Christmas traditions

For the last several years, my family has gone to Fresco by Scotto for dinner on Christmas Eve. They offer a "Feast of the Seven Fishes" inspired prix-fixe menu and usually have carolers moving around the dining room singing Christmas carols (this year the carolers called in sick!). We are not Italian, and I don't even really like fish, but Fresco is a special place for us and I love our tradition of having dinner there on Christmas Eve. Judd and I went on our first official dinner date there in April of 2003. And my sister and I threw our mom's surprise graduation party there in June of 2003 when she finally finished her master's program at NYU which she had started in the late 1970's, prior to getting pregnant with us.

It was a wonderful, if pricey and caroler-free dinner -- just right for a special occasion like Christmas Eve. We all shared an anitpasto platter and several slices each of their famous grilled margarita pizza. Then I had the almond-crusted Fresco crab cake with remoulade. It was very good, though on the small side. Thankfully, both my mom and Judd ordered the fritto misto -- two heaping bowls full of fried shrimp, scallops, calamari, and zucchini. Which I helped them finish. My sister, predictably, had the winter salad. For my entree, I chose tagliolini with lobster "fra diavlo." It wasn't actually that spicy. But I enjoyed it. My mom and sister both had Chilean sea bass piccatta with parsnip puree and sicilian couscous with roasted root vegetables. I didn't try it but they were very happy with that selection. And Judd had herb-roasted chicken. For dessert we shared a platter of biscotti, cookies, and struffoli, along with a brownie sundae, apple crisp with vanilla gelato, tiramisu, and pistachio-crusted cheesecake. It certainly was a feast. And we're not the only people who like Fresco on Christmas Eve - Natalie Morales, one of the hosts of the Today Show, was sitting at the table next to us.

On Christmas morning, my mom made her traditional big brunch for us to eat while we opened presents. She went way overboard, as is her custom, and had bagels, muffins, croissants, three different cream cheeses, several varieties of smoked fish, bacon, fruit salad, and a ham, basil, and mozzarella cheese frittata (which I contributed).

For dinner on Christmas day, I decided to cook a filet of beef. I have only done this one other time. I also made a very easy and tasty horseradish sauce (recipe below), potatoes Anna and truffled creamed spinach, neither of which I'd made before. And am now of the opinion that Christmas Day is not the time to experiment with new recipes.

Nothing turned out bad per se, but nothing was great. I used this recipe from epicuious for the potatoes, and they ended up more like hashed browns than the elegant potato cake I was imagining. Maybe I should have used grated potatoes? The creamed spinach recipe, which was supposed to be the recipe that the Strip House uses, was fine, but not as good as the recipe I normally use (listed below), which has no grated cheese or truffle oil.

Last year, we ordered Chinese food on Christmas, which is what I think I'll plan for again next year. Especially since it is such an appropriate accompaniment to one of our family's favorite Christmas past times: mah jong!

Easy Horseradish Sauce

1 cup sour cream or creme fraiche

1/2 cup prepared horseradish (or more if you love horseradish)

4 tablespoons chopped chives

3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Chill before serving. Can be made up to two days in advance.

Joe's Creamed Spinach

serves 6 - 8

4 10-ounce boxes frozen chopped spinach, thawed

3 cups light cream

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

freshly ground pepper

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1) Gently squeeze the spinach, discarding excess water. Place in a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly for five minutes until spinach is tender and bright green.

2) Add the cream, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and simmer for five minutes until the cream has bubbled and reduces slightly.

3) Meanwhile, melt the butter in small skillet. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring for 3 to 4 minutes, until opaque. Add the cooked butter-flour mixture (i.e, roux) until the spinach mixture. Simmer for 3 minutes longer until creamy and smooth, but still bright green. Correct the seasoning to your taste and serve hot.

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Can be made 2 days ahead.