Christmas Eve Menu

My home town is only about an hour to an hour and a half from the Texas coast.  Back in the '60s, there used to be a fish monger in the next town, about 15 minutes away.  A truck would come from the coast to this fish monger and we would get great Texas coast fish, shrimp, oysters etc.  My mother would always make a great  seafood buffet for Christmas Eve.  I don't remember what my younger sister ate because she refused to eat and still refuses to eat seafood.  Our grandmother had jokingly told us that if we ate fish a bone might get in our throats and we'd choke.  Trust me.  She was a wonderful and loving grandmother regardless of the remark.  My older sister and I said, yeah, right, grandma.  But our younger sister took the hook and never ate fish not even shrimp. What she ate on Christmas Eve, I don't have a clue. So when I married an Italian Catholic, I was quiet happy to make an all seafood dinner (there is a little sausage but just a bit.)  The italicized items are on this site:

Boiled shrimp with red sauce (I buy mine.  Whole Foods has a great one.  I jazz it up with some diced jalapenos and fresh lemon juice) Or, you can make the Whole Foods Horseradish sauce.

Raw oysters (bought from a reputable dealer like Kathleen's Catch here in Atlanta) and your sauce of choice:
Hogwash -
Whole Foods Oyster Migunett  (classic oyster mignonette sauce).
Whole Foods Horseradish Sauce (this would also be good with fried oysters and shrimp...boiled or fried)

Simple salad of arugula with an Italian vinaigrette

Chorizo and Clams over linguine :

I have this on the site as an appetizer but all you have to do is add a little more clam juice and boil your linguine al dente.  One trick I've learned is after your pasta is cooked to perfection, drain it and then put it back in the pot.  Place back on high heat and add some of your stock (or marinara) and coat the pasta.  Stir for just a few minutes and don't let the pasta stick to the bottom of the pan!  Then you'll have perfectly coated pasta and not just pasta with sauce glopped on top.

Italian Vanilla gelato (purchased)

Bon Appetito!