD AND REHEATED.

PAN ROASTED DUNGENESS CRAB serves 8

3 – 2lb dungeness crabs, cooked, cleaned, legs separated at all joints, body cut into 4

pieces

1 stick 1/4 lb unsalted butter

4 tbsp olive oil

5 large garlic cloves peeled and chopped

1 tbsp minced fresh thyme

2 tbsp lemon zest

4 tbsp lemon juice

sea salt and fresh ground pepper

handful chopped Italian parsley

lemon slices for garnish

On the stove in a Large, Large, Deep, Deep skillet or Wok heat butter, oil, garlic, thyme and

lemon zest over medium high heat until hot and garlic is softened. Add crab and season to

taste with salt and pepper to taste. Mix well to coat and continue to toss until crab is hot.

Place crab in large heated serving bowl covered with foil or small chaffing dish,drizzle with

lemon juice and scatter parsley on top keep warm until ready to serve.

SAUTEED KING CRAB IN WHITE WINE serves 8

10 tbsp olive oil

3 – 4 lbs king crab legs cut into 4 inch pieces

1/2 cup chopped scallions

2 tbsp chopped parsley

1 tsp red pepper flakes

2 cups white wine

1 lemon and 1 lime juiced

8 tbsp butter

sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Heat oil in LARGE DEEP SKILLET OR WOK over medium high heat, Add crab and cook 2 – 3

mins, Add scallions, parsley, pepper flakes and wine. Cook to reduce wine by 1/3 6 to 8

min. Add lemon and Lime juice cook 2 – 3 min, stir in butter one tbsp at a time to thicken,

adjust sauce with salt and pepper to taste, cook until crab is hot tossing frequently. Place in

large warm serving bowl or small chaffing dish and keep warm until ready to serve.

COD FISH CAKES ( my all time favorite )

1 box salted codfish – freshened and chopped

6 medium potatoes – peeled and cubed

1 tsp pepper

2 eggs

2 tbsp butter

flour

oil for frying

Follow directions on box for freshening cod fish. Cook potatoes in salted water, mash with

pepper, eggs and butter, mix well, add codfish and mix really well. Refrigerate covered for

3 to 4 hours. Remove from frig and form into 2 to 3 oz patties, coat both sides with flour.

Fry in hot oil in a shallow skillet until both sides are browned, serve hot with egg sauce.

EGG SAUCE

3 cups white sauce ( 3 cups milk, 6 tbsp unsalted butter, 6 tbsp flour, 1/2 tsp paprika, sea

salt and white pepper - melt butter in saucepan. add flour, paprika salt and pepper to

taste. Stir until blended and smooth, add milk very slowly, stirring constantly to avoid

lumps. Cook until smooth and thickened, if to thick thin with milk )

3 hard boiled eggs, coarsely chopped

sea salt and white pepper

mix all together serve hot over cod fish cakes.

OYSTERS ROCKEFELLER serves 8 to 10

24 fresh oysters on 1/2 shell

2 cups frozen spinach steamed, water pressed out, and chopped

1 small onion diced

1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

fresh ground black pepper

1/2 cup white wine

12 slices ripe tomato ( cut in half – 24 pieces )

24 pieces of provolone cheese ( about the size of the oysters )

mix spinach, onion, bread crumbs, parmesan, cayenne, pepper to taste and wine in medium

mixing bowl, mix well. divide mixture evenly on 24 oysters, top with piece of tomato then

piece of provolone. Bake 12 to 14 min in 450 degree oven or until top is browned.

CLAMS CASINO serves 8 to 10

12 large hard shell clams (Quahogs) steamed, shucked and chopped, reserve shells

1 10oz can chopped clams

1/3 cup chopped onion

1/3 cup celery, chopped fine

1/3 cup green pepper, chopped

1/3 cup butter

Italian seasoning

4 large garlic cloves peeled and chopped

1/2 cup white wine

Italian bread crumbs

grated sharp cheddar cheese ( cracker barrel )

6 slices bacon cooked and crumbled

In large skillet melt butter, add onion, celery, green pepper, italian seasoning and garlic

cook over medium high heat until vegetables are soft. Add wine and clams mix together,

add bread crumbs until a soft moist consistency. Fill clam shells with mixture, top with

cheese and bacon. place on baking sheet – bake at 350 degrees until cheese melts and tops

are lightly browned.

OVEN ROASTED BBQ SHRIMP serves 8

24 large u-20 shrimp, deveined, split shell on

3/4 cup BBQ sauce

4 lemons, zest removed and juiced – reserve all

1 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1tsp salt

fresh parsley chopped

1/2 cup dry white wine

In medium mixing bowl combine BBQ sauce, lemon juice, ground pepper, salt, parsley and

wine, whisk to combine. Add shrimp and toss to coat. Place shrimp in roasting pan. Roast

in oven at 450 degrees for 8 to 10 mins. or until done, serve hot.

OVEN ROASTED FRESH GREEN BEANS AND BROCCOLINI serves 10

2 bundles of fresh broccolini - washed with ends trimmed

2 lbs fresh green beans – trimmed and washed

1/3 cup olive oil

sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Heat oven to 425 degrees, arrange washed veggies on large cookie sheet, coat with olive oil

and salt and pepper. Roast 15 to 18 minutes until crisp at edges – serve warm

CORN PUDDING

2 tbsp chopped green pepper

2 tbsp chopped green onion

2 tbsp clarified butter

2 cups whole corn

2 eggs lightly beaten

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tbsp salt

1 cup 1/2 and 1/2

4 oz green chili peppers diced

2 oz diced pimento

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, mix all ingredients together and pour into a 9x2x13 baking

dish, bake for 1 hour. serve warm

DESERT - GRANDMA PHOEBE’S PINEAPPLE WHIP

3 packages unflavored gelatin ( dissolved in a little cold water )

3 cups boiling water

1 cup sugar

2 20 oz cans chunk pineapple

1 small carton of heavy shipping cream

In a large mixing bowl add hot water to dissolved gelatin, sugar, the juice from two cans of

pineapple, stir to combine, let set until thickened. Add pineapple chunks to the gelatin and

mix well. whip cream until it holds firm peaks, fold into gelatin pineapple mixture,

refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Serve in small bowls.

Well all of these recipes are best accompanied by JK Estates or wildfire white wines,

chardonnay, divinity or trinity, the Jk pinot noir and stray dog zinfandel also work really

well. Enjoy and let me hear about your experiences, or suggestions with any of these

recipes.

Merry Christmas

Comments

[Drismail]

Thanks for the cheese shout out... Our farm maifly owners always appreciate the support! I do the same thing sometimes with recipes (using a combo of 75% & 50%). I think it works so well. The 50% is creamy enough that it helps the 75% melt well into a dish. And love that you blended two of my faves: chowder & mac/cheese. Great idea!~Regan Jones, RD @ Cabot Creamery