Eat, drink, and be merry. $17 Early Dinner Specials 4-7 pm Happy Hour Monday through Friday Seasonal Recipes Fireside Lounge Cozy Ambiance Free Parking #DiMillos ’ Share your love for DiMillos! In the Old Port • Portland, Maine • 772-2216 • www.dimillos.com Free Parking While On Board • Full Marina Services: 773-7632 h u n g r y e y e Feast of the 7 Fishes (& other holiday tales) local inspirations add sparkle & spice to international holiday traditions in maine. by claire z. cramer hristmas Eve is by far, without excep- started to branch out with baked stuffed drives all the way from Brooklyn, New slin E r b tion, our single busiest day of the shrimp and clams casino, but it was never York, on Christmas Eve to get the freshest year,” says Nick Alfiero at Portland’s strictly seven.” seafood–eels, periwinkles, baccalà, smelts, aura C l Harbor Fish Market. “It’s crazy. We have These days, at Harbor Fish, “I couldn’t shrimp, and lobster,” Nick’s brother Ben Al- people directing traffic; in the past, we’ve tell you seven anything. People buy absolute- fiero says. “It blows me away.” hired policemen outside.” ly anything and everything for Christmas Just down Commercial Street at Browne oira quinn; m Eve dinner. From gray sole to lobster to Trading Company, the very first festive I mean, who’s CountIng? salmon. Oysters, for oyster stew, and lob- thing we see walking in the door is a display slin(2); E r The feast of the seven fishes is an Italian sters for lobster stew are big. In the old days case of Maine-raised Belon oysters lined up b Christmas Eve tradition, but at Harbor Fish it was the squid and eel, but I’ve seen it more on crushed ice in front of a bowl of gigantic, aura l it’s more a point of departure. “It’s not a rule, and more over the years–there isn’t a fresh shiny sea scallops. “A lot of our customers ft: E but it’s a Catholic tradition not to eat meat on fish that doesn’t sell. And nowadays, sea- order whole sides of salmon because they Christmas Eve. Growing up, my mother food’s not just for Christmas Eve, it goes into They’re here to help you plan your holiday feast (above, might treat us to baccalà (salt cod), soak it for Christmas Day, too. It’s a real challenge to clockwise from bottom left): Bogumila Bogusha at Bogu- three days, and make a salad. Or, she might get enough fresh in here, because we won’t sha’s Café and Polish food shop; Kelsey Elliott, conversant from bottom l with caviar and Camembert at Browne Trading; Nick Alfie- E stuff calamari or serve it with red sauce and put out the frozen.” ro surrounded by seafood at Harbor Fish Market; and Liz De- kwis C linguine. We always had fresh eel–even my Harbor Fish’s understanding of this holi- mers, manager of Mittapheap international market. All of Clo Irish wife developed a taste for it. Then we day is so legendary, “every year, one family these shops are in Portland. DEC E m b E r 2 0 1 3 2 7 h u n g r y e y e cure their own gravlax at home for holiday ScandInavIa In deerIng Food and drink for holiday feasting is found all around town uinn including, clockwise from top left: Maine Belon oysters at q parties. That and our house-smoked finnan “We’ll sell every single one of these before Browne Trading; prosecco at Micucci’s; fresh filets at Browne haddie are big sellers,” says Kelsey Elliott, in Christmas,” says Susan Lund Iverson, haul- Trading; imported berry jams at Simply Scandinavian Foods; MOIRA ; a watch cap and white fishmonger coat as ing one of many 3.3-pound white tubs of and chocolate stout cakes at the Rosemont Market. Polish pierogies are on the menu at Bogusha’s Café; challah loaves she takes orders behind her refrigerator dis- preserved lingonberries down from a shelf glow at Standard Baking; and panettone, the luxurious, im- cOMMONS play case. “We sell a lot of seafood and of Swedish jams and preserves, including ported Italian fruitcake, turns up everywhere, including ia cheese at the holidays. People like small, gooseberry and cloudberry, in the Simply Morse’s in Waldoboro and Micucci’s in Portland; it’s also made ed fresh at some bakeries. ikim whole wheels of cheese for parties. Scandinavian Foods shop on Stevens Ave- w “Don’t miss our annual Christmas cham- nue. “Cloudberries are a superfood; they’re uinn; pagne and caviar tasting on December 14,” full of anti-oxidants.” She circles a display of holIday bakIng q she says. “We open up a few tins of the good licorice candies from Sweden, Finland, Nor- lose your eyes and inhale the fra- oira m stuff so you can try them and pick out what way, Denmark, Germany, and the Nether- grance. “Our chocolate stout cake’s you like for New Year’s.” lands–such a Scandinavian staple there are Cmade with Gritty’s Black Fly Stout,” Harbor Fish Market, 9 Custom House Wharf, 775-0251. rotzmann, even uten sukka (sugar-free) varieties. Hold- says Atticus Naylor at Rosemont’s Brighton p Browne Trading Company, 262 Commercial Street, 775-7560. ing up a familiar yellow bag of red Swedish Avenue store. Rosemont Markets’ baker Fish candy, Iverson laughs. “It’s American, Scott Anderson adds stollen to his line of ft: Chris FranCo soul Food but the kids like them.” richer treats, such as glossy braided challah E “Pork pies are huge,” says Kari Grant of “Look at these beautiful cheeses and her- loaves and fresh ginger molasses cake. ow from l Grant’s Bakery in Lewiston. “The traditional ring.” She slides open the refrigerator case. “We make a good amount of panettone, r French-Canadian tourtières we bake year- Nokkel-ost is cheese fragrantly studded with but it doesn’t hurt to order ahead,” says Vic- ottom round become a hot commodity during the caraway seeds. “We just got a shipment of toria Levesque at Standard Baking Co. on b holidays.” They sell “up to 2,500 of them Christmas food. Peppar kakor are spice cook- Commercial Street. “We use raisins, orange slin; E r during Christmas week. We don’t have ies and gingersnaps in tins decorated with zest, candied orange, and there’s some rum b enough refrigeration space, so we rent a re- snowflakes and reindeer. She raises the lid of in there–we bag them up to look pretty. We aura frigerated 18-wheeler for our parking lot!” a freezer chest to reveal frozen Swedish put raisins in the challah for Hanukka. Our l The pies’ filling is “100-percent pork, with meatballs, vacuum-packed lutefisk (large fi- stollen’s got dried cherries, dried pears, and uinn(3); just a hint of mashed potatoes.” The 10-inch lets of cured cod), and plump sausage links dried cranberries, and then we make things q pie is $11.40, and there’s an individual size of korv, a holiday sausage of pork and pota- like sage-onion biscuits for big dinners.” oira m for $3.80. “It’s busy at Christmas. People to. “People just love these things at Christ- Portland’s Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox ft: E stop by to pick up meat pies and desserts all mas. And I have five bakers delivering Church holds a huge holiday bake sale ev- day long. So just remember, when we’re out breads, cheesecake, and pastries. ” ery year on the Saturday before Thanksgiv- we’re out.” Simply Scandinavian Foods, 469 Stevens Avenue, ing. “Baklava, finikia (walnut cookies), and Grant’s Bakery, 525 Sabattus St., Lewiston. 783-2226. op row from l Portland, 874-6759. paximathia (biscotti) are some of the sweets, t 2 8 p o r t l a n d monthly magazin E Village arm F A light & cozy topper Alpacas for tee’s or dresses in many festive colors. & Shop 2 ply, 100% cashmere Open Year Round... $134 Seven Days a Week www.alpacavillage.com “Four times warmer than wool” “A tour of our farm and herd is offered with your 66 Front St. purchase of yarn or alpaca apparel Bath in the Alpaca Farm Store 32 Main St. Camden Shop At The Farm 20 Townsend Ave 832-5160 Boothbay Harbor 800-414-5144 99 Old Route One Waldoboro houseoogan.com (Just around the corner from and we have spanakopita and vasilopita (Ba- HAPPY HOLIDAYS sil’s bread) for the Epiphany (January 6),” Moody’s Diner) says Father Sarantidis, the church’s priest. These are all made by talented parish volun- teers, and this is a real opportunity for a taste of Greek home cooking. But if you missed the sale this year, you can find fresh spanakopita and a selection of sweets including baklava at Lakonia, the shop for Greek food and products in Saco hailed for its delicious imported Pelopponesian ol- ive oil, olives, and herbs. Lakonia has expand- ed its offerings and now also carries a full menu of prepared foods such as moussaka, al- so made by their Greek pastry baker; in the fridge case you’ll find loukaniko sausages, bright with spices and a hint of orange zest. Rosemont Market, 580 Brighton Avenue, 774-8129; Standard Baking, 75 Commercial Street, 773-2112; and Holy Trinity, 133 Pleasant St., 774-0281. Lakonia, 575 Main St., Saco, 282-4002.