This weekend I was invited to the Azienda Villa in Franciacorta for their annual Christmas Dinner. And what were we served? After tasty antipasti and a rich chicken broth with pastina and finely chopped chicken livers, Lo Spiedo Bresciano, which is a throwback to earlier times: In its most traditional form it is tiny song birds, spitted, roasted slowly for hours, and served with polenta.

Before you blanch at the idea of eating a songbird, some context: Lo Spiedo Bresciano was the holiday dish of those who were too poor to be able to afford other meats, and were also not allowed, by the ruling nobility, to hunt anything larger. Considering that one would be fined if one were caught shooting anything that walked or bounded over the land, if not worse -- the Visconti, who ruled Brescia from 1300 to 1430, had poachers mutilated -- hunters bent on providing a meal for their families naturally went after what the nobility didn't care about: Small birds.

As did farmers, both because some small birds eat the crops in the fields, and because barnyard animals that could provide commodities such as eggs, or be sold to raise cash, were much too valuable to be eaten.

The birds we enjoyed were a little larger (and commercially raised), and were interspaced with pieces of pork loin and spare rib, cut to the same size as the birds. A wonderful tradition!

Further background: As I said, the Azienda Villa makes wine in Franciacorta. Superb bollicine (bubbles), and if you are still wondering what bubbly to drink this holiday season I can't recommend their wines highly enough. In particular, Villa Cuvette Brut Franciacorta 2004 and Villa Diamant Pas Dosé Franciacorta 2004; if you instead like slightly softer sparkling wines, Villa's Franciacorta Satèn is frankly seductive.

More about the Azienda Villa:

• Their Site (they also have a beautiful agriturismo that is an excellent base for exploring the region)
• Villa Satèn through the years: A vertical, from 2005 to 1995
• Villa Selezione Brut: A vertical, from 2001 to 1986, and an overview of their Agriturismo.

More about the Spiedo Bresciano, and modern variations.

And finally, moving in a very different direction:
If you haven't started baking holiday cookies yet (or even if you have), check out Stephanie Gallagher's Holiday Cookies 101: Lots of great advice and recipes.

I know, I have said (and will repeat) that there is not a universal Seven Fishes Christmas Eve Dinner in Italy: Some areas do celebrate Christmas Eve with a fish-based dinner, whereas others (including Tuscany, where I live) do not, and even in the areas where a fish-based Christmas Eve is the tradition, things are not hard-and-fast. Menus vary from family to family, and are dictated in part by the number of people gathering around the table, and in part by circumstance; the authors of Altamura Antichi Sapori note that in Altamura the wealthy enjoyed roast eel, while the less well-to-do made do with baccalà. Here we have a couple of modern recipes, and one that's a bit more traditional:

• Baked Eel with Butter and Sage, Anguilla con Burro e Salvia: Eel is one of the most classic Christmas fish in Italy, and many feel that a Christmas Eve dinner without eel isn't quite right. Not that you must wait for Christmas to enjoy this baked eel recipe, which is quite easy and very tasty.
• Curried Fish Fillets with Lentils, Filetti di Pesce Con le Lenticchie: This is a somewhat more exotic recipe, with curry, and though my father-in-law might wonder at it, my mother-in-law would enjoy it. Though the choice of what fillets to use is up to you, I would go with a more delicately flavored white fish, perhaps perch.
• Mixed Fried Fish with Artichokes and Cardoons, Fritto Misto di Pesce Con Carciofi e Cardi: While mixed fried fish is nice, the combination of fish and vegetables provides delightful contrast between the richness of the fish and the textures of the vegetables.

More Ideas For La Vigilia | And Yet More Ideas for La Vigilia

With the holidays (and holiday meals) by now upon us, it is perhaps a good idea to enjoy somewhat lighter foods while we can. A simple, light risotto, followed by turkey breast, which is (again) quite light. For example:

Risotto al Melograno e Limone:
This lemony risotto with pomegranate seeds will be quite delicate as is, and could also benefit from just a shaving or two of fresh ginger root, added when you add the pomegranate seeds and lemon strips. Followed by:

Fesa di Tacchino Agli Agrumi:
A citrus lover's delight, roast turkey breast liberally seasoned with tangerines and lemons. Served with simple scalloped potatoes.

A wine? I would think about a Gavi here.

And to finish up? Fresh fruit. Oranges, to keep things citrussy.

Many holidays are celebrated with specific dishes. Hanukkah, on the other hand, is celebrated with a technique -- frying -- as the oil used to fry the foods commemorates the miraculous oil that kept the sacred flame of the Temple alight for 8 days following the victory of the Maccabeans over Antiochus.
Florence's Comunità Ebraica suggests, among other things:

• Risotto al Radicchio, made with the deep red radicchio of Treviso (omit the butter and increase the olive oil).
• Fusilli al Pomodoro con Polpette, Corkscrew pasta with tomato sauce and tiny fried meatballs
• Fritti al Cartoccio, fried packets containing meat and vegetables. I don't have a specific recipe, alas, but you could adapt this chicken cartoccio, omitting the cheese and frying the packets rather than baking them.
• Bomboloni, puffs, filled with marmalade (use Kosher shortening rather than butter in the batter).
• Apple fritters -- use orange juice rather than milk as the liquid.

Other Hanukkah dishes, and a few words on Italian Jewish cooking