On Christmas Eve at least 30 guests will gather at the home of Rae and Salvatore Lanzilotta for the Feast of the Seven Fishes, a meal that is said to have originated in southern Italy and is traditional in many Italian-American homes.
It’s called the Feast of Seven Fishes but Rae thinks there will be 11 fish dishes at her table, although the list as of this writing is at 10. Let’s count them: one—oven fried fillet of sole; two—shrimp scampi; three and four—clams and mussels in tomato sauce; five—spaghetti with oil and garlic and anchovies; six is scungilli in tomato sauce with hard biscotti on top. Scungelli and shrimp appear again in a cold salad with numbers seven and eight—calamari and octopus. Number nine, eel is served fried and prepared by Rae’s niece, Maria Osowski who also lives in Westbury with her husband Chuck. “It wouldn’t be Christmas without eel,” says Rae. Her niece also makes number 10, the baccala salad.
All this from a woman who didn’t cook until she was 34 years old. As a child growing up in Westbury, Rae wasn’t allowed to do much in the kitchen, which was the domain of her mother. She sometimes was given the responsibility of beating eggs or perhaps rolling meatballs, but, she says, “I was not really trusted with a meal.” She set the table and cleaned up. One task she remembers fondly was listening for the church bells at 6 p.m. That was the signal to pick up the Italian bread from nearby Felichel’s Deli because her father was coming home from work on the Long Island Railroad at 6:05 p.m.. When Rae married Sal, her mother lived with them and still ruled the kitchen.
After her mother died, it was time for Rae to get in the kitchen and she found that while she hadn’t had much experience cooking, years of observing and perhaps, just being Italian, led her to become an excellent cook. “I have to say my experience comes from inheritance, not hands-on and amazingly, today, I cook the same way Mama did.”
Culture and heritage are important to the Lanzaletto’s and their roots go deep in Westbury and all the way to southern Italy. Sal’s parents were from Calabria and Rae’s from Durazzano.
Many Italian-Americans in Westbury originated in the town of Durazzano. Most settled in the section of Westbury across Post Avenue from St. Brigid’s Church known as Breezy Hill for its slightly higher elevation from the rest of the village. The Durazzano Society was formed in 1929 and in 2003 Westbury and Durazzano became sister cities.
“My memories are so precious,” says Rae. “Growing up in Westbury is an experience I wouldn’t trade.”
