The Ties That Bind…

Every December, my family engages in a favorite holiday tradition – the Chowder Fest.

It all began with a little fish, the smelt, which is most readily available in our local supermarkets during the early winter months. My cousin loves to eat this little fish, and my father loves to oblige him by breading and frying them.

Not everyone is a smelt fan, however, so the menu grew to include seafood chowder, and now not a holiday season goes by without about 20 of us gathered around festive tables, feasting on the nutty tasting smelts, thick seafood chowder made with lobster, clams, scallops and haddock, warm rolls and salad.

Preparations begin days before as my father heads to the markets to find the freshest smelts – and he knows smelts! As a boy in Nova Scotia, he would catch them while ice fishing and sell them to the local fish market.

He and Mom also hunt for the best ingredients for their famous chowder. I, as always, help with the table arranging; preparing a table for the adults, one for the teens and a small round one for the youngest cousins. The tables are all set with linen tablecloths and napkins, Limoges china, sterling flatware, water goblets, wine goblets and tapered candles. On the adult table, the ivory English Titianware soup tureen serves as the centerpiece.

The evening is a time for us to gather with cousins, aunts, siblings and parents, and share with our children the ties of tradition that bind our family from generation to generation.

After bowing our heads in thanks for our blessings, the chowder tureen is filled with the thickest, creamiest, tastiest seafood chowder yet. Heaping platters of fried smelts arrive from the kitchen, where Dad presides over the frying pan. We toast to another year gone by.

If you’d like to try my father’s recipe for smelts and their recipe chowder, which could win an award in any contest, click here.

Every family has their special traditions. I know of one family that spends the afternoon of Christmas Eve wandering downtown Boston, buying last minute items and waiting for the lights to start twinkling. My sister’s Puerto Rican friends have their coquito (a coconut eggnog) and musical parrandas.

What about your family? What makes your holiday celebrations distinctive? Please share them with us in the comment section of this blog.