Kathleen DePasquale, an Italian-American woman from Rhode Island, feels compelled to keep cultural traditions alive in her family and to pass family customs on to her son. Kathleen graciously shared her family's Christmas Eve traditions with us:

Throughout my childhood, my experiences around food were accompanied by family both immediate and extended and this was most certainly true at Christmas. Even today, the written summaries that I have accumulated and the recipes for the Feast are never far from reach.

The history of the celebration recalls the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church that there are seven Sacraments, thus the name "Feast of the Seven Fishes." This fact is debated every year among people who write about this tradition, but this is where my family based its belief.

It takes weeks to prepare all the goodies that make up the final presentation. The highlights include: potato omelet, a remembrance plate honoring my grandfather who made the most amazing creation with mashed potato as the base; roasted red pepper salad; and baked macaroni and cheese casserole, which is the centerpiece of the evening honoring my mom. The feast continues with seven fish dishes including baccala (salt cod) salad, baked stuffed shrimp, baked cod, fried smelts and eel, baked salmon, and frutti di mare (shellfish). Other side dishes are prepared based on dietary restrictions of some of the guests.

I also make at least seven kinds of cookies for a tray to present for dessert along with torrone (nougat). This event would not take place on such a grand scale if not for my son's love of our Italian heritage and his helping me make it more authentic.