Friday, December 29th 2006
Cioppino + Rollatini = XMas
Every year a part of one side of my family gets together for the annual X-mas Eve dinner at my aunt’s house. It used to be much larger, but as cousins acquired their own families the numbers lessened. Such is life and we move on.
My mother prepares two dishes every year for the feast. The first, Cioppino is a fish stew similar to Manhattan style chowder minus the potatoes. Then we have the Eggplant Rollatini. This is quite a labor intensive dish:
Eggplant is thinly sliced, dipped in an egg wash then dredged in bread crumbs. In a single layer the filets are spread on a baking sheet and broiled until both sides are brown. This requires the utmost attention as nothing can be done while the eggplant is under the broiler; a second too long can result in disaster (and a subsequent broken knee cap). The usual punishment for messing with the food is both knee caps are smashed, but then how am I supposed to carry the Cioppino downstairs? With great care I broiled all the filets while eating breakfast; a very risky maneuver. Next the filets are rolled around a mixture of cheese and herbs, placed in a shallow pool of sauce in a 9×13 casserole pan and covered with foil until needed for the final warm up. Tradition is always more meaningful when it’s delicious!
Nothing beats an Italian Christmas Eve and thanks to Johnny and Ma Hazzard for sharing their traditional dishes! For Christmas Eve my very Italian family (Iannuzzi/Palumbo/Tuscano) does the whole seven fishes. This year I was elected to contribute the calamari (squid) and baccala (cod). Crazy good eats!
That’s a very bad Johnny for eating directly out of the pot! (Sorry, but that maneuver ranks right up there with double dipping.)
On another note, my family also has a gargantuan Christmas Eve feast. However, instead of Cioppino and Eggplant Rollatini there is an unhealthy offering of artery clogging Southern Cuisine. Fortunately, bronchitis prevented me from participating this year. I am sure my heart is very thankful!
Im Italian. This is how we do it; it has been done this way for generations.
Rita, how did you do the calamari?
A couple of years ago we had a bumper crop of eggplant from my garden and since I am also, to quote Ma H, “Italian by injection” (I LOVE that!) I tried to make eggplant rollatini.
Unfortunately I don’t think my version came out as well as yours, but I roasted the eggplant plain, without the bread crumbs. I didn’t even think to try it your way, and the recipe I had didn’t call for that either. Now I know how I’m going to make rollatini with next year’s crop!
I’m Italian too and all my family do (in terms of Italian food) is lasagne (but we have the most awesome lasagnes though! And have many variations of it) and these really gross deep fried batter and sardine blobby things called zippoli.
Because I have to fly back home for Xmas, I decided for the sake of nostalga to have one… half an hour later I was brushing my teeth trying to get rid of the after taste.
And Johnny, you look exactly like your mum.
Marastar – Where is it that you call home? I’d hate to think you have to carry yourself too far for a less than satisfactory Xmas! I suppose I should be more specific as we only so far know that you’re from Oz. Do you have to leave the continent?
And are you mad? Johnny looks nothing like his mother – much to her delight.
Johnny – I make a very simple fried calamari. I toss the calamari in flour, salt, pepper and parsley, then fry at 350 degrees until crisp and golden. Always comes out perfectly delicious. The hardest part is cleaning the darn squid!
Save me a piece of the Rollatini, it’s my favorite. Give ma Hazzard a big hug.
To comment on “are men necessary”, in general no, the right one yes!
Who will be kissing you at midnight? Happy New Year!
Sorry Johhny, I could not resist teasing you a little.
Marastar, you are from Australia? I like you already. Have you ever been to Byron Bay?
Reading Rita and Johnny’s comments here makes me want to commit a few capital sins. Your description of those Italian dishes is more tantalizing than a Chi Chi LaRue box set!
Yep, born and bread! Although as I mentioned, Italian background. I actually come from a lame ass city there called Adelaide. It’s pretty but also pretty boring. But I actually live in Sydney. So Xmas for me means flying interstate. As for Byron Bay, never been there! Mum’s side of the family are from up that part of the country. Although I hear it is beautiful there, I get the impression that there’s too many pot smoking circus hippies up there for my liking :S
Marastar, thanks for the feedback. Indeed, I have also heard Byron Bay has an intense New Age vibe. However, I would probably fit in since I am an environmentalist hippie. Hopefully, I will get around to visiting Australia one day. Sydney, Daintree, and Whitehaven Beach are sights I am eager to see.
Yeah I strongly urge you do so!
As for being an environmentalist hippie, that doesn’t compare to circus hippies
I mean I’m talking marijuana festivals complete with acrobats, bongos and beared lesbians.
that sounds like fun!
I want me a beared lesbian, if it comes as a hot hairy stud who’s into cats and Melissa Etheridge.
Johnny, it certainly could be fun. However, you may have to resurrect the blue hair.
Hi Johnny,
I’m Italian too and I know pretty well the Italian dish you were talking about. It’s very similar to what in Southern Italy (where I used to live before moving on to Poland) we call “Parmigiana”. My mother sometimes uses fried artichokes instead of eggplant, it’s really worth trying!
Recently I was in Colchester, England, in my Polish friend’s home, and cooking the parmigiana as a surprise for our guests was a great success. What really surprised me was seeing that in big hypermarkets they have everything – including eggplants, but neither my friend nor his English colleagues had ever tasted them.
Congratulations for your blog (and your job…!), and big kisses to you and your Mama.