Hi I’m Marty Richardson from chefmartyrich.com. Welcome back to our daily tip series.

Why Seafood?

I am finishing up my discussion of holiday appetizers today with seafood. You might want to ask, “Why seafood?” Well, it is because I think seafood is the most decadent appetizer of them all. Think about Shrimp Cocktail, Oysters Rockefeller, Clams Casino, and Caviar. It doesn’t get much more decadent than that. Even the names sound expensive! So, if you’ve got the budget, I’d say go for it.

Shrimp Cocktail

When someone comes to your party, and you are serving shrimp cocktail, they know right away that this is an event. It is not everyday food, although you can get cocktail shrimp at most supermarkets pretty easily. Some supermarkets have it already prepared in the frozen food section, or you may find it in the seafood section. They may have it cooked in the store, or already thawed for you. Now if you are going to go this route, make sure you order ahead. You can also get shrimp already peeled and deveined and then you can steam it yourself. So if it works within your budget, shrimp is pretty simple, straight forward and done ahead.

Smoked Salmon

The next seafood appetizer I want to speak about is smoked salmon. This is another ingredient that is easily found in most supermarkets. This is another use for your dips and spreads that I spoke about yesterday. You can make a canapé out of the smoked salmon. Just spread some of your dip on a toasted piece of bread or a cracker and put a little piece of smoked salmon on top, then garnish with a sprig of dill and maybe a little dollop of sour cream, and you are finished. Or take a slice of smoked salmon, spread a thin layer of your dip or spread on it, then roll up the smoked salmon and then slice it into bite-sized pinwheels. This is another very easy appetizer, best done ahead.

Caviar

The third appetizer I want to talk about is caviar. Ok, I know! First of all, it is an acquired taste. I happen to love it, but I happen to love really good caviar. And that is not cheap. A little 1 ounce container can cost you over $100.00 if it is really good. I have a few tips regarding caviar just in case this is something for you. Serve it iced cold. It needs to be served on crushed ice if possible. Second, use it very sparingly. You can use it for a garnish for your canapés. Third, you need to serve it with a special caviar spoon. Caviar spoons are made out of bone or shell. Metal reacts very badly to caviar. It is going to give the caviar an off-taste and it may also discolor your silverware.

Ceviche

A fourth appetizer I want to discuss is ceviche. This is a Latin American or South American appetizer. It is fish or shellfish marinated in lime juice. It takes about four hours for the acids in the lime to actually “cook” the seafood. Then, you mix in your tomatoes, scallions or red onion, celery, peppers or chilies and season it up with some cilantro or parsley (if you are not a cilantro fan). It makes for a great dip. Obviously, it’s extremely flavorful with the bite of the chilies and that acidic lime juice cooked seafood. If your guests haven’t tried ceviche, maybe you want to make a small batch.

Sushi

I am not going to go into sushi today, because I don’t think it is really appropriate for Thanksgiving. But if you are serving it at your Thanksgiving dinner, then you are having an eclectic meal. So right on! I am going to do a few videos on sushi because I’ve been asked some questions on the website about nori paper and rolling sushi. A tip I can give you is use a rice cooker. Once you get the rice down, sushi is easy.

Finally, The Main Event

And now for the main event! In just two weeks time we will have, in this corner, The Champ! Undefeated for three hundred and eighty eight consecutive fall classics, weighing in at 21 pounds, 5 ounces… The frozen – The feathered – The fowl of fall! The tender, the tantalizing, the terrific, “Tasty Tommy Turkey”! Don’t worry. I’m in your corner. See you tomorrow.