Advent 2023 marks a great change in our Christmas Eve comings and goings. Gone are the high school choral duties and commitments of our youngest, now a university student. No more early call-times, or hours and hours of seat-saving! We can show up to whichever Christmas mass we’d like to attend, Christmas Eve or Christmas Day!
With this new shift in schedule, we’re able to greatly expand our family’s Christmas Eve Feast of the Seven Fishes! We’re no longer attempting to serve the Feast in as few dishes as possible! We’re serving multiple courses this year! And, remember our three last Advent Sundays, in which we hosted a family “Cookbook Club,” sampling recipes from Nigel Slater, Diana Henry, and Yvette van Boven? Well, part of that weekly Sunday series included choosing recipes we’d like to try on our big day. We’ll be serving Van Boven’s Watercress-Miso Mayo with our smoked salmon, Henry’s Scandinavian Cured Herrings, and Slater’s Smoked Salt, Dill, & Juniper Butter. Of course, there will still be a cheese & Italian charcuterie board, too. However, while the menu seems extensive, we’re keeping the portions quite small. And we’ll be feasting over several hours.
FEAST OF THE SEVEN FISHES 2023
Prosecco served with:
Caviar, Crème Fraiche, and Potato Chips
Cheese & Charcuterie Board alongside a trio of:
Scandinavian Cured Herring with Sour Cream and Sliced Rye
Tinned Octopus in Galician Sauce
Smoked Salmon with Watercress-Miso Mayo
Small Plates:
Grilled Calamari with Lemon and Herbs
Fried Calamari with Roasted Tomato Sauce
Mains:
Roasted Whole Branzino with Toasts of Smoked Salt, Dill, & Juniper Butter
Miso Black Cod
Squid Ink Pasta with Anchovies, Smoked Mussels, and Clams in Roasted Tomato Sauce
Dessert:
La Bastille’s Opera Bûche de Noël
CHRISTMAS EVE CHECKLIST 2023
□ Early morning walk with the puppy!
□ Coffee and Pastry Pick-up from Might & Main.
□ Marinate the Miso Black Cod, make the Watercress-Miso Mayo, and prepare the Smoked Salt, Dill & Juniper butter for our Feast of the Seven Fishes.
□ Prep this evening’s charcuterie board by placing the cold items in one location in the fridge and storing the charcuterie board dry goods in one location on a high shelf.
□ Dance and Christmas cookie break!
□ Twenty minute micro-nap!
□ Christmas Movies!
□ Prep the Roasted Tomato Sauce with Smoked Mussels and Clams, marinate the Calamari for grilling, and tray the Branzino for roasting
□ Have a hot cup of tea!
□ Set the table with our Sashiko napkins and Edible or Upcycled Christmas Table Decor!
□ Arrange the flower bouquet for the house or table.
□ Get cracking in the kitchen for the Feast of the Seven Fishes! Make the pasta! Grill the Calamari! Roast the Branzino! Cook the Miso Black Cod!
□ Tune in to Jon Solomon’s 25-HOUR LIVE-FROM-HOME HOLIDAY RADIO SHOW.
[5pm December 24 TO 6pm December 25 on WPRB 103.3 FM PRINCETON, NJ, USA]
□ Dress up a little and have a cocktail. [Perhaps another festive Clover Club?]
□ Over several hours, enjoy the Feast of the Seven Fishes!
□ Enjoy an Perfect Eggnog Cocktail and revel in the fact you didn’t bother Reinventing the Bûche de Noël this year! [You bought one!]
□ Carols at the piano.
□ Leave cookies, milk, & carrots for Santa and the Team.
□ Christmas Eve Adult Siblings Campout in the basement with Star Wars: A New Hope. The legend continues…
□ Late night cocktails [perhaps a Smoked Gibson?] and more radio for the parents!
ON THIS DAY
2022: Advent 2022, December 24: Christmas Eve Checklist
2021: Advent 2021: Christmas Eve Checklist
2020: SSJ’S Christmas Eve Checklist 2020
2019: Advent Day 24, 2019: Christmas Eve Checklist
2018: Advent Day 24, 2018: Christmas Eve Checklist
2017: Advent Day 24, 2017: Christmas Eve Checklist
2016: Christmas Eve Checklist
2015: Christmas Eve Checklist
2014: Christmas Eve Checklist and a Gingerbread Bûche de Noël
2013: Christmas Eve Checklikst and a Recipe for Lemon Bûche de Noël
2012: Advent Shadowbox 2012: Christmas Eve Checklist
2011: Advent Shadowbox: Christmas Eve Checklist
Leave a Reply