Christmas is one of my favorite holidays. Every Christmas our family will cook Chippino. Chippino is a seafood stew of sorts that includes clams, mussels, prawns, 8 whole crabs cut up, Alaska King crab legs, white fish, scallops, an assortment of onions and garlic with a lot of fresh tomatoes tons of wine and lots of love. Right before the holiday starts we will figure out who in the family will be hosting for the feast. After the host is selected, we prepare to gather for the special event.
We typically gather three days before Christmas and start to prepare, where we will go and what we will buy. Many lists will have been created and many things on those lists will have been missed. We will plan where to shop and the stops we want to make on the way. Starbucks is always necessary since we typically start at 6:00 AM and head out. It will typically take us two days gathering the ingredients for Chippino. We have a great time getting together picking everything out and some side shopping for last minute Christmas gifts. The pocket books are usually drained at the end of our shopping days.
Once we have purchased the ingredients we will huddle around the kitchen and have a plan of attack. Then the day arrives. It is the night before Christmas on Christmas Eve. This is when we begin to cook our Chippino. It really is a team effort. Someone is chopping. Someone else is cleaning. The cook is stirring and the dishwasher is roaring. There are splatters of red sauces on the stove and usually on all since we all taste the Chippino as it cooks. There are at least five glasses wine spread about the kitchen and we usually lose track of whose glass belongs to whom. We will bicker about when too much wine has been added and will never agree on the fish head, which is added for flavor. My mom says, "That the fish head should be left free in the pot." However, my father and I say, "It should be in a mesh net, who wants an eyeball floating in their Chippino, not me!" We will stand in the kitchen for hours. Are feet are usually aching. There are usually two large pots Chippino that have been simmering for hours upon hours and ther are finally put to rest in the fridge.
Then the big day arrives, it is Christmas day. The first adult up has the responsibility of taking out the Chippino and putting it on the stove to simmer. It must simmer until dinner is ready and that is about 4:00PM. All through the house aromas of Chippino fill the air. It smells so good that mouths are watering and usually someone will ask for a bowl for breakfast. That usually will get a few eye rolls and some sarcastic remarks.
Dinner arrives and everyone knows that it is customary to wear an old t-shirt to the dinner table as Chippino is very messy. We will have purchased about 15 bags of French bread to dip in the Chippino sauce. Everybody will get his or her own loaf of bread. Let me say, the bread goes quick. However, there is usually a few loafs for leftover's the next day. During our feast, we will reminisce about our childhood and the first time we had Chippino. There will be many jokes shared and just pure enjoyment of a well cooked dish that was made with lots of love. There will be a few tears for loved ones who are no longer here and a glass will be raised to their memory. We will sit at the table for hours enjoying each other's company. It sure is a nice time that we all enjoy and we look forward to celebrating year after year. This has been a family tradition for generations and one we will continue to share.
