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BUON ANNO! – Hold On To Your Red Underwear

12/30/2016

ITALIAN CAPODANNO TRADITIONS
Most cultures and countries celebrate the New Year by eating, drinking, celebrating, and often watching fireworks. They all tend to look at the New Year as a "new beginning" which they hope will bring good things [luck, health, fortune, love,] and good times in the coming year.

In Italy, December 31 is the Feast Day of San Silvestro, a saint who served as Pope from 314 to 335 and oversaw the conversion of Roman Emperor Constantine I's conversion to Christianity. Since the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, this day coincides with New Year's Eve and is the source of some of the Italian New Year's traditions, which are rife with symbolism.

So … what is it the Italians do to celebrate New Year's Eve?

EAT THE TRADITIONAL MEAL
Italians never miss a chance to celebrate an event with food, usually specialized for the kind of event. The nature of the specialty depends of the kinds of foodstuffs available at the time and location of the celebration and the local superstitions and beliefs. However, the New Year's Eve meal is very symbolic and well thought-out.

The traditional Italian New Year's meal features pork sausage [Cotechino] and lentils [lenticchie]. The meat is from the actual hoof of the pig [lo zampone] which is considered symbolic of abundance and bountifulness, apparent in the high fat content of the pork.

The shape and color of the lentils reminds one of gold coins, thus representing money earned in the coming year. Thus, to the Italian way of thinking, the more you eat, the better off you'll be. Lentils are also long lasting and represent longevity.

The tradition of eating one spoonful of lentils for each sounding of the bell at midnight is rarely carried out these days, but has been translated into a different form by the Spanish.

Traditionally, the New Year's Eve dinner ends with eating grapes and other dried fruits. Grapes on the table are supposed to ensure the diners will be frugal with their money. This is based on the superstition that if an individual resist eating the grape harvest before the New Year, he or she has the willpower to be frugal and spend wisely.

While this belief has been around for back hundreds of years, the more recent tradition from Spain of eating 12 grapes in 12 seconds, one per each stroke of midnight dates back to the 1800's and had been adopted in many other countries. According to Judy Cantor-Navas in on foodrepublic.com, " Eating the grapes pretty much guarantees starting off the year with a little adrenaline rush, and most likely some laughs. While the goal of getting the 12 grapes down in time can spark a contest of who is más macho around the table, the biggest challenge is more likely to be not gagging as you cram them in your mouth and try to swallow while laughing hystericalle."

DRINK SPUMANTE

Spumante is an Italian sparkling wine, the equivalent of champagne. According to vinepair.com "For a bottle of sparkling wine to be labeled Champagne it must be made in the Champagne region or France using a specific method. If a bottle of wine is produced anywhere else using the same, exact method it must carry a different name." These rules are national laws and international trade agreements and treaties.

There is a long history of this battle of the labels. Some loopholes in the laws and
agreements allow California sparkling wines to be labeled as Champagne. Just thought I'd throw this in.

WEAR RED UNDERWEAR
Whether or not you have a date, both men and women wear red undergarments on New Year's Eve. This tradition apparently dates from early celebrations of the Feast Day of San Silvestro.

While in many cultures the color red means love, good fortune, and fertility, the color has been used for centuries to ward off war, disasters, evil spirits, and negativity, and has a more general meaning than good fortune in love or sexual endeavors, as most modern Italians believe.

Your New Year's Eve underwear not only needs to be red, but it must be new and given to you by someone else. No ragged, old underwear is acceptable, and it's considered cheating if you buy your own new garments. I suppose you and a friend could each buy for the other without violating the code.

Finally, tradition requires that these be thrown out the day after the party for the ritual to be effective. Maybe that's why one sees vast displays of cheap red underwear between Christmas and New Year.

THROW THE OLD OUT THE WINDOW
It's a bird. It's a plane. It's an unidentified falling object! It's New Year's Eve in Italy.
The first New Year's Eve I experienced in Rome in 1963, I was surprised to learn you couldn't be on the streets from about 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. because people would throw old possessions out the windows, particularly crockery but even furniture. Apparently, in southern Italy that was considered symbolic for getting rid of the getting old to welcome in the new year.

Most of the apartment buildings in old Rome were four to six stories; high enough to create deadly debris. In those days, cars had to be parked off the streets in protected locations. Around 3 a.m., a fleet of street sweepers [men with brooms, not machines] flooded the streets and began cleaning up the trash. Even years later, when the populace stopped throwing out so much of the heavy stuff, they would still throw out champagne bottles which can do almost as much damage to a unfortunate skull that might be below.

Since I can't find many photos on the internet of the Italian streets after a New Year's Eve, I assume the Romans have replaced the falling objects with the alternative tradition of crashing pot and pans together at your front door to frighten the evil spirits. That tradition actually comes from another ancient Roman festival, which is unrelated to New Years.

SMASH PLATES
Smashing plates, glasses, and other glass and pottery items against the ground is another tradition to drive away bad omens which might contaminate the coming year. Since throwing things out the window is related to southern Italy, perhaps this accomplishes the same thing for other Italians.

WATCHING FIREWORKS
Watching fireworks is not exclusive to Italians or invented by them, but they go in for the big bangs. It's very dramatic to see fireworks light the skies above ancient mouments, but there's a purpose to their madness. Superstition has it that demons and negative spirits don't like loud noises. Fireworks ensure that, in addition to entertaining the revelers with awe-inspiring sights, the bad spirits are gone before the new year begins.

PARTY ALL NIGHT AND PLAY CARDS
Even at the most trendy New Year's Eve parties, many of the guests of all ages will spend the entire night playing cards or tombola, a game similar to bingo.

Tombola originated in Naples in the 1700s to get around gambling, which the church frowned on. As a concession to the church, King Charles of Naples banned gambling during the Christmas period, but the Neopolitans side-stepped the law by playing bingo at home. The Italians party until sunrise on January 1 so they can see the new year arrive. They don't do anything half way

CONFRONT THEIR FUTURES
Among the many superstitions around the new year, one of the most intriguing is that the first person you encounter after midnight will establish your future for the coming year.
Seeing someone older, of the opposite sex, means you're going to have a good year. It's a sign you will live long and be lucky in love.

Babies or someone of the same sex portend a less positive start. Seeing a doctor foretells deteriorating or poor health. Encountering a postman or priest is considered bad luck, probably because it implies someone is being notified of a negative occurrence or death.
I guess this means you shouldn't invite babies, doctors, priests and postmen to your party.

A NEW TRADITION
Most of the practices I mentioned have roots in the past, but there is at least one that started in 1946. That year, an unemployed lifeguard who was attempting get a job as a stunt man, dove into the Tiber River, Rome, to attract attention to his skills. Since then, it has been the custom for people all over Italy to dive from a local bridge into a river. The best known launch site is the Cavour Bridge in Rome. Most of the celebrants are observers who gather to watch a few brave souls take the plunge.

REGARDLESS OF YOUR CULTURAL AND FAMILY TRADITIONS, HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR AND AN AWESOME 2017!

Resources
http://www.foodrepublic.com/2012/12/28/12-grapes-at-midnight-spains-great-new-years-eve-tradition-and-superstition/
http://goitaly.about.com/od/festivalsandevents/a/newyears.htm
https://selectitaly.com/blog/all-you-can-italy/new-years-eve-traditions/
http://www.thelocal.it/20151231/italian-new-year-traditions-and-superstitions
http://www.123newyear.com/newyear-traditions/italian.html
http://www.italymagazine.com/featured-story/new-years-eve-italian-traditions
https://www.touritalynow.com/blog/buon-anno-italian-new-years-eve-customs/
http://www.italymagazine.com/news/traditional-tiber-river-dive-welcomes-new-year-rome
https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-differences-between-Brut-Champagne-and-Spumante-wine
http://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/2014/08/05/prosecco-vs-champagne-what-s-difference.html
http://vinepair.com/wine-blog/loophole-california-champagne-legal/

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Everything Looks Better In A Great Pair Of Shoes

12/16/2016

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Warning: Be careful what kind of shoes you wear. Not only can the wrong ones hurt your feet, they telegraph some of your personality traits to anyone who pays attention. Your shoes tell more about you than any other individual item in your wardrobe.

EVERYWOMAN LOVES SHOES
That's probably not a true statement. There has to be one woman somewhere who doesn't love shoes, but the general conception is that women can never have enough of them. I agree.

Does your heart race when you think about shoe shopping? Does the adrenaline pump when you find a pair of Valentinos -- in your size -- for a phenomenal sale price? What would you save first if your house was on fire?

As researchers are wont to do, they all have different statistics regarding the number of pairs of shoes the average American woman owns. I found at least three references: seven, ten, and twenty pairs. Some people (men and women) have as many as two hundred, and Imelda Marcos admitted to owing one thousand and sixty pairs (but not the three thousand she was accused of). Still, that takes a lot of closet space … and money.

But remember, today in our active and varied society, women need a wardrobe of different styles and colors of shoes to round off an outfit or a "look", and also we own shoes appropriate for a variety of activities. So … no regrets!

After all, according to Style Forum, "Today's usual hardship isn't going without shoes, or putting cardboard inside the ones you have to make them last. It's longing for shoes you'll rarely wear or can't afford. Thanks to Internet shopping, you don't even have to leave home or live in a big city, to face the temptation." (http://www.styleforum.net/ )

WHAT HER SHOES SAY ABOUT A WOMAN
Sometimes it seems that our personalities have been studied and categorized by every conceivable notion that psychologists can come up with. Apparently, we can all be shoved into little square boxes or round holes.

In this case, researchers have used a variety of characteristics to classify the type of woman who wears a particular type of shoe, the variables depending on which psychologist or fashionista writes the article.

A 2012 study conducted at the University of Kansas found that people can assess accurately 90 percent of a "stranger's personality, including their emotional stability, simply by looking at their most-worn pair of shoes." -- Sarah Jacobsson Purewal

April Masini, a relationship expert who authored Date Out of Your League, writes “It’s wise to check out her […a woman's] shoes for clues about who she is, and how she’ll behave.” She also says that "Women in revealing, high-heeled sandals are more likely to be confident naked than women in closed-toe heels."

Who knew?

Another interesting aspect of our personal relationships with shoes is that some women rarely wear the shoes they most love. It’s as though a designer made the pair just for them; a coveted work of art to be looked at, perhaps occasionally touched. It is an experience that, for them, is special and private.

Researchers claim a women's shoes show her degree of confidence, personality type, and personal branding.

It's true that our confidence is boosted by feeling good about ourselves. Since one's shoe size doesn't fluctuate much with either weight or age, our self-esteem is safer in a great pair of shoes that doesn't fit quite right than it would be in a dress, jeans, or a bathing suit that's too tight. High heels lengthen a woman's shape, change her posture, and put a smile on her face that comes from inner confidence.

The statement I found most interesting was that psychologists noted that rarely will people purposely choose shoes just to convey a certain public image that is different from their real personality. I would have guessed that many women wear shoes, purses, and clothing to impress others, at least on occasion. To me that is trying to project an image that is different from their real personalities. But then, I'm not a psychologist. My bad!

COST
Expensive shoes are not necessarily an indication of financial status. While expensive shoes usually denotes someone who is a high earner, not all women who wear expensive shoes have excess money to spend. These are the characteristics of a woman who wears:

▪ Expensive shoes that are not leather - likely to be Vegan.

▪ Expensive shoes every day, but not a name designer brand people recognize, - either from old money amd doesn't like to flaunt her wealth, or is a modest person who enjoys quality shoes.

▪ Expensive-looking shoes that are not authentic - wants to appear wealthy to others.

▪ Expensive shoes - Values her personal style and is willing to invest in herself.

According to celebrity stylist Christina Scherck, “If she’s wearing an expensive pair of work shoes—closed-toe, conservative pumps—she probably values her work a lot. If she’s got on a pair of expensive riding boots, she’s the kind of person who likes to splurge on luxuries.”

The most expensive available brands are Christian Louboutin, Alexander McQueen, Jimmy Choo, Gucci, Valentino, Manolo Blahnik, Brian Atwood, Miu Miu, Stuart Weitzman, and Yves Saint Laurent. (http://www.therichest.com/luxury/most-expensive/the-most-expensive-womens-shoes-on-the-market/?view=all)

HEEL HEIGHT
As far as I'm concerned, these "characteristics" are self-evident in a well-Duh sort of way. Not rocket science. Erin Ross of The-finder.com, is a researcher who throws age into the mix. According to her, these are the characteristics of a woman who wears:

● High heels 3" and over and doesn't have ability to walk in them
gracefully
▪ Probably under thirty
▪ Looking for a man
▪ Single and/or sneaky
▪ Desperate
▪ Not serene or laid back
She also says, "These girls do not realize that men are making fun of them behind their backs and imitate their wobbly-baby deer walk. These men typically see these girls as one night stand material." (https://www.quora.com/Do-you-believe-that-a-womans-shoes-can-tell-you-a-bit-about-her)

● High heels 3" and over and is able to walk in them gracefully
▪ Probably over thirty
▪ Probably professional and/or walks in them most of the work week
▪ Confident
▪ Pays her own bills
▪ Works hard for her money
▪ Usually not in a serene mood.
Women wearing very high heeled sandals are likely to be more confident than women wearing closed-toe high heels.

● Short heels (1-2")
▪ Typically over 40
▪ Overall fashion chic (just in lower heels)
▪ Used to wearing higher heels but now can't
▪ May lack confidence

● Wedges or very low wide heels
▪ Want to appear taller without the discomfort of high heels
▪ Middle of the road type personality
▪ Insecure

Flats
Flats are worn by all ages. While flat sandals weren't mentioned in the studies, I assume that they fall into the "flate" category in warm weather. Flat shoes appeal to a woman who wants to look put-together and dressy but also walks a lot or wants comfort. These are the characteristics of a woman who wears flats.

▪ More laid back
▪ Active, does a lot of walking
▪ Tends to be a practical, down-to-earth person
▪ Puts comfort above style
Women who wear functional and practical shoes (which doesn't mean they are inexpensive or unstylish) are found to be agreeable.

● Athletic Shoes
Women differ widely when it comes to athletic shoes, in terms of the look, cost, color, and use. They come in a wide variety and are far more "socially acceptable" than they used to be. Most studies didn't have much to say about who wears them, because we all do. Remember, a woman in sneakers may not be as laid back as some might think; she's on the go and ready.

●Ankle Boots
▪ Aggressive
▪ Sloppy ankle boots
The woman who wears sloppy ankle boots is probably very blasé about everything—at least pretends to be.

COLOR
Color always plays a big role in fashion as well as personality. These are the characteristics of a woman who wears:

● Flashy and/or colorful
▪ Extrovert
▪ High maintenance (if wearing hot pink or neon colors)
▪ May have a challenging personality and expect to be put on a
pedestal
▪ Playful
▪ Bigger risk takers

● Boring shoes, dull colors
▪ Aloof and repressive in their emotions
▪ Don't care what other people think of them
▪ Don't stand out in general appearance
▪ Have a hard time forming relationships
▪ Not necessarily good communicators

In studies, the people who wore boring shoes were the hardest to judge. The last two traits in the list above are "self-descriptions" about themselves by people who wear boring shoes and dull colors. Doesn't Kate Middleton wear dull color?

Mono-chromatic people are considered "self-serious". The shoe industry refers to them as "the black and camels".

OTHER TIDBITS
● One study [Cherise Dyal, M.D.] reveals that "working women who wear high-top sneakers and orthopedic loafers are smarter."

● People whose shoes are not new but are spotless, are conscientious.

● People with "attachment anxiety" or people that were most worried about their relationships generally had brand new and well-kept shoes. Researchers suggest that this may be because they worry so much about their appearance and what others may think of them.

● Liberal thinkers tend to wear shabby and more inexpensive shoes.

Enough! I've heard enough! CONTEXT IS EVERYTHING
By this point I'd become very skeptical. Who are these people that think they can say with authority that liberal thinkers wear shabby shoes?

My experience is that people are far more complex than such studies would imply. Humans defy pulling out a few traits from a study of a thousand people and drawing broad general conclusions about everyone.

Personally, I know I wear different kinds of shoes depending on the circumstances and, yes, there may be times I want people to think I have more money than I do, or that I'm younger than I am. At other times, I wear boots (even ankle boots) just want to keep my feet warm.

The message shoes send is the context within which they are worn. What you wear with what and where, and how well you keep your shoes often sends messages that we wouldn't like. Context is everything. That's my conclusion, and I'm sticking with it.
HOW DO YOU RATE?
Do your personality traits and shoe choice match? Leave a comment about whether or not you believe this is true.

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HERE COMES THE BAOBAB

12/9/2016

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The Baobab is a kind of tree … but a very unique one. Among the millions of species of trees on the planet, there is nothing quite like the Baobab.

In the cultures which evolved in locations where the Baobab grows, it is not just a tree, but a sacred link to the past and an essential part of the cultures where it grows, a symbol of strength, wisdom, health, long life, and beauty.

THE AFRICAN UPSIDE-DOWN TREE

Of the eight species of the genus Adansonia – You really needed to know that, right? -- six are native to Madagascar, one to the African and Arab peninsula, and one to Australia. They can live to be thousands of years old and have a peculiar, massive, bottle-shaped trunk and sparse foliage. The branches look like spread out like roots, hence the names "upside-down tree".

Every part of the tree can be used, which the primary reason it is called the tree of life. It's fruit, bark, roots, and wood provide innumerable products used by the native African peoples for thousands of years. Food, red dye, Vitamin C, medicine, rope and strings for musical instruments. Canoes are carved from the wood. The list goes on and on.

AND A PARTRIDGE IN A BAOBAB TREE

Just to tie this blog in with the season, the Baobab in southern Africa has, to some extent, replaced the pine Christmas tree in shopping centers and home decorations.

THE LEGEND
Africa abounds with legends about the baobab. According to Baobab.com, this is one of the most common.

"A very, very long time ago, say some African legends, the first baobab sprouted beside a small lake. As it grew taller and looked about, it spied other trees and noted their colorful flowers, straight and handsome trunks, and large leaves. Then one day, the wind died away leaving the water smooth as a mirror, and the tree finally got to see itself. The reflected imaged shocked it to its root hairs. Its own flowers lacked bright color, its leaves were tiny, it was grossly fat, and its bark resembled the wrinkled hide of an old elephant.

In a strongly worded invocation to the creator, the baobab complained about the bad deal it'd been given. This impertinence had no effect: Following a hasty reconsideration, the deity felt fully satisfied. Relishing the fact that some organisms were purposefully less than perfect, the creator demanded to know whether the baobab found the hippopotamus beautiful, or the hyena's cry pleasant, and then retired in a huff behind the clouds.

But back on earth, the barrel-chested whiner neither stopped peering at its reflection nor raising its voice in protest. Finally, an exasperated creator returned from the sky, seized the ingrate by the trunk, yanked it from the ground, turned it over, and replanted it upside-down.

And from that day since, the baobab has been unable to see its reflection or make complaint. For thousands of years, it has worked strictly in silence, paying off its ancient transgression by doing good deed for people."

The above left baobab (Zimbabwe) shows the shape that generated the name upside-down tree. Most are small to moderate sized, but they can develop a huge trunk, as in the next photo. These are mostly hollow, big enough to use for housing, chapels, barns, shops, bus shelters, post boxes, burial sites, wells, flush lavatories, and prisons. In Queensland, Australia, one served as the town prison.

Most of the trunks I saw weren't anywhere the girth of the tree in the photo above, and some of the African baobab don't get that tall. I took the photo on the right in the rainforest next to Victoria Falls.

IT'S DIFFERENT IN MADAGASCAR
There are six different species of baobab tree, some of which are very different from their African neighbors. Take a look at the photos of the below of the Giant Madagascar Baobab, and you'll understand my apology. This is where the 90 to 100 feet in height kicks in.

There are six different species of baobab tree, some of which are very different than the African variety. Take a look at the photos and you'll understand my apology. This is where the 90 to 100 feet in height kicks in. Below are Giant Madagascar Baobab.

Some of the shorter species account for the name "bottle tree" because of the shape and appearance of the trunk but, in fact, because the hollowed trunks, they serve as water reservoirs during dry spells. They can store up to 32,000 gallons.

All species have trunks which are mostly hollow and rely on a system of hydraulic pressure to stay upright. The wood is porous and retains water, the extensive root system remains close to the surface for better water absorption.

They look otherworldly, don't they? Maybe Madagascar should go on my bucket list.

Resources
http://amazinglist.net/2013/03/baobab-tree-adansonia-gregorii/http://baobab-tree-of-life.blogspot.com/2010/04/antioxidant-baobab.html
http://baobab-tree-of-life.blogspot.com/2010/04/legends-of-baobab-tree.html
http://www.ehow.com/info_8219711_baobab-tree.html
http://www.baobab.com/baobab-fruit-pulp/legends-of-the-baobab-tree/
http://www.baobab.com/baobab-fruit-pulp/the-baobab-tree-in-african-landscape/
http://www.baobabppc.org.za/home/item/1-myths-legends
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977821078

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FEAST OF THE SEVEN FISHES

12/2/2016

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It's December! Time to bring out all the decorations, shop until you drop, and celebrate the festivities in whatever manner or tradition you choose. We all have traditions this time of year which are important to us. The one I'm going to talk about only some of you will know.

FESTA DEI SETTE PESCI
For many of you, the Feast of the Seven Fishes may not ring a bell…particularly as a Christmas tradition…but for those of southern Italian heritage, it may bring back fond memories of Christmas Eves Past. Before I lived in Italy, I’d never heard of this Christmas Eve tradition (even though my mother was a quarter Italian). Only after I married a Sicilian did I learn about this treasured Christmas Eve tradition.

The Feast of the Seven Fishes, also known as The Vigil (La Vigilia or Il Cenone di Vigilia), is a tradition believed by most to have originated in Southern Italy and was not celebrated in other parts of Italy.

It is a feast to commemorate the wait for the midnight birth of the baby Jesus. In my husband’s home town of Messina, Sicily, after the feast (which lasts for hours) everyone plays cards until it is time for midnight mass. Then there is a long procession and everyone walks to the local church following a status of the Madonna. After mass, some people would play cards for the rest of the night. Not me.

SYMBOLISM
Eating seafood on Christmas Eve originates from the Roman Catholic tradition of not eating meat or milk products on Fridays and specific holy days. Because no meat or butter could be used on such days, observant Catholics would eat fish, typically fried in oil.

The number seven stands for the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church and the seven days of creation. In Biblical numerology, seven is a number of perfection. Another explanation is the traditional Biblical number for divinity is three, and for Earth is four, and the combination of these numbers, seven, represents God on Earth, or Jesus Christ. Finally, if could refer to Mary and Joseph's seven days of travel to reach Bethlehem.

Today, it is a feast that typically consists of seven different seafood dishes (mostly shell fish) and pasta. Some Italian American families celebrate with 9, 11 or 13 different seafood dishes, but the tradition is seven.'

TYPICAL MENUS
The fish southern Italians are known for is baccalà (salted cod fish), a simple fish used extensively by the impoverished regions of Southern Italy. Fried smelts, calamari, and other types of seafood have been incorporated into the Christmas Eve dinner over the years. The menu varies depending on the family, but here are some typical examples.

First example – Typical seven fishes:
● Calamari (squid)
● Scungilli [skuhn-GEE-lee] (conch)
● Baccalá [bah-kah-LAH] (dry, salt cod)
● Scampi (shrimp)
● Clams served with pasta
● Mussels
● Some type of big fish, ususally a snapper, sea trout, tuna, or salmon.

Fried Calimari Clams Muscles Seafood Risotto Fried Eel

Clams & zucchini Tieramisui    Baccala Pizzelle Linguini & shrimp

Second example – A more simple feast
● Stuffed Calamari in Tomato Sauce – Squid stuffed with breadcrumbs, garlic, oil/milk, and 3 eggs. The stuffed squid is baked with a white sauce, cheddar and olive oil.

●Deep Fried Fish/Shrimp – Fish/Shrimp dipped into batter and placed into deep fryer. Dish is typically served with lemon and/or cocktail sauce.

●Linguine with Clam Sauce – A mildly spicy dish that combines Linguine pasta served with tomato sauce and cooked clams.

●Marinated Eel (Anguilla Marinata) - Bite-size cut eel deep fried and seasoned with salt and pepper marinated, after being fried, in a garlic, balsamic vinegar, and sugar sauce.

●Baccalà – De-salted, by soaking water, cod cut into bite-sized portions, pan fried until brown; and served with tomato sauce and pasta.

●Tiramisù – Layered dessert that incorporates layers of coffee soaked ladyfingers, marscapone crème with Marsala and cocoa powder.

Third Example – An elaborate celebration meal
Appetizers (Antipasti)Fried Calamari
Clams and Mussels Posillipo
Shrimp (Scampi)
Clams Oreganato
Seafood salad (Insalata Frutta di Mare)
First Course (Primi) Linguini in White Clam Sauce
Linguini with Blue Crab Sauce
Spaghetti Alla RosinellaSecond Course (Secondi) Red Snapper Livornesa
Stuffed Lobster
Seafood Risotto

RECIPE
If you are a risk taker or a lover of food that comes from the sea, you might want to try this recipe by Shannon Tinnell for Marinated Eel.
(Posted on http://www.sevenfishesblog.com/ )
People often reject this dish because of the name.
Shannon wrote: "But it’s so great it usually diffuses their hesitations once they’ve tried it. Sometimes, Robert will tell them it’s chicken just to get them to try it at first."
Keep in mind that the process takes several hours, can’t be done on a whim!

You will need:
   1 eel-typically 3-4 pounds
   3 cups balsamic vinegar
   1 cup sugar
   5-7 cloves of garlic
   Salt
   Pepper
   1 cup of flour
   6 ½ cups of olive oil
   Fresh basil and parsley

How you do it:
   Mince/crush garlic cloves and mix with sugar and balsamic vinegar
   Bring mixture to a boil and allow it to cook until it’s reduced to approx. 2 cups
   Remove from heat
   Heat 6 cups of olive oil in a Dutch oven
   While oil is heating, cut eel into bite-sized chunks
   Season eel with salt and pepper
   Roll eel in flour
   Once oil is ready (can use various methods to check-I use water test) drop 3-4 pieces of eel into oil
   After browning (should take approx 5-6 mins) drain on a plate with paper towels
   Once all of the eel is done, place in large bowl
   Pour reduced vinegar mixture over them to marinate
   Refrigerate about an hour before serving
   Remove at time of serving and drizzle oil and herbs
   Allow to reach room temperature before serving

Buon Appetito!
Shannon Tinnell

Resources
http://www.sevenfishesblog.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feast_of_the_Seven_Fishes
http://www.winemag.com/gallery/8-recipes-for-feast-of-the-seven-fishes/
http://dish.allrecipes.com/feast-of-the-seven-fishes/
http://www.italiansrus.com/articles/7fishes.htm
http://elshaddaiministries.us/lp/bpo3.php
http://christmas.lovetoknow.com/christmas-history-traditions/why-do-italians-eat-seven-fish-christmas-eve

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BUON ANNO! – Hold On To Your Red Underwear

Everything Looks Better In A Great Pair Of Shoes

HERE COMES THE BAOBAB

FEAST OF THE SEVEN FISHES

Author R. Ann Siracusa

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