An Italian extravaganza on Christmas eve - recipes

Sunset, Dec, 1986

An Italian extravaganza on Christmas Eve

In Denver, the Laurita family celebrates Christmas Eve with a night of cooking and feasting that honors their Italian ancestry. Here are two recipes from their time-honored menu. For other traditional holiday dishes, see pages 84 to 91.

A Colorado-Italian Christmas feast

Fried Bread Puffs (Sfinge)

Laurita-style Crab and Pasta (Cacciuco)

Stuffed Baby Artichockes Fried Squid Italian Bread Butter Fruit

Italian Cookies Cabernet Sauvignon

The sfinge are airy golden spheres filled with cubes of provolone cheese or anchovy pieces. Serve hot as an appetizer.

Mick's love of garlic is expressed in his crab and pasta dish: he uses a whole bulb.

Fried Bread Puffs

1 package active dry yeast

Water

2 cups all-purpose flour

Salad oil

About 3/4 pound provolone or jack cheese, cut into 3/4-inch cubes, or 2 cans (2 oz. each) anchovy fillets, drained and cut in 1-inch pieces

In a large bowl, mix yeast with 1 1/3 cups warm water (110|); let stand to soften, about 5 minutes. Add flour; stir until stretchy. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, set in a warm place, and let dough rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.

In a deep 3- to 4-quart pan, heat 2 to 3 inches salad oil to 400| on a deep-frying thermometer. Punch down dough and pull out a 1 1/4-inch ball-size piece (dip your hands in water to prevent sticking). Push a piece of cheese into center of ball; pull dough around to cover completely.

Slip dough balls into hot oil as filled. Cook about 6 puffs at a time; do not crowd. Stir occasionally to separate pieces. Fry until puffs are golden brown on 1 side, about 2 minutes, then turn over and brown the other side, 2 minutes more. Lift from oil with a slotted spoon, draining briefly.

Place cooked puffs in a single layer on a pan lined with several thicknesses of paper towels; keep warm while cooking remaining dough. (If made ahead, cool, cover, and store at room temperature up to overnight. Reheat in a single layer on a 10- by 15-inch baking pan in a 500| oven until crisp, about 3 minutes.) Mound on a platter and serve hot. Makes about 30 pieces; allow 2 or 3 for a serving.--Rosemary Laurita, Denver.

Laurita-style Crab and Pasta

3/4 cup olive or salad oil

1/4 cup minced garlic

2 cups lightly packed minced parsley

3 cans (28 oz. each) tomatoes

4 cooked Dungeness crabs (about 8 lb. total), cleaned and cracked

1 cup lightly packed chopped fresh basil leaves, or 1/4 cup dry basil

Salt and pepper

Water

1 pound dry linguine

Seasoned crumbs (recipe follows)

Lemon wedges

In an 8- to 10-quart pan over medium heat, stir oil, garlic, and parsley until garlic is soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes (break up with a spoon) and their liquid. Cook, uncovered, until reduced to 8 cups, about 40 minutes.

Add crab to sauce and simmer, covered, over low heat, stirring occasionally, until hot, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir basil and salt and pepper to taste into crab.

Meanwhile, in a 5- to 6-quart pan, bring 3 quarts water to boil on high heat. Add linguine and cook, uncovered, until tender to bite, about 10 minutes. Drain; pour pasta onto a warm platter and at once top with crab and sauce. Spoon crumbs onto each serving; offer lemon wedges. Makes 6 to 8 servings.--Mick Laurita, Denver.

Seasoned crumbs. Place 1/4 pound sliced sweet or sour French bread (about 5 slices) in a single layer in a 10- by 15-inch baking pan. Bake in a 350| oven until golden and firm, 15 to 20 minutes.

Break bread into chunks and whirl in a blender or food processor until fine crumbs form. In a 10- to 12-inch frying pan, mix crumbs with 1/3 cup minced parsley, 6 tablespoons olive oil, 2 cloves garlic (minced or pressed), 1 tablespoon minced fresh basil or 1 teaspoon crumbled dry basil, 1/2 teaspoon crumbled dry rosemary, and salt and pepper to taste. Place over low heat and cook, stirring often, until crisp and golden, about 30 minutes. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Photo: Airy appetizer puffs start with teamwork: Mick Laurita covers bit of cheese or anchovy with dough, then Rosemary Laurita deep-fries them in oil. Hot puffs are ready to serve as they're cooked, or can be made ahead and reheated

Photo: Their triumph: cacciuco Laurita-style, an outlandishly festive dish of linguine and Dungeness crab in tomato sauce, with plenty of garlic and basil