entertaining

december 2003

Christmas Eve in Italy is a night to eat fish and seafood. This year we bring you an easy meal that is at once elegant and will take only minutes to prepare. This is the night that we wrap our last gifts, prepare for the morning when children and grandchildren wake early to open gifts, and we all have to get to bed early so Saint Nick will be able to visit us.

Christmas day, as soon as the presents are opened, we begin to prepare our big meal of the day, so we hope you'll enjoy the ease of this Christmas Eve meal. You can substitute any fish that will hold up to the cooking and not fall apart. In the past we have substituted a combination of shell fish for the swordfish. We have found mussels, clams, shrimp and even lobster tails to make the meal even more festive. Just make sure to know the weight of the shell fish you use so you know your exchanges. Christmas Eve   Spicy Swordfish over Pasta Shaved Fennel and Parmesan salad Winter Fruit Croustade (for the recipes, click on The Recipes or click on the individual recipe above) Here we give you recipes for 4 people, but you can easily double or triple the recipes for your crowd. You can also substitute vegetables for those in your family who are vegetarians. The sauce @? What sauce? is also great for a topping for eggs, for dipping with crusty bread, or basting leftovers. The dessert is a fruit croustade, a rustic tart. This one can be made easily and quickly, and is best eaten the day you bake it. Here we use pears and apples, but if you can find other fresh fruit that you like, feel free to use them. You could even make a pumpkin croustade using canned pumpkin purée much like the crustless pumpkin pie on www.diabetic-recipes.com. BSP