Seven Fish Dishes - A December Tradition

      We love the Seven Fish Dishes! 

We traditionally celebrate this Italian tradition on Christmas Eve --7 fish dishes to commemorate the seven Sacraments. But the girlies and Son #1 couldn't make it to Michigan for Christmas. So... we had it the first week of December. The table was full of glowing Lady of Guadalupe candles and smiling faces, including several much-loved cousins. 

Here's what we had:

Cracker Barrel illustration

1#:  Cod chowder -- recipe coming soon

2#:  Angels on Horseback -- oysters wrapped in bacon. We tried for Devils on Horseback, but in spite of scouring Grand Rapids, couldn't find chicken livers! (The grocery manager told me they'd been out of them for months. You may not have noticed this, but I've tried to order fried chicken in at least three local restaurants, only to be told it's not available. Is there a connection?) So we had Chicken on Horseback -- strips of breast meat wrapped in bacon. Still tasty.

3#:  Tuna Casserole --- cooked noodles, mushroom soup, peas and a can of tunafish mixed in. Topped with a layer of cheddar, and baked. Yum. (Cousin, who is gluten-free, brought her version of the casserole.)

4#:  Shrimp Scampi -- another basic on the Brick family menu

5#:  Salmon teriyaki bites -- salmon basted in teriyaki sauce and baked. These were inhaled by family members.

6#:  Scallops and greens -- there's always a 'dud' dish in the yearly runup, and these won the honor. Bland, and not much taste.

7#:  Fried Smelt -- we lived on these as poor and broke college students in Ann Arbor. They were cheap, tasty and quick to make. They're still two of the three -- but not cheap anymore. Ah well.

Refreshers between courses helped clear the palate and make the next dish more enjoyable: salad, rainbow sherbet, dried beef-wrapped purple asparagus, crackers and cheese. I also served linguini, for use as a complement to #4 and #6. 

Dessert, served to a chorus of groans, included coconut cake and a gluten-free apple crumble. Plus coffee, wine, beer and raspberry lemonade. 

A good time was had by all. In fact, the girls plan to have their own version of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve, in Colorado. 

Here are previous years' menus, if you're curious:  2016's menu and 2015's version.