As an Italian family we have many traditions during the Christmas holidays, for example, on Christmas Eve we celebrate The Feast of the Seven Fishes. We serve seven different fish dishes, a variety of vegetable dishes made into casseroles or sautéed in roasted garlic, such as; rappini, swiss chard, endive, pumpkin, zucchini, eggplants and of course a few pasta dishes (plain tomato sauce, no meat, because we do not eat meat on Christmas Eve).

If you are the youngest in the family, have three older brothers and are hosting Christmas Eve, then you can expect them to tell said sister that they will need a lot of Alka Seltzer after the meal, tease her about her cooking skills, saying she makes great reservations or playing the “who did she hire to make this feast?” game. Of course, if they really want to see her Italian come out, they’ll insist it was her husband (love you, sweetheart, but you can’t even chop an onion) did all the cooking and baking.

They do all this while they have seconds and thirds and raising a glass of red wine to the chef. Of course, anyone outside the family wouldn’t dare say any of these things.

Italian Rule Number 504: We can tease each other, but nobody outside the familiga is allowed.

I’ve learned to give it back as well as take it. Being the youngest I’ve always been spoiled and protected by my loving brothers (don’t they look like mini-bodyguards?) who I wouldn’t trade for anything. Even though one of my brother’s (he was 6 at the time and I was 3) tried to trade me for a new bike.

But I digress….

On Christmas Day, my parents assimilated North American culture and served a traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings, however, they also included lasagna, meatballs and other Italian delicacies. It’s not a stereotype when you see movies or read books that show Italian families, having spaghetti with their turkey.

There was enough food to last us through the week and share with neighbors and friends. While we were at home for Christmas holidays, my mom came up with something fun for us to do, since by day four of having five children at home from school, we probably drove her crazy (no probably about it, I know we made her want to dip into the wine, and she never ever drank).

To keep our hands busy she created the Christmas Pizza Making Holiday.

We each had to come up with a pizza, incorporating the Christmas colors.

My favorite and one I chose to make every year, was my version of White Christmas Pizza.

White Christmas Pizza Recipe:

Basic Pizza Dough Recipe:

4 Cups Flour

1.5 cup Lukewarm Water

2 TBSP Yeast

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 tsp Salt

·        In a bowl, dissolve the yeast and let it sit for 5 minutes.

·        On a wooden board, add the flour and salt and mix well together.

·        Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the olive oil, the warm water with yeast and a bit more salt.

·        Knead the dough, until it is an even consistency

·        Divide the dough into four balls

·        Sprinkle some flour on a wooden surface and cover the dough with a cloth and keep the dough warm to help it to rise.

·        Let the dough rest for about 2 hours (until it doubles in size)

·        Once the dough has risen, it’s time to make your themed pizza.

Topping for White Christmas Pizza:

Preheat oven to 425F

3 to 5 Potatoes – depending on their size

½ Vidalia onion (thinly sliced)

3 sprigs of fresh rosemary

Extra Virgin olive oil

Sesame seeds (optional)

Salt

Work one of the dough balls on a floured surface, roll out with a rolling pin.

You can either have thin or thick crust. (I love thin crust).

You can either shape it round or square (I love square).

Remember, this is a fun project, so the shape of the perfect doesn’t have to be perfect.

In fact, the less perfect it is, the most rustic it will look.

Peel, wash, dry potatoes and slice them thinly either with a sharp knife or a mandolin (should be paper thin).

In a bowl add the potatoes, rosemary, onion and olive oil, salt and toss lightly.

Layer the pizza, overlapping the potato slices and spreading out the onion and Rosemary as evenly as you can.

Drizzle a bit of olive oil on top. Brush the edges with oil and add sesame seeds along the edges (optional). Bake pizza for 15 – 20 minutes, until the crust and potatoes are a golden brown.

Buon Appetito!