Required Reading for Italian-Americans...

Sicilian Culture: News & Views

Italian Seafood Extravaganza
By Marjorie Mauriello Baker, Los Angeles Times

December 15, 2002 - - Each Christmas Eve, when I cook my family's traditional Italian seafood extravaganza, there's only one compliment that matters: "Dad would be proud."

My father, Salvatore Mauriello, an Italian immigrant, was a barber by trade but a chef at heart. Dad loved to experiment in the kitchen, and Christmas Eve dinner was no exception. For many Italian families, this is the meal of the year. As far back as I can remember, my mother and father would prepare this meal for as many as 22 people. It was always a sit-down affair, never a buffet, and the menu had three essential components: linguine with filbert sauce, cioppino with seafood, and baked clams--all served with loaves of hard-crusted bread.

My most vivid childhood memory is of my parents standing at the kitchen sink on Christmas Eve with small vegetable brushes preparing the cioppino--scrubbing littleneck clams, peeling and deveining shrimp, cutting and cleaning lobster tails. The process took hours and, because the seafood had to be fresh, it was a task that couldn't be done in advance.

Each year my father would drive to San Pedro the day before to ensure that the seafood was top quality. Compared to the prep work, the actual cooking was a quick but flamboyant process in which Dad artfully tossed garlic, spices, wine, lemon slices and tomato sauce into a huge pot. My mother would stand behind him cautioning not to make it too hot, but my father hated being constrained in the kitchen so we all learned to eat his way.

In 1991, shortly before my father's death, we moved Christmas Eve dinner to my house in West L.A. My father protested, but it had become too much work for him and Mom. I had graduated to the big time--scrubbing clams and cleaning shrimp. But Dad still did all the cooking and I sat glued to his side, watching as he'd add a little more garlic to the shrimp marinade or filberts to the linguine sauce. After a few years of assisting, I learned to prepare the dinner solo. Mom, who's now 92, looks over my shoulder just as I did over Dad's. Of course, over the years we've been able to cut the prep time by using a food processor and buying fresh seafood from my nephew, who works in the food industry and lives nearby. One thing, however, remains constant. We still have to scrub the clams.

A Labor of Love
www.latimes.com/features/printedition/magazine/la-tm-entertaining50dec15.story?null

Linguine with Filbert Sauce Serves 4 to 5
1 1/2 cups raw filberts
1 1/2 cups dry white wine, divided in half
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
8 large garlic cloves, crushed
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1-pound linguine

Using pulse setting on food processor, chop nuts into 1/4 -inch pieces. Do not over chop. Place nuts in bowl; pour half the wine ( 3/4 cup) over nuts. Cover with plastic wrap; marinate in refrigerator 4 hours. Combine oil, garlic, salt, pepper, red pepper and parsley in saucepan; saute ingredients over medium heat until garlic just begins to brown, about 3 minutes. Stir often to avoid burning. Add nuts with wine marinade to seasonings. Add remaining 3/4 cup wine. Cook over medium heat for 8 minutes. Remove from heat; set aside.

Meanwhile, prepare linguine according to package directions. About 2 minutes before draining, ladle out 2 cups pasta water; add to spice and nut mixture; stir well. Cook over medium heat 2 minutes. Sauce will remain thin. Drain linguine; top with sauce.

Cioppino Serves 6 to 8
25 littleneck or cherrystone clams
8 lobster tails, 4 to 6 ounces each
16 ounces dry white wine, divided in half
30 shrimp (16 to 20 per pound)
8 ounces extra virgin olive oil
15 large garlic cloves, crushed
4 shallots, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (use 1/4 teaspoon for less spicy version)
1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
6 round lemon slices, 1/8-inch thick
16 ounces tomato sauce, unseasoned

Under cold running water, scrub clams with stiff brush, particularly along hinge of shell. Refrigerate until ready to use. With kitchen scissors, cut off small fins along each side of lobster tail, leaving large tail fins at end. Cut lengthwise along soft underside of lobster shell, removing 1-inch strip along length. Rinse lobster under cold running water and drain. Place lobster in large dish. Add 1 cup white wine; cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate 6 hours.

With your fingers, peel away shell on shrimp, leaving tail shell in place. Using kitchen scissors, make shallow cut along outside curve of shrimp. Under cold running water, remove vein with fingers. Rinse again and drain. Place shrimp in large dish and add 1 cup white wine. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 6 hours.

Combine oil, garlic, shallots, salt, black pepper, red pepper, parsley and lemon in pot. Saute ingredients over medium heat until garlic just begins to brown, about 3 minutes. Stir often to avoid burning.

Place lobster tails, meat side down in pot, reserving wine marinade. Cook tails 12 minutes, turning halfway through cooking. Move lobster around pot occasionally to prevent sticking. Remove from pot and set aside. Repeat until all lobster has been cooked.

Place fresh clams in pot. Add wine marinade from lobster. Cover and steam over medium-high heat until clams open, about 8 minutes. Add tomato sauce and stir to blend. Return lobster tails to pot. Cook in sauce another 5 minutes.

Add shrimp and wine marinade, stirring well. Cook until shrimps turn pink, about 4 to 5 minutes. Serve immediately in large bowl.

Baked Clams Serves 4 to 6
25 fresh littleneck or cherrystone clams (about 1 1/2 inches in diameter)
2 cups water
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 large garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
Dash to 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 lemon, sliced in 1/8-inch rounds, pits removed
1 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

Cheesecloth
Under cold running water, scrub clams with stiff brush, particularly along hinge of shell. Arrange clams in 5-quart pot; add water. Cover and steam over medium heat 6 to 7 minutes. Stir clams, making sure any as yet unopened clams are in the water. Cover and continuing steaming until all clams open, about additional 5 to 6 minutes.

Use tongs to remove clams from pot. Set aside to cool. Strain clam cooking water through cheesecloth to remove sand. Set liquid aside to cool.

Meanwhile, combine oil, garlic, salt, black pepper, red pepper, parsley, wine and 3 lemon slices in bowl. Add strained clam liquid. Stir well.

When clams are cool enough to handle, break shells apart by bending them at hinge, removing any particles of broken shell. With your fingers, remove the clam from shell. Clean waste pocket by breaking skin and rinsing under cold water. Set aside. Rinse shells in cold water and pat dry. Arrange in baking dish. Place one clam in each shell. Stir liquid before dousing each clam to keep spices well mixed. Carefully spoon seasoned liquid over each clam, filling the shell. Sprinkle breadcrumbs on each clam, filling shell. Carefully spoon just enough liquid to moisten breadcrumbs.

Arrange remaining lemons around edges of dish. Brown under broiler 10 to 15 minutes, or until breadcrumbs turn golden brown. Spoon sauce from bottom of baking dish over each clam before serving.

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