Jody Adams Cooks The Feast Of The Seven Fishes

We spent Saturday at Rialto with about fifty of our new, food-loving friends enjoying a cooking class with Chef Jody Adams, who prepared her take on the Italian-American holiday tradition: The Feast Of The Seven Fishes. As the lore goes, this feast would begin at about noon on Christmas Eve and the courses would continue into the evening. We arrived at 11:00 AM, and cooked, sipped and dined until about 3:00 PM, all with great food, wine and people. In this short video Jody explains some of her updates on the traditional feast. This was part of the monthly cooking classes series at Rialto and TBF was extremely lucky to be invited.


Course One: Fluke Crudo with Blood Orange, Rosemary and Capers. Crudo means raw. Fluke is of the flounder family. The taste matched the elegant presentation.


Course Two: Clams Oreganato with Chorizo, Garlic and Breadcrumbs. This would be one of our top choices.


Course Three: Goujonette of Sole with tarragon and lemon. A goujonette is simply a small cut of fish. These courses were matched with Prosecco di Valdobbiadene, Adriano Adami, Brut, Bosco di Gica, NV. Fine choice. What Italian holiday feast would be complete without a Prosecco?


Course Four: Salt Cod Ravioli with Garlic, Tomatoes, Capers and Cream. Delicious.


Course Five: Whole Grain Spaghetti with Anchovy, Garlic and Kale. Very nice. These two courses were paired with Vermentino, Bibi Graetz, Casamatta, 2009. A sweeter, very nicely balanced white. Loved this wine.


Course Six: Stuffed Squid with Luques Olives, Almonds and Oregano. Superb, one of the best tastes of the meal.


Course Seven: Glazed Lobster with watercress, saffron, fennel and tangerine.


Although not on the menu, herbed fingerling potatoes ended up on the final dish. This was paired with a Cerasuolo di Vittoria, Planeta 2008, a red that never touches oak. The tinny quality persisted, to me, despite their best efforts in the choice of pairing.

Upcoming Cooking Classes at Rialto include:

January 8… Jody’s Gourmet Soup Pot
February 12… Romantic Dishes
March 5… Technique: Braising
April 16… Brunch

Rialto
1 Bennett Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Telephone: 617.661.5050

As an update to my table mates, I misspelled the name of the Parisian restaurant we discussed. It is actually Le Tremilou.

Full recipes for all of these dishes are available. Simply email me for the details and happy feasting this holiday season!