This is a recipe I have served many times to large groups, and can be 2X, 3X, 4X, ect. as needed. As I recall I made everything to the point of adding in the pre-cooked beans and raw shrimp; kept it all hot until serving time; and added the shrimp and beans just before reheating-to-hot and serving.

I always left the hot peppers in and had a little prize for those who found one on their plate. I found that a single Truffle in a tiny box worked well... 4 peppers meant 4 Truffle boxes. OR, you could just either pick out the peppers beforehand, or just let it go.

Note: I am sorry that I no longer recall from where I got the original recipe.

Ziti with Shrimp and Green Beans

serves 4 generously

1/2 lb green beans

1 1/4 lbs fresh shrimp

1/2 lb ziti (or broken spaghetti)

3 cups (28 oz. can) crushed tomatoes

4 Tbl. olive oil - divided

1 1/2 tsp minced garlic -divided

3 Tbl. tomato paste

1 + hot chili pepper (very mild spicy flavor)

• Cut ends off green beans and cut into 1 inch pieces. Drop into boiling water and simmer until tender-crisp, about 8 min. Drain immediately and cool down in ice bath; set aside.
• Peel and devine shrimp; and cut into bite-size pieces; set aside.
• Bring water to a boil for pasta but don’t add the pasta.
• Crush tomatoes - if needed.
• Heat 2 Tbl oil in large sauce pan and add 1/2 tsp. garlic; cook briefly. Stir in tomatoes and tomato paste; add salt and pepper. Cook down to 1/2, stirring frequently - about 20 min.
• Meanwhile, drop ziti (or spaghetti) into boiling water and cook until al denté.
• As pasta cooks, heat remaining 2 Tbl. oil in a large, heavy skillet and add shrimp, chili pepper(s), and remaining 1 Tbl. minced garlic. Cook, stirring for about 1 min. Add green beans and prepared tomato mixture. Bring to boil and let simmer for 1 min.
• Drain pasta and add to shrimp mixture. Bring to boil and serve.

i can think of some fish dishes that made nice eatables at events i’ve been too, but none are european: mini fish sandwiches, fish tacos, salmon and corn salad on fried bread..

Herring in sour cream--I would cut it up and portion it out on saltines so guests aren't having to mess with it.

Kate's recipe sounds good to me. A favorite at our house is Ina Garten's Linguine With Shrimp Scampi (https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/linguine-with-shrimp-scampi-recipe3-1916619). Easy and so good.

I'm not sure this seafood lasagna would fit for you. However, I can tell you it's good. Recipe's from The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook. You can tweak this to suit your needs/taste, such as less of one type of seafood and more of another.

Seafood Lasagna (Serves 10-12)

For Seafood Sauce:
3 T. olive oi
1 large yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups canned plum tomatoes (packed in puree)
½ cup dry white wine
½ cup chopped fresh basil
2 tsp. fennel seeds (or to taste)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup heavy cream
2 T. Pernod (I didn't use it)
1 pound medium-size shrimp, shelled, deveined, and poached briefly
1 pound scallops, poached briefly
3 dozen mussels, steamed and shelled
2 dozen littleneck clams, steamed and shelled
1 1/4 pounds lasagne noodles

For Filling:
3 cups ricotta cheese
8 ounces cream cheese, room temp.
2 eggs
10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 pound cooked lump crabmeat, shredded
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 bunch scallions, sliced
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
Salt and fresly ground black pepper, to taste
1 1/2 pounds mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced

~To make the seafood sauce, heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes with the puree and cook 5 minutes more. Stir in wine, basil, fennel seeds, salt and pepper. Simmer uncovered over medium heat for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

~Stir cream into the sauce and add Pernod, if using. Stir in all the shellfish and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

~Preheat oven to 350.

~Cook lasagne noodles in boiling salted water until tender but still firm (do not overcook). Drain and cool under cold running water.

~To make the filling, beat ricotta, cream cheese, and eggs in mixing bowl with a wooden spoon until smooth. Stir in spinach, crab, red pepper, scallions, basil, salt and pepper.

~Butter a large, deep rectangular baking dish. Spread a thin layer of the sauce without any shellfish on the bottom of the baking pan. Cover with a layer of noodles. Top with half the filling, then half of seafood sauce. Cover the sauce with a layer of the mozzarella.

~Place another layer of noodles over the mozzarella and spread with remaining filling. Top with another layer of mozzarella. Add final layer of noodles and then remaining seafood sauce. Cover with remaining cheese.

~Bake until bubbling and browned, about 50 minutes. Let stand 10-15 minutes before serving.

Plateau de fruits de mer

Very simple. No need for recipes.

dcarch

7 Fishes was a big deal when I was growing up because my BD is on Christmas Eve and my grandparents wanted it to be special. They always served scungilli and calamari. The piece de la resistance was always broiled lobster.

Fish pie. I don't like fish or seafood,but my British aquaintaince tells me of his love for good old English fish pie all the time. I believe it can be made ahead as well.

Another thought: a smoked salmon filet is always good on a buffet. I have a really good recipe IF you have a smoker. This could be done ahead of time. Or, you could purchase one ready-made if you know a good source,

Great ideas, everyone!

Yes, some sort of seafood pasta seems essential.

Plateau des fruits de mer would be lovely. An edible display!

I don't have a smoker. I have made gravalax and that might fill a similar role.

DD made a delicious dish of oysters served in their shell with a leek-champagne-cream sauce. She wants to make that again.

SWMBO likes baked salmon. She has a recipe that she'll want to do.

DD wants some dish with scallops. We could do simple pan-seared, or get fancier.

Steaming a whole fish would be low-effort and attractive.

I'm leaning away from broiling or deep frying because there'll be so much going on in a small space - too much potential for chaos or mis-timing.

A fish/seafood newburg would be nice and should work if made ahead... It could be served with toast points or rice. I love the lemon and shrimp linguini recipe that pops up here every now and then, but not for make-ahead IMO.

eta: John, I cannot believe you don't have a smoker! Ask Santa for one. :)

Thank you, Islay!

Party_music, I don't really have room for a smoker. I had been thinking about asking Santa for a sous vide thingy but for various reasons have decided not to.

From a local restaurant, but they won't mind you gleaning ideas, surely.

Ooooo :-) I like trout! There was an "Iron Chef" cooking show episode where the featured ingredient was trout, and one contestant made trout ice cream. it was generally panned, but I've always wanted to try it.

Yea, I saw that episode when it happened and I thought, I am SO GLAD I am not a judge today.

Not really French but does Creole/Cajun count? I've not made this Blackened Catfish A la Mer but I've made Chicken A la Mer using the same sauce receipe several times and it is fantastic. The creamy shrimp/crab seafood sauce is to die for!

The blackened catfish could be made a head of time and warmed when needed and the sauce can as well. You might need to add a little water or clam juice to the sauce to adjust thickness when warming up. A side of dirty rice is a must.

You could probably substitute trout, tilapia, or most any fish for the catfish.

INGREDIENTSNutrition

• 36ounces catfish fillets
• 2tablespoonsmargarine, melted
• 2tablespoons cajun seasoning
• 1⁄2lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1⁄2lb lump blue crab meat
• 1pint heavy whipping cream
• 1⁄2lb parmesan cheese, grated
• 2green onions, chopped
• 1⁄2teaspoon garlic, chopped
• 1teaspoon unsalted butter
• 4ounces seafood stock or 4 ounces water

DIRECTIONS

1. Place the catfish filets and the melted margarine in a flat dish, saturating the catfish completely.
2. Sprinkle cajun seasoning onto one side of the catfish filets, completely covering the filets with a coat of seasoning.
3. Place filets seasoning side down on a white hot cast iron skillet or griddle until edges of filets are white.
4. Sprinkle the same amount of seasoning on the exposed side of the filets as you did in the previous process and turn with spatula.
5. Cook until filet meat is completely cooked but moist, with a blackened exterior coat of spices.
6. Be cautious not to over cook as the blackening skillet is extremely hot.
7. Place the butter, garlic, green onions, shrimp and crab into a two quart saucepan. Gently sauté until lightly browned.
8. Add the seafood stock.
9. Cook until shrimp are just pink.
10. Lower heat and add heavy whipping cream. Cook while stirring constantly until a gentle boil.
11. Add more seafood seasoning to season to taste, mild or spicy.
12. Add parmesan cheese to thicken.
13. Remove from heat.
14. To serve, place a catfish filet on the center of the plate, completely covering it with the sauce. If desired, the catfish can be served over a bed of dirty or white rice.

Shrimp cocktail, smoked salmon or other fish with chopped onion, capers and cocktail rye, crab dip or a warm seafood bisque casserole, octopus salad, Italian style, fried shrimp (can be kept warm in the oven) seafood pasta, herring in cream or pickled, baked salmon with a lemon dill sauce. Raw oysters on the half shell, mussels, or even a cioppino soup/stew. Lobster tails go on sale around then, so maybe a lobster salad in a creamy brandy base. many can be made a day or two ahead to make it easier.

I have recipes for the seafood casserole, octopus salad and the lobster salad. Let me know if you are interested. And remember, Costco is your friend.

My husband's family is Italian and it wouldn't be Christmas Eve without the Feast of the Seven Fishes. The menu is very simple fare, but SO delicious. We all look forward to it each year.

Shrimp cocktail, Fried calamari, Fried smelts, Clams casino, Baccala ( dry salted cod), Pasta with anchovie sauce, Pasta with crab gravy, Calamari marinara with artichokes and olives (similar to puttanesca). Of course there is also a huge assortment of antipasti, cheeses, etc, followed by Italian Christmas cookies galore! Yum

Well, no soups leave cioppino out, it's one of my favorites. Peppi's idea of octopus salad would be good too. Cindymac's crawfish etouffee might work, and it's really good. I also like the idea of a whole fish, whether baked, broiled or poached/steamed, it makes an impressive presentation without too much work. Dcarch's plateau would be impressive too, and could be made ahead and served cold, and the ingredients could be chosen to keep costs at a minimum too.

I love seafood, pretty much all of it, so it would all be good by me!

Annie

Annie, I had cioppino at a buffet event where the hostess placed a slice of baguette in the bottom of the bowl. It pulled a lot of the broth but left all the flavors. The bread was soft enough that you could break it with a spoon and eat it last.

SWMBO says soup is okay. So cioppino it is! Or lobster bisque. Not decided :-)

I have a great seafood cookbook by James Peterson and will be consulting it liberally.

Peppi, that sounds really, really good. I like the idea of the baguette in the bowl to soak up all that goodness.

John, enjoy your delicious dinner.

Annie

"DD wants some dish with scallops. We could do simple pan-seared, or get fancier."

Coquilles St.-Jacques could be one possibility, my favorite scallops dish. Not much complicated and quite delicious. Julia Child has good recipes for à la Parisienne (with mushrooms & white wine sauce) and à la Provençale (garlic & parsley; very similar to Elizabeth David's). Ina Garten's version is also delicious though it has a couple of nontraditional ingredients like curry.

For an entertainer home cook/chef this is the 'perfect storm'. A full sat/sunday before the Monday eve is such a blessing.

Rough work week ahead but lots of time to see what is fresh at my market.

I've been hosting the 'fishes' for 30 years. Way before it had a hosting name. 'Seven Fishes'.

1. An intro snack seven layer smoked salmon ...hearty brown bread/pumpernickle lots of fresh pickles, etc. Grazing intro. Vegetarian spring rolls. (yawn but expected as I do in my sleep)

2. Baby crab cakes. Best prepped ahead any who.

3. Zippy lemon/celery root/parsley seafood salad ...grilled seared octopus/(local purchased) scallop/shrimp/mussels. ...or what looks good at my market.

4. This main massive main is always debated. Really depends on the crowd and needed volume. Where whole fresh fish like cod, salmon, ...bouillabaisse?,Chioppino,cazciuco/cacciucco/...just a nice rich seafood stew and always over a slice of boule. More light veg broth'/white wine and easy on the tomato. Leek/garlic.

Never do we serve or make a pasta dish or risotto. Or potato or coriander/lime/avocado anything. (favorite flavors here usually but so much of that is in our weekly rotation)...;

Odd that certain things just don't play this game.

My parents loved to entertain for Christmas Eve, and once Dad learned about the Italian tradition of the Feast of Seven Fishes, he was all over it. Mom was happy to join in, and I always loved this tradition. In fact, I make sure I have at least SOME seafood on Christmas Eve, even if I'm not entertaining.

While he cooked and prepped up some Italian dishes (things like mussels marinara or white clam over linguini) he did not hold back from serving tuna sashimi, fresh raw oysters or clams, and perhaps a Chinese dish or two. There would always be things like smoked salmon and cream cheese (with capers and maybe some red onion - easy to prepare up early), and some dish with shrimp, maybe done Cajun or French. Or served cold in a salad, or simply as shrimp cocktail. Mom's cream cheese with caviar coating (not the most expensive caviar mind you) usually made it out as an appetizer, with crackers. Squid would often appear (never breaded). Baked or steamed salmon was frequent.

One thing I enjoyed back at my old home was buying eel at the holidays from one of the supermarkets that carried it. I made a Greek dish with it using olives one year, which was wonderful. I doubt any supermarkets up here carry it, but since I'll be going to Christmas dinner back down at my old area, I plan to pick some up (even if I won't be eating it until after Christmas).

My brother makes an excellent Greek octopus, which can be served hot, or as a salad.

I can provide recipes if you are interested in some of these.

Just a note John, do you have any of what they used to call "tv trays?" I always find mine to be indispensable when I have a buffet party.

Tuna pate with crackers is great and inexpensive for an appetizer. I have a great recipe for seafood salad with calamari but I don't know if I'll have time to post it. I'm not sure if I know where the cookbook is that has it listed . . .

You don't have to serve seven dishes, just seven fishes so I would do maybe one appetizer, one main and one salad and call it good.

Edited to add that I follow Lidia Bastianich on Facebook and she posted a link to a menu to a "Feast of the 13 Fishes" dinner at one of her restaurants. I would be there in a heartbeat if I lived anywhere near it and was fabulously wealthy. Maybe you could get some ideas from it. https://feastofthethirteenfishes.splashthat.com/%E2%80%AC?fbclid=IwAR1RDhjEbfufju-_K4p9y2bjWJQOubTrHKloRB4x-VTVWU5eIw3TrUt1DpE

if you want to do 7 fishes and french you can do both if make bouillabaiss.

I am late to this party....but not short on experience in feeding a crowd as elegantly as possible.
I would not "ixnay" soup but would serve it in vry small plastic glasse with a little pleasic tasting spoon....and I would think of the whole meal in terms of appetizers and a main.
Line up 2 courses atonce and while drinks are being consumed people can eat a little cup of lobster bisque....and maybe an oyster or 2 on the half shell....soon bring out some medium shrimp enbrochette..seasoned with whatever and broiled, and perhaps a small calmari salad....next some seared sliced ahi served with s spicy sauce and perhaps a slice of skinny bread and perhaps mini crab cakes.
then comes the sitdown big plate with the whole salmon and a starch....roasted tiny potatoes? and something green and crunchy....then dessert.
Much can be made ahead, and what cant is quick to fix....just have a really big stack of small sized plates......I have about 30 you could borrow!
Scuse all the typos....but there is something going on that won't let mecorrect, just delete....

I am not Italian and although I've heard of the Seven Fish thing, I've never been party to it.

Is the idea that you serve seven types of fish/seafood at that meal, or is the idea that you serve seven separate dishes?

I ask because the first thing that comes to my mind is Seafood Chowder. It's an easy, casual dish and could easily include seven (or more) types of fish/seafood, and if you made this dish, you'd have more time to enjoy your company. It would pair nicely with a green salad and loaves of bread.

This is my recipe -- it's thick and hearty, not too hard, and quite yummy:

In large stock pot, saute 1 cup onion in 1/2 stick butter.

Add 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning, 1 tsp thyme, 1/4 cup flour -- cook into a roux.

Add 2 stalks celery, 1 cup matchstick carrots, 2 large potatoes chopped finely, 1 cup corn. Cook 8-10 minutes.

Add 5 cups chicken broth, 1/2 cup white wine, 1 1/2 cups white fish cut into chunks (mixed variety is best -- cod, salmon, tilapia). Add 2 cups (total) shrimp and scallops, small can of chopped clams (drained). Cook 8 minutes, or until shrimp is curled and pink.

Remove from heat. Stir in 2 cups heavy cream. Top with fresh parsley.

That sounds great. One of the dishes should be a soup and everyone loves chowder. It is seven different fish dishes.

Seven Fishes is 7 or more dishes. More of an interesting challenge than a one pot meal.

Like mentioned the weather is a factor in the NEast. It rained all last weekend and lower temps would have been two feet of snow cover...

I should have 8-10 guests early-ish noon (friends with pre-teens) then an overlap of another 12-14 depending on weather. 6 will probably spend the night.

Will not shop until the weekend pending the weather. (a few years ago no-one could make it here, just a few neighbors that came for our hospitality and heat since we had a power outage but we have a transfer switch)

Next few days is the shopping list planning.

Old photos of past recipes helps.

(That is a cod cake I make Christmas morning...serving is similar.)

Seven layer smoked salmon appy. Fish stew...my market depending. Always add lamb sausage (in the freezer). Might be a Spanish influence.

We like a brothy fish stew...and all is decided on what looks good....no recipe. Leeks dill garlic celeriac fennel veg white wine, a little tomato. Not to much tomato.

Link to the two pics above, HERE

NYTime fish stew, HERE

I think it is going to be 7dishes 24 fishes.

Great fish market, Astoria Seafood, is just a few blocks from my work home base.

Website, HERE

PICK & EAT IN

• Walk in and browse our selection of raw seafood;
• Use provided plastic bags to pick what you want in the desired quantity (feel free to ask our staff for assistance);
• Go to the cashier to have your order registered;
• Specify the preparation style you want for your seafood. It may be as simple or elaborate as you wish! Stewed, grilled, sautéed, fried, deep-fried, broiled, baked, roasted, with or without sauce, stuffed, breaded... you name it! Whether it’s a classic recipe or a cooking style the way your Mama used to make, our seasoned cooks can do it all!
• Add side dishes and drinks from our daily selection;
• Pay, have a seat and enjoy!

We called ahead for a whole grilled octopus and a few squid. Got a whole fresh striped bass and a red snapper....cod carcass for stock. And a few other fishes....nice chunk of frozen Ahi. (may save that for Christmas Day)

Already looking forward to the steak, collards and mashed potatoes Boxing Day.haha

...just had sushi for lunch.

Thank you for reminding me of Astoria Seafood. Have not been there for a long time.

Definitely will visit after the Holidays.

That looks like a monster octopus.

dcarch

Post dinner report.

We had about 20 people over for this buffet meal. The idea was to bring out seafood dishes one at a time. Sides and salads were available throughout the meal, and people took plates and sat wherever they wanted at two dining tables, on the living room couch and chairs, or just standing around.

As DD and I planned the meal, it started making sense to deviate from the traditional Seven Fishes dinner of full -on entree dishes. Instead, we decided to have every seafood dish more like an appetizer, that you could eat off a small plate with just a fork, so that the evening was more like a cocktail party with endless food. We also decided to keep each dish simple so that preparing seven dishes and serving one every 20 minutes wouldn't be crazy. To the extent possible, we'd prep ahead.

When guests started arriving, we had salmon mousse on crostini ready. Two kinds of salmon mousse, because DD objected to my version. I make it by baking salmon, then putting it in the food processor and adding a couple garlic cloves, some shallot, salt and white pepper, heavy cream, a little bit of brie cheese with rind, a pinch of wasabi, lemon zest, processing to the desired consistency and taste, then placing into a squeeze bottle with pastry tip. DD was outraged at the brie cheese, and insisted on making her own version. Which, in the end, included cream cheese :-)

Next was a shrimp louie salad. SWMBO made this, so I don't know what was in it.

We made a clam fettucine, following a recipe that was so minimalist, it was intriguing. Heat a few garlic cloves in wrote a lot of olive oil, discard the garlic cloves, add clams in shells, cook until shells open, remove shells, extract clam flesh, return clam flesh to oil with parsley, cook a couple minutes more. Yes, that was it. This was a good cookbook, so we thought maybe the stripped-down recipe would bring out the essence of the dish. Turns out it basically yielded clams... in oil - ick. So we used the result as a base for a more full featured clam sauce, which salvaged the dish.

DD made oysters in a leek sauce. You shuck oysters, clean the shells, lightly cook oysters to release liquid, combine the liquid, white wine (not too dry - or champagne or Prosecco), and cream into a sauce - there was more to the sauce but I wasn't watching closely - assemble oysters on beds of wilted julienned leek in the shells, broil, then sauce and serve.

Meanwhile there was manicotti as well as other side dishes and salads that people brought, on the buffet.

I made crab cakes. This was crab meat, minced onion and garlic, parsley, salt and pepper, a little red pepper flake, mixed with boiled and riced potato, molded into patties, dredge in egg and coat in Panko crumbs, then deep fry. A messy thing to do but they came out nicely. Normally I use egg and bread, not potato, as the binding agent, but we were trying a recipe from the Peterson book. It is a cross of crab cake and latke. Personally I prefer the way I usually do it.

Then we broiled some halved lobster tails, with plenty of melted butter. We should probably have extracted the meat and cut it to bite size pieces, in keeping with the cocktail party appetizer theme, but by now we'd been cooking for hours and were getting bogged down by guests wandering into the kitchen, helpfully and insistently busing piles of dirty plates and glasses into the midst of our prep and cooking space. So I was having to do dishes while DD cooked, and our smooth process was getting chaotic. That's the drawback of a small kitchen.

My new dishwasher requires a particular workflow. One side of the sink is full of soapy water. Dishes are scraped into the other side of the sink (that has a garbage disposal) then placed in the soapy water. When enough dishes have accumulated, they are removed from the water and placed into the rack which is loaded in the dishwasher. After the dishwasher cycle, which takes three minutes, the rack is removed and set on the counter. The dishes and glasses come out very hot so they are dry in a minute. Quickly remove and stack the clean ware. This is an effective way to wash a lot of dishes very quickly, but definitely interrupts cooking.

The seventh dish was to have been scallops in lobster butter. We collected the lobster shells and were starting to make the butter, but then SWMBO reported that everyone was full and it was time for tea, coffee, dessert and the White Elephant present game. So we shelved the seventh seafood dish with some relief. There was still a lot of cleaning up to do!

Sounds delicious, but exhausting!!

After the dinner and cleanup, we had to bring out the presents and stockings. We were all tired on Christmas morning. DD pointed out that we'd essentially worked from 2 pm to midnight; she and I hardly got out of the kitchen. On Christmas Day, everyone stayed in their PJs all day . . .

Interesting report, and I agree that it sounds exhausting. I can totally empathize with you on having a small kitchen... I joke that if two people are in my kitchen at one time, one has to leave so the other can turn around. :p I also know how "helpful" people can make the situation much worse. lol! I learned to switch to disposable plates, napkins, and utensils when I have a larger group of people and it goes much easier. A white elephant sounds like fun!

John, been following this thread, though I know it was exhausting, I love that you went with more an appetizer theme, it sounds delicious, and I'm quite sure all went home well satisfied! BTW, isn't staying in one's PJ's, as an adult, on Christmas Day, rather delightful?!!