The seafood platter (plateau de fruits de mer) is the French Christmas version of the feast of the seven fishes. One or two copious plates on a stand filled with an assortment of cold seafood displayed over layers of ice.
In a frying pan, stir fry 1 sliced clove of garlic.
1 peeled garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon olive oil
Put in the mussels and stir fry covered until they are all open. Stir from time to times
1 lb mussels
Add 1 cup of white wine and let it simmer for 1 minute until it evaporates
½ cup dry white wine
When they are ready, remove the mussels but keep the water as it can be added to fish stock.
Let the mussels cool down completely before placing them over the bed of ice
Opening the oysters
Hold the oyster with a towel as the shell is very sharp and you could cut your hand. You first insert the point of the blade inside the hinge of the shell.
12 oysters
Using the blade as a level, slowly move the knife to the side of the shell and rotate the knife until the shell opens.
Cut the muscle that is keeping the shells together. Make sure the flash is detached from the shell and can be eaten.
Arrange them in a bed of crushed ice making sure the water is retained inside the shell. The crushed ice will shape as the oyster shell keeping them flat and in place.
Arrange the platters
Lay a layer of ice on the platter. Put the stand for the second plate if you are using a double platter
Arrange the seafood over the ice
4 crab claws, 14 oz prawns, 14 oz whelks, 14 oz periwinkle
Add some slices of lemons
4 lemon
Place one plate over the other
Sauces and bread
Serve some sliced bread
bread
Aioli and Mayonaise into different small containers
4 tablespoon mayonnaise, 4 tablespoon aioli
Provide plenty of wet wipes
Video
Notes
The seafood has to be fresh
Buy seafood that is local and fresh
Usually, I never add seafood without shells like salmon, squid, or cleaned shrimps. As they are laying on a bed of ice, the meat can get ice burned or get soggy.
If the seafood is fresh you do not need any strong or overwhelming sauce.