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The Polish (Roman-Catholic) tradition is for a meatless meal beginning after the first star appears in the sky (around 5 pm in Chicago). In Poland, the church Advent season (the four weeks preceding Christmas Day) is traditionally a fasting season, i.e., no meat with the exception of fish (similar to Lent in America). And, fish meals are frequently mentioned in the New Testament.
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The Gocek extended family's tradition is indeed to share a meatless family dinner on Christmas Eve. The choice of a fish fry was probably a compromise between Gary's mother's mother and father. Granny (as she was called) would have been accustomed to a light, meatless dinner at sundown and additional food before midnight mass, and the fish would have been cold herring or cooked fish such as carp. Grandpa considered holiday meals to consist of big piles of meat or poultry. Grandpa probably enjoyed the occasional fish fry, and it's cheap in large quantities, and it is purchased pre-cooked, so it was settled. Tonight's choice of shellfish would not have been common in Poland (or America, for that matter), but "meatless". |
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Opłatki - wafers (like communion hosts) shared with a greeting before dinner. Babka bread - babka by itself translates as grandmother. Gary’s family prepared this cakelike yeast bread with raisins.
Zupa jarzynowa z pieczarkami i fasolą - vegetable soup with mushrooms and cannellinski beans.
Mushrooms are common in Polish recipes. Beans are good for your heart. Typically served with uszka
(small potato pierogi), but not needed for tonight's starter course. |
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Our main course! The cold-water (North Atlantic) lobster tails served tonight are considered preferable to warm-water (Caribbean) tails. Cold-water tails have a more uniform shell color, meat color, meat texture and taste due to differences in habitat and the ways cold-water and warm-water tails are frozen and shipped. North Australia spiny and rock lobster tails are from a clawless crustacean with a blue-green tail that is a cousin of the Maine lobster. The colder waters of the North Atlantic keep the meat less salty and more tender. |
Wigilia 2022
Wigilia 2022
Wigilia 2022
Wigilia 2022