TRADITIONS

I've returned from vacation, straight into the old routine. It is very difficult to readjust to the real world after spending every waking minute with my wife, doing whatever we felt like doing, but I guess that's the way it is for now. I didn't have much time to post while I was away, but I wanted to share the Christmas Eve dinner I had, because my family has a long standing tradition, which I think is quite rare nowadays. Every year for as long as I can remember, and long before that, my family has had basically the same schedule and menu, which is layed out below:

• The feast starts with lunch: homemade italian style thin crust pizzas... Anchovy is a must for at least one pizza
• Shrimp, sautee'd calamari and anything else that might be around is served as an appetizer. Hot mustard, lemon, and cocktail sauce are also never far away at this point.
• The next course is a seafood pasta. It is a red sauce cooked with crab and shrimp for flavor, which gives the sauce a delicious sweetness, but it is not really obvious that it is a seafood pasta.

• After the pasta, the real feast begins: More Pasta, 2 kinds of Octopus Salad, Crab Salad, Crab cooked in tomato sauce, Stuffed Calamari, Crispy Potatoes, Broccoli Salad, and an experimental seafood dish, which changes every year, hit the table.



• Espresso, Biscotti, and other traditional Italian cookies or desserts follow the main meal.
• Santa Claus always makes a visit to the house after dinner.
• Presents are handed out and opened once santa heads home.
• The white elephant game, "Doubles" is played, which is always good for lots of laughs.
• Tangerines, whole nuts, and liqueurs round out the end of the evening.

Christmas Eve is my favorite night of the entire year. It is full of tradition and memories for me, and one of my biggest goals is to find a way to carefully preserve the traditions that have been handed down to me from long ago.