The Feast of the Seven Fishes at Eolo, NYC

 

Ciao mei amici! Having been involved in the food world for not even two years, I have been fortunate enough to connect with some amazing chefs, restaurateurs, etc. One of them is Chef Melissa Muller Daka, Proprietress of Pastai and Eolo, both in NYC. I had the pleasure to first meet Melissa at a private luncheon at Eataly that she planned the menu for. You may remember she was one of the first interviews I ever posted, you can read it here.

At her beautiful restaurant, Eolo in NYC, she will be hosting her fourth annual “Feast of the Seven Fishes” on Christmas Eve, December 24^th. For those not familiar with the idea of - The Feast of the Seven Fishes – referred to in Italian as La Vigilia – the tradition began in southern Italy and today is celebrated by Italians around the world. There are various myths about the significance of offering seven fishes. Some believe seven fishes refer to the seven days of creation, while others cite the Seven Hills of Rome, seven sacraments in the Catholic Church or the seven deadly sins.

Their five course menu will include: A welcoming dish from the chef, your choice of a cold appetizer, hot appetizer, pasta, entree & dessert. Each course ...will offer three dishes to choose from.

 

 

Wine Pairing will also be available with each dish. For reservations, you can call 646.225.6606. If you’re looking for a different way to spend Christmas Eve or if you just don’t want to worry about the cooking this year, this is certainly the event for you. The beautiful dishes you see here are Scallops, Swordfish, Halibut and Couscous and Pasta con le Sarde, listed in the order shown. For further information, be sure to take a look at the Eolo site. If you do go to Eolo, be sure to tell Chef Melissa that La Cucina Prima Donna sent you! Buon Natale a tutti!!

 

Stuffed Calamari for The Feast of the Seven Fishes with Feast on History

Buongiorno mei amici!! Next up for The Feast of the Seven Fishes with Feast on History…Stuffed Calamari!! No Feast of the Seven Fishes would be complete without it. Like the other recipes, I wanted to keep it traditional with a bit of a twist. I made mine stuffed with mushrooms and ricotta. It’s a wonderful mix of flavors and textures and the tomato sauce is reduced with some white wine. For more information on the upcoming Feast of the Seven Fishes be sure to head over to Feast on History for information on purchasing tickets for the dinner. Enjoy!!

                                     

Stuffed Calamari

1 pound of calamari tubes (around 6 tubes)

1 tbsp. salt

1 tbsp. pepper

2 tbsp. crushed red pper

2 cloves of chopped garlic

2 cups of mushrooms, chopped

2 tbsp. Italian parsley

2 cups of bread crumbs

½ cup of ricotta cheese

¼ cup of parmigiana

White Wine Tomato Sauce

2 cups of diced canned tomatoes San Marzano tomatoes (in my opinion, they’re the best!)

1 tbsp. salt

1 tbsp. pepper

1 tbsp. crushed red pepper

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 cup of white wine

Begin by cleaning your calamari in cold water. Add olive oil to a medium size pan over medium heat. Add salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and garlic. Cook until slightly golden. Add the chopped mushrooms and cook until they are tender. Add the parsley and turn off the heat. Put the mushrooms in a medium size bowl and add the bread crumbs, ricotta and parmigiana.

Meanwhile, in another medium size pan, add the diced tomatoes, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and olive oil. Add the white wine.

Stuff your calamari with the mushroom stuffing. I like to use a tiny spoon to really get in there and then I press down the stuffing with my thumb. Put the stuffed calamari in the sauce and cook until opaque and tender, around 15 minutes. Serve immediately. Buon Appetito!! 

Stuffed Clams with Feast on History

Ciao a tutti!! I am so excited to have started my recipe testing for The Feast of the Seven Fishes with Feast on History. For those that have not heard, I recently became an intern with Feast on History. A wonderful new company that specializes in wine and food events and allows the guests to experience food and history together. It’s hard work, but someone’s gotta do it!! Up first were the Stuffed Clams. I love stuffed clams and I wanted to keep them traditional with my own special twist…enter speck. Speck is a cured smoky Italian meat and when you fry it, it gets nice and crispy. I thought some speck would lend itself perfectly to the clams. I mean, parmigiana, clams, bread crumbs, white wine, you can’t go wrong. Be sure to stay tuned for some other tempting recipes and of course, if you want to experience them for yourself without doing as much of the work, be sure to come to our upcoming Feast of the Seven Fishes Dinner on August. 30^th. Mangia Bene!!

Stuffed Clams

For the liquid

1 pounds of clams (we used Manila Clams)

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 cloves of chopped garlic

2 tbsp. crushed red pepper

1 tbsp. salt

1 tbsp. salt

3 tbsp. chopped Italian parsley

1 cup of white wine

1 cup of water

For the stuffing

4 tbsp. olive oil

2 cloves of chopped garlic

1 tbsp. salt

1 tbsp. pepper

1 tbsp. crushed red pepper

6 slices of speck

1 cup of bread crumbs

2 tbsp. chopped Italian parsley

½ cup of parmigiana

½ cup of white wine

½ cup of the liquid from steaming the clams

Begin by cleaning and rinsing your clams in a large bowl with cold water. Get rid of any grit or sand. After rinsing them, begin preparing your steaming liquid. In a large pot, add your olive oil, garlic, red pepper, salt, pepper and chopped parsley. Cook briefly until the garlic is slightly golden. Add the white wine and water and bring to a boil. Put the clams in the liquid, cover them and lower the heat. Simmer gently until the clams have opened.

Once they opened, turn off the heat and let them cool in the pot while you prepare the stuffing. Do not throw out the liquid!

In a medium pan, add the olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. Cook until the garlic is slightly golden.

Add the chopped speck and cook until it is crispy. You will notice that the speck will get darker as it gets crispier. Add the bread crumbs and parsley. Cook until the crumbs are slightly toasted. Add the parmigiana, wine and clam liquid. Turn off the heat. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with foil and drizzle with olive oil.

Now take your clams out of the shell and roughly chop them. Add the clams to the stuffing mix. Do not put the heat back on; you do not want to overcook the clams. Stuff the shells with the clam stuffing and put in the oven for 25 minutes. Enjoy immediately with a fine glass of white wine. Buon Appetito!!