It is Christmas Eve at my grandparent’s house. I am sitting around the table in the noisy dining room with my whole family. As the seven different fish dishes finish cooking, my grandfather begins to place each one on the table in front of us. My favorite Christmas Eve dish is the first to come out—linguine with clams. As my grandfather enters the room, my senses are suddenly overwhelmed with the smell of the homemade white sauce and the fresh shellfish. My grandfather slowly sets the bowl of linguine with clams in the center of the table and I can barely stop myself from diving right into it. Linguine with clams and the other fish dishes hold a religious significance for most Italians, but for me, these dishes are significant because of the quality time I spend eating them with my family.
Linguine with clams, or linguine alle vongole, is a dish that can be enjoyed on any day throughout the year. However, the linguine with clams that is had on Christmas Eve is much more special. When my mother makes this dish for dinner, she uses clam sauce with small pieces of clams from a can. Although it is delicious, there is nothing like the fresh white sauce my grandfather makes and the whole clams you eat right out of the shells. The linguine with clams we have on Christmas Eve is also more special because of the occasion. For some people, Christmas Eve is just a day to prepare for Christmas Day. However, for Italians Christmas Eve is a holiday in itself and is just as special as Christmas Day. What makes Christmas Eve special for Italians is the meal that is enjoyed on this day. The meal that is made on Christmas Eve is called either The Feast of the Seven Fishes, La Festa dei Sette Pesci in Italian, or the Vigil, La Vigilia. It is traditi...
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...o most Italians, especially on Christmas Eve. For me, being surrounded by my family and eating linguine with clams is all I need on Christmas Eve.
Works Cited
Caserta, Silvio and Marie Caserta. Personal interview. 19 Feb. 2014.
Bone, Eugenia, and Edward Giobbi. "Cena della Vigilia." Italian Family Dining: Recipes, Menus, and Memories of Meals with a Great American Food Family. Emmaus Pa.: Rodale, 2005. 230-36. Print.
Hayes, Dayle, and Rachel Laudan. "Italian Cuisine." Food and Nutrition: Grains to Legumes. New York: Marshall Cavendish Reference, 2009. 587-94. Print.
Liberati, Maria. "Feast of the Seven Fishes." The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions. Hartfield, PA: Art of Living, Prima Media, 2010. 36-51. Print.
Parasecoli, Fabio. "Major Foods and Ingredients." Food Culture in Italy. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2004. 41-112. Print.
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