I visit the Poissonerie in Coustellet and put in my order early as you will need a time for pick-up and they get so busy with so many orders. If you want all beautifully presented on platter with crushed ice, then ordering up front is the way to go. They will half open your oysters for you before laying them out on the platter . . . which unless you are a good oyster shucker, or have one at hand then this is a relatively prep-free meal.
Just remember to order your Rye bread and you can make your little mignonette dressing and put into a decorative bottle ready to go.
Mignonette:
Small dice a fresh red onion.
Put into a bottle with red wine vinegar to cover (I like to add a tip of white balsamic to balance the acidity and for a little sweet note)
Add Salt & freshly ground pepper.
There are those that prefer just fresh lemon so provide some lemon slices . . . and add a bottle of Tabasco sauce for those who need a little spicy zing.
A nice dry bottle of champagne will already be cooling in the fridge for this celebratory Christmas meal.
What could be easier?
Having said that when I turn up on Christmas eve to pick up my order there are usually lots of other specialty items that will be stocked for this special day that you may not usually see on the stand. So bear this in mind and order up front with this knowledge.
There are lobsters, langoustines, and ordinary crab and snow crab too, and just crab legs if you prefer, but there are also the little whelks which I adore . . . in France these are called called ‘bulots’.
You can buy ‘aioli’ a garlic flavoured mayonnaise at the shop also, however it is so easy to make up a stick blender one with your choice of flavour the day before to have ready to go with your bulots and the giant madagascar prawns or any other shell fish that you will definitely be tempted by.
Going along with the easy prep-mode for this special meal I always order the frozen type Bûche de Noel. This year I went with the nougat, apricot and pistachio, which was a pretty outside and inside, when cut with it’s different coloured ice cream layers.
I also ordered this baby bûche called a ‘macadam’ because it sounded so delicious . . .
It was lemon mousse, vanilla with salted caramel on a crunchy almond chocolate biscuit.
If planning a meal like this, and you still think you need more, you can always add a delicious salad and then some cheese to have before the bûche.
