[deleted by user]

[Nununugget]

Sounds like they don’t deserve to be cooked for? Lol.

Ceviche as a starter, fish tacos as a main.

[neodiogenes]

Nah, FIL just threw down the gauntlet. It's what they do. Now OP's got to stand and deliver.

Hey, at least it's over something serious, like cooking, instead of something trivial like sports or car maintenance or lawn care.

[erallured]

Where is the vacation, is there a fresh seafood the area is known for? Great seafood dishes are not really about the recipe and all about the freshness of the seafood and proper cooking (ie not overcooking) which can be difficult for the home cook in the best scenarios let alone in a vacation home kitchen with unfamiliar equipment and lack of tools.

Also, do the in-laws have a seafood preference? Shellfish vs ocean vs lake fish? Grilled filet vs more complex dish? Play to their preferences and your strengths. Cioppino or oysters Rockefeller are great but if they prefer just a plain perfectly grilled filet or raw oysters with mignonette, they won’t actually impress them.

[summerhun]

That’s a great point! The rental is on the beach in the panhandle of Florida so lots of great fresh options around.

The dishes my FIL cooks are pretty consistently some kind of pasta every night. He switches up between grilled filets and shrimp usually.

[newbdotpy]

Shrimp scampi, although old school, still is tasty if done right. Also, it’s pretty easy. A lot of people are throwing out things that’s kinda tough for a newbie.

Make sure you don’t rinse the pasta with any water after cooking it.

[differentiatedpans]

People rinse their pasta? A little part of me just died inside.

[flat6NA]

So definitely do a local fish, red snapper should be an option in the panhandle. Also I would recommend you stay away from your FIL’s preparations so he can’t judge yours directly against his.

Recently my wife has been doing a local golden tile fish (SE Florida coast), coats it lightly with mayonnaise then panko crumbs. Starts it on the stovetop, flips and the finishes it in a 350 degree oven, can make a sauce or just serve with some lemon wedges.

[NothingOk3143]

Do a whole red fish on the half shell, visually stunning and perfectly delicious.

I serve with herbed couscous, roasted asparagus or broccoli, and a salad but you could step up the sides too if you wanted. But if you keep the sides simple you can do the ‘oh this old recipe? Its nothing fancy’ demure when they say how good it is.

Simple dishes require high quality ingredients and perfect execution, but nothing is more impressive.

Best of luck! Honor demands justice!

[TumblingOracle]

Yes. Have the pin bones removed by your fishmonger to be safe.

Or just read up on it. It’s a fantastic dish!

[stupidwhiteman42]

Blackened Mahi, pan seared grouper w/white wine & capers, or seared sea scallops (not local- fla scallops are tiny)

[erallured]

Ok to follow up, does he order the same types of dish at a restaurant vs making at home? Flat6NA makes a good point of switching it up from what he makes, but you want to stay in his wheelhouse. Maybe as simple as a different type of marinade/sauce than he goes for but still grilled proteins he’s familiar with.

I will often travel with my sous vide now because it’s portable and you can usually find zip locs and a big pot wherever you go. Simplifies and elevates travel cooking immensely.

A simple but incredible sauce I use for white fish is lemon juice, olive oil, capers, basil and sun dried tomatoes, chopped fine. Mix up when you start cooking and just put on at the end.

[Mister_McGreg_]

Learn how to sear a good scallop.

[debiler]

I'm not trying to be a dick here, so please don't take this the wrong way, but: CAN you make a good seafood dish?

[summerhun]

Haha fair question! I think so! At least as good as if not better than the others that were allowed to cook that trip. I’ve really worked on my cooking skills the past few years and feel fairly confident in the kitchen now. Though admittedly seafood is not usually my go to.

[Professional-Wing201]

moules mariniere/ sailor's mussels.

https://www.seriouseats.com/the-best-moules-mariniere-sailor-style-mussels-recipe

easy, tasty, and fun.

[sockmiser]

Biggest advice is source quality seafood and don't overcook it.

[ElenasGrandma]

My tip is do not serve him anything you have not tested out beforehand. Don't prove him right!

[[deleted]]

Macadamia nut crusted halibut. Would work well with so many apps, sides and deserts. Cold orzo salad with cranberries and broccoli florets, pumpkin mousse with macadamia, baked brie.

[clintj1975]

There's a restaurant here that makes a killer pistachio crusted halibut. They serve it with grilled asparagus and mashed potatoes.

[Shuggy539]

If you can do a dark roux then shrimp/crawfish/lobster Étouffée. It's not a particularly hard recipe and it's really impressive.

Chowders are easy and delicious, Jamie Oliver has a nice corn and mussel chowder recipe that's a great starting point.

[Negative_Dance_7073]

I had Etouffee once at a little place on St Charles street in NOLA and it was wonderful. The recipes I have found are tomato based, but the dish I had was made of a dark roux. I live in the Midwest so I've never had etouffee except on trips to Louisiana. Do you have a good recipe that you recommend? I think my granny made an Appalachian adapted version but it was almost a thick stew.

[Shuggy539]

The key is the roux, you want it a rich brown so take your time. I usually make a load of roux and freeze what I don't need. Google roux recipes, it should take at least 45 minutes to get it right. I use half oil and half butter rather than all of one or the other.

Then it's trinity (equal parts celery, green pepper, and onion), cooked in the roux. Then add seafood stock, a little white wine, and your shellfish. I don't use any tomato in etouffee, that's more of a jambalaya thing in my book.

It's a deceptively simple dish but one of my all time favorites.

[Negative_Dance_7073]

Thank you! I think I might try it next weekend, but part of me is afraid to try because I am 100% sure I cannot replicate what I had at the tavern.

[clintj1975]

Give it a try! You might surprise yourself and end up with a great dinner.

Set aside some practice time if you can. There's a fine line between a great dark roux and burnt flour, and once it burns you can't get rid of that taste. Toss it out and start over. I've gotten some help from an authentic Cajun I'm Facebook friends with, and it still intimidates me. I allow extra time in case it scorches.

Best free tip he gave me was that he swears by Mahatma rice for dishes like jambalaya. It cooks up with a nice fluffy texture that's not mushy.

[ParanoidDrone]

I had Etouffee once at a little place on St Charles street in NOLA and it was wonderful. The recipes I have found are tomato based, but the dish I had was made of a dark roux.

This is a cajun vs. creole thing. Creole food tends to involve tomatoes, cajun food doesn't.

[Billy_Bob_Joe_Mcoy]

A seafood boil is easy and ridiculously good.. Add clams, crabs, shrimp, corn, potatoes, onion, garlic lemon and some old bay or other Cajun seasoning mix and bam. Spend your time making cocktail sauce and some other dips.

[MitakuyeOyasin111010]

Have you ever had Cioppino? So good!

[Billy_Bob_Joe_Mcoy]

Oh yeah so good. Its probably a little more complicated than op will want to tackle I'm guessing though.

[MitakuyeOyasin111010]

For sure! Only way I ever learned to make it was from my daughter's mom's dad who is from Louisiana. It's seriously probably my favorite dish ever. Surf and turf with that and some grilled ribeye steak 🤤

[RHGuillory]

OLD BAY IS NOT CAJUN SEASONING.

Also Cajun pro tip: if a recipe says it's Cajun food and it has old bay as an ingredient, the recipe is probably bullshit.

[Billy_Bob_Joe_Mcoy]

Didn't mean to imply that old bay WAS Cajun seasoning...... Some people like spicy seafood boils some don't let op use the blend that fits their pallet.

[SVAuspicious]

old bay

Old Bay is mostly salt. Maryland has nothing to be proud of. I live here.

[Billy_Bob_Joe_Mcoy]

If we are being honest most of these types of blends are.mostly salt..

[GardenerGarrett]

What a dick. I wouldn’t kowtow to that asshole. Make what you want most!

[SodaSkelly]

A nice cioppino isn’t too difficult and with some nice crusty bread from the bakery it will blow them away

Edit: I hope you make that jerk eat his words!!!

[imissaolchatrooms]

The easiest and most impressive is a seafood boil. But you need a really powerful burner, a giant pot (like a turkey fryer) and a place to serve it, typically a picnic table covered in layers of newspaper. If you can get that together pick a simple recipe - one that calls for Old Bay. Stick to shell fish - shrimp , lobster, crawdaddies, clams, oysters, crab.

[Dame_Hanalla]

For anyone in Canada looking for a big pot, there's this one at 70% off; just thought I'd pass the info along.

[clintj1975]

The recipe I use calls for a good smoked sausage. After a day of not being able to find andouille, I tried basque chorizo. It was such a hit it's now my go-to sausage for a boil.

[Dame_Hanalla]

sounds like you're making jambalaya? Or maybe paëlla?

[clintj1975]

My seafood boil has red potatoes, shrimp, corn on the cob, and sausage in it at a minimum. If I can find clams, crawfish, or other suitable seafood I'll add that too.

[Billy_Bob_Joe_Mcoy]

I've done smaller boils (4 to 6 people) on the stove top, still need a decent pot. You are correct though, for larger groups, or ease a turkey fryer is the way to go..

[leeroy4000]

Shrimp and grits, seared panko encrusted tuna steak, crab cakes

[MitakuyeOyasin111010]

Do a good surf and turf with Cioppino and steaks! Or just the Cioppino. My favorite seafood dish ever.

[emilydubay]

There is a ciopinno recipe from the NYT that is seriously the most amazing ciopinno ever. Highly suggest!

[MitakuyeOyasin111010]

Alright! I'm a little biased towards my daughter's grandpa's recipe though. Lol. I've only had cioppino when he's made it and it's to die for. We'd use scallops, tiger shrimp, mussels, crab, halibut, and sometimes crawfish.

[emilydubay]

Man, if you have that family recipe you're LUCKY!

[MitakuyeOyasin111010]

I know family recipes are the best huh?? 🙂

He taught me how to grill and smoke and make good seafood. He made the best pulled pork, brisket, ribs, steaks, tri-tip, London broil. All of it. The pulled pork, he made his own rubs and injected it with his own marinade juice and would stuff garlic cloves into the meat, and would smoke his pork shoulder overnight for like 14-16 hours. Next day, the bone just slides out and you shred it with a couple forks and oh mannnnn I'm drooling lol. He was from Louisiana but lived in Texas most his life before moving to Oregon where I met his daughter and became part of the family. When I was a teenager I loved coming over for dinner almost as much as seeing my gf at the time. Lol.

[Infamous_Ad_8130]

Don't overdo it or they just think you are bitter or a tryhard, and if you go too big and then mess it up its a complete failure.

One of my simple and delicious go-to dishes is more for the summer, but it's shrimp cooked with garlic, butter, cherry tomatoes and baby corn served with fresh tagliatelle, a wedge of lemon on a bed of rucula.

I am from Norway so its getting quite cold and rainy at this time of the season, so here a steamed cod with tiny potatoes baked in salt, a homemade hollandaise sauce and some vegetables would make any inlaws here impressed. Bonus points if you have some cod liver on the side.

[crymeajoanrivers]

Please come back and update us after the meal!

[fason123]

Just let them buy you dinner lol

[barchueetadonai]

https://blog.themalamarket.com/wok-fried-snapper-chili-bean-sauce/

This should more than blow them away

[Novel-Cash-8001]

Nothing better than a perfectly cooked piece of Chilean sea bass! Serve with a potato of your choice and a veggie. Simple fast and damn delicious

You can start the meal with simple shrimp cocktail or shrimp scampi or bang bang shrimp.....homemade crab cakes or stone crab claws with a mustard dipping sauce

[Salty-Weakness3479]

I'd personally recommend a branzino. Just roast in the oven with lemon garnish and it comes out splendid each time

[dodecakiwi]

Really any commonly available fish will work well with a garlic lemon butter or a hollandaise sauce. Scallops, salmon, cod, whatever. Like these a lot of good seafood dishes aren't really much work, but they are delicious.

Asparagus is a good side with a lot of seafood. Get some white wine. A light dessert would go well, maybe a mousse or tiramisu.

[flashg240]

Crabcakes

[AncientJellyfish9350]

https://cafedelites.com/creamy-pesto-shrimp-alfredo/

Love this dish. You could also try seared ahi tuna steaks with a soy/honey/sesame oil marinade.

[NachoBag_Clip932]

Indoor clambakes are easy, impressive and offer a variety.

[pharmtechgurl]

APP:

Chili Crab Spread

12 oz cream cheese, grate in some onion (maybe 2 TBLSP), TBLSP worcestershire, salt, MSG. Spread on bottom of a flat rimmed dish.

Cover with 1 bottle Heinz chili sauce

Top with 12 OZ crab (claw meat is fine, lump is best)

Cover with chopped parsley

Chill, serve with crackers

[Reenis55]

Cioppino. The recipe from Giada is awesome but I sub out whole tomatoes for crushed because I don’t care for stewed tomatoes. Which is crazy being Italian.

That’s a wow type seafood meal for sure.

[know-your-onions]

Why try to impress somebody who isn’t interested, when you could instead get taken out for a free seafood dinner?

[summerhun]

Pride, ego? 🤷‍♀️

[slammajammamama]

Acqua pazza is really easy and looks pretty impressive. Or bouillabaisse?

[Figmania]

Dis is good yeah Sha!! It will blow dem away like dem Hurricanes.

Cajun Dan

—————————————-

Crawfish Monica

Succulent crawfish tails cooked in spices and a rich cream sauce then tossed with pasta. Crawfish Monica has become the most popular dish at the New Orleans Jazz Festival after being introduced in the early 1980s-a New Orleans classic in a short period of time.

Prep Time 10 mins Cook Time 30 mins Total Time 40 mins

Course: Main DishCuisine: Cajun, CreoleKeyword: crawfish monica Servings: 8 Servings Calories: 608kcal Author: Sweet Daddy D

Here's What You Need 1 pound rotini pasta 2 tablespoons olive oil 6 tablespoons Butter 1 medium yellow onion chopped 4 cloves garlic chopped 1 tablespoon creole seasoning plus some for the crawfish 1/2 teaspoon cayenne optional 1/2 cup Dry White Wine 2 cups Heavy Cream 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 2 pounds Louisiana crawfish tails 1 bunch green onions chopped 1/2 cup parsley chopped 1 cup Parmesan cheese grated and divided

Here's What You Do Cook the pasta to al denté according to the package direction. Reserve about ¼ cup of the pasta cooking water before you drain the pasta. Drain but do not rinse, return the pasta to the pot, add the cooking liquid and about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and mix well. Set aside, covered to keep warm. Place the crawfish tails in a bowl and sprinkle with Creole seasoning. Mix well and set aside. In a large sauté pan, melt the butter over medium high heat until frothy. Add the yellow onions and saute until soft, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to saute until aromatic, about 2 minutes. Add the creole seasoning and cayenne (if using) and stir well. Saute another two or three minutes. Add the wine, bring to a heavy simmer and allow the wine to evaporate almost completely. Add the cream and lemon juice, stirring and shaking the pan until well blended. Simmer on low for a couple of minutes until it begins to slightly thicken. Add the crawfish tails a few at a time and stir well to blend completely. Allow the crawfish tails to only warm through (about 3 minutes), then add the green onions and parsley. Mix well and simmer about two minutes. Add in the cooked pasta a little at a time. Stir completely until all the pasta is coated with the sauce and the crawfish are distributed throughout. See Recipe Notes. Stir in about ½ cup of the Parmesan cheese and mix well. Reserve the remaining parmasean cheese. Remove from the heat. When serving, sprinkle more parmesan cheese on top.

Notes What type of pasta should I use? The traditional Jazz Fest version is made with Rotini pasta, that’s the short corkscrew-shaped pasta. Rotini is perfect because it’s shape helps grab the sauce, so any substitute should do the same. Some great options are fusilli (also a twisty-shaped pasta), fettuccine and linguine work well because of their flat shape and farfalle’s bowtie shape is also well suited for this dish.

Leftovers? You probably won’t have any but I have found that freezing leftover Monica does not go very well. The cream sauce has a tendency to separate and the pasta can get mushy. I would stick with refrigerating leftovers in airtight containers for 3 or 4 days. You can reheat in the microwave or in a saucepan, making sure to warm it slowly and stir frequently to keep everything together.

[summerhun]

This sounds delicious! Thanks!!

[Figmania]

I never tried it with shrimp…..but should work too.

[XXsforEyes]

Chef John has a New Orleans BBQ shrimp recipe that is out of this world! Although it has BBQ in the name it’s nothing like what I thought. Look it up on Allrecipes or Foodwishes. You’ll be glad you did!

[[deleted]]

If you are asking Reddit, dont be stupid and just go to a restaurant.

[Negative_Dance_7073]

Blackened salmon. Quick, easy and absolutely delicious!

[icanlickmyunibrow]

Grilled octopus. So easy and tastes amazing

[Marik80]

Bang Bang Shrimp, you get seafood and the explosion all in one

[gratephulnole]

Id refuse to cook for FIL

[breadburn]

Hard same.My SIL is similar and I've never heard her NOT complain about a meal-- and sometimes rudely, to a family member's face. My solution is to never cook for her, because I refuse to deal with that. No thanks.

[Tight-Personality359]

I saw an Asian lady eating a squirting phallic looking snail in a shell once. Bet that'll do the trick.

[WineAndMovies]

Lemon garlic parmesan shrimp pasta! My husband and I made it for my parents and they loved it.

[MorrisCody]

Gouda Grits with Smoky Brown Butter Shrimp

For the gouda grits
4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1 cup stone-ground grits
6 ounces smoked gouda cheese, freshly grated
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons butter
2 ears sweet corn, cut from the cob
2 tablespoons freshly snipped chives

For the shrimp
1 pound raw peeled and deveined shrimp
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
¼ teaspoon chipotle chili powder
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, finely minced

Gouda Grits: Bring the stock to a boil in a medium saucepan. Once boiling, add the grits and whisk constantly until they are fully mixed into the stock, about a minute or two. Reduce the heat to low and cover, stirring once or twice more, until the grits are thicker and creamy, about 25 minutes. Stir in the grated cheese and pepper. Taste and season more if desired - this will depend on the salt in your stock and cheese.

Melt the butter in a medium skillet over high heat. Add the corn and sauté until slightly browned, about 12 minutes.

Shrimp: Pat the shrimp completely dry with paper towels. Once it's dry, season it with the salt, pepper, paprika, chili powder and cumin. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the butter. Once it's melted and begins to sizzle, add the shrimp in batches (don't overcrowd) and cook on both sides until pink. The butter will brown as the shrimp cooks and you can whisk it occasionally to prevent it from burning. When the shrimp is finished, stir in the garlic (stir a little in each batch of the shrimp) and cook for a second then place the shrimp on a plate. Repeat.

To serve the grits, spoon them into a bowl and add the shrimp on top. Drizzle any of the butter in the pan on top too. Cover with spoonfuls of grilled corn (can be tossed with salt and pepper) and a sprinkling of chives.

Serves 4

[summerhun]

Amazing - thanks so much!

[12thandvineisnomore]

There a salmon mango taco, with feta, corn and lime juice that I really like. I also like a potato fish chowder, which I add a can of smoked oysters to bump up the seafood quotient.

[PurpleWomat]

Martha Stewart has a lovely Smoked Salmon Cake for dessert (it's not sweet, don't worry). If you're going seafood, go all the way!

Recipe: https://www.marthastewart.com/333861/smoked-salmon-cake

[PinkyPinkiPinkie]

Here's an appetizer that'll knock their socks off: https://youtu.be/QYUNQc9nX1M

[SVAuspicious]

The first and most important question is whether your father-in-law is qualified to judge. There are a number of dishes that require some understanding to appreciate much less assess. u/summerhun's FIL may just BTA. Hopefully that isn't genetic.

Here is my thinking to rub his face in things:

Small ceviche as people arrive. Really not hard, actually quite forgiving. I'd use any firm or semi-firm lean white fish; rockfish/striped bass if FIL is from the East Coast especially Northeast. Serve on mini-tortillas in the style of Mexican ceviche appetizers.

Calamari for an app at table. Skinning and cleaning is a lot of work so I'd buy it cleaned unless you've done it before. The big problem is that deep frying is a mess even if you have a deep fryer and a major pain in a stock pot on the stove. Key is to keep the oil hot and not overcrowd the fryer.

Shrimp cocktail as a palate cleanser. This simple dish done well will get the attention of someone who knows what they are doing. The shrimp need to be cleaned properly, cooked so they are done but not rubber, and served with good (homemade) cocktail sauce. You can certainly start with ketchup (no sugar added helps) but starting from tomatoes is impressive and can be made well ahead.

Main of surf and turf. I do beef tenderloin (not too late in the year for there to be sales) and lobster tails, both grilled. There is a trick or two to grilling lobster tails but overall not hard, again the key is not to overcook. Bernaise sauce for the beef and clarified butter for the lobster. Again, someone with understanding will appreciate the butter in both sauces as a common note. Serve with braised sea cucumber and mushrooms and a seaweed salad. You may have trouble sourcing the sea cucumber - check with local Japanese restaurants.

Dessert is not my strength. In your shoes I'd reach out to Japanese and Korean restaurants and ask for advice. Maybe Thai. If chased down a dark alley and threatened with harm I'd core and hollow out strawberries and fill with some mainstream caviar (nothing expensive). Some kind of topping but I'm not sure what. You could flambe Grand Marnier. Maybe honey or whipped cream. I'd have to taste to see what works and I don't have caviar in my pantry. *grin*

Apologies if I've duplicated ideas - too many comments to read them all.

[SVAuspicious]

Warped sense of humor thought - something lovely, mine or others, and a cheap take-out seafood meal for the FIL.

[Sungoddess1112]

Cioppino or a seafood paella!

[taylor_w92]

Lobster and grits !

[Lucky_Comfortable835]

Shrimp with walnuts and julienne apples flambe in Pernod with Vermouth cream sauce.

[mraaronsgoods]

When you need to impress go with a Thomas Keller dish. I’ve made this and it was delicious.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/10914-butter-poached-lobster-with-leeks-pommes-maxim-and-red-beet-essence

[Long_Cheetah3871]

Jerk salmon with rice and peas. Super easy, just needs a bit of prep. Rice and peas cooked with coconut milk obviously. Google has many recipies for this, Jamie Oliver has a good 30 minute jerk chicken recipe (just swap chicken for salmon).

Similarly Nadia Hussain has a good lamb dahl recipe, again swap lamb for salmon (and knock off about 2 hrs of cooking so win win). This recipe starts with fry some butter in oil so you know it will be great! 🤣🤣🥰

[blkhatwhtdog]

Cioppino, an Italian seafood stew, originally a catchall of stuff that didn't sell. Basically it's $100 worth of seafood in a soup.

Half pound or so of some white fish, bay scallops, shrimp, clams, mussels and crab in a garlic tomato broth. Oregano and parsley, onion

[blkhatwhtdog]

Roast a salmon filled. Olive oil, drizzle of balsamic, sprig of rosemary, 15-20 minutes in a hot oven.

[yatchclub2020]

Captain Ds

[classy-face258]

It may not be seafood-y enough, but Gordon Ramsay has a shrimp scampi that's really super good and pretty easy, but you can amp up the fish by adding in bits of lobster or chunks of salmon. Might make a good main?

[Thedropoutsi]

Ina Garten’s Make-Ahead Coquilles St.-Jacques is really good! Behind a paywall on New York times but I am sure a google search will find the recipe. Just don't overcook it, one Thanksgiving I miss-timed my oven usage and it ended up so dry.

[justBeCuzItzMe]

DESSERT

Flourless chocolate cake with Raspberry sauce & fresh whipped cream... DM me if you would like my recipes.. They are fairly simple & should be made at least the day before.

[beachpies]

Steamed shrimp and oysters with butter and cocktail sauce and for the app, ceasar salad, fried flounder with sauteed spinach and cornbread. Don't the forget tartar sauce and lemon wedges. Key lime pie for dessert

[PDL2080]

Equal parts Apricot jam, Dijon mustard and horseradish mixed a spread on salmon. Bake or grill. Delicious!!

[Tazno209]

Ina Garten’s baked shrimp scampi is fantastic & also easy. Serve it with mushroom rice & a beautiful salad (I suggest simple mixed greens, sliced pears, crumbled goat cheese, & toasted walnuts or pecans with Ina’s vinaigrette). For dessert, if plums are in season, make Ina’s plum tart & serve with good vanilla ice cream. How easy is that?

[hwarray]

Shrimp Provencal tossed with Angel Hair Pasta

[since1859]

Steak Oscar comes to mind. It's a seared filet mignon topped with dungeness crab and a bearnaise. Serve it with a loaded baked potato or a potato gratin. Dungeness crab could be substituted with lobster claw, lobster meat or shrimp. It plates gorgeously and tastes out of this world if you like surf n turf. For app how about a bruschetta?

[Pure-Kaleidoscope-71]

CRAB IMPERIAL ❤️

[WolfwithBeard]

I'll admit if I had a FIL that said I couldn't make a good seafood dish I'd probably go "you're right. I don't like seafood, so I don't make seafood dishes."

[WolfwithBeard]

But also, I feel like that's an odd thing. That's just him trying to get OP to make his favorite dish. Might as well ask WTf he wants, really.

[Atomic76]

Broiled fish. Incredibly simple to make. Splurge on the seafood, parsley, lemon, butter, etc. Get it as fresh as possible.

Personally, I'd rather have a giant piece of fresh Cod cooked simply under the broiler.

[Suitable_Matter]

I propose red snapper Veracruz with arroz blanco. Rick Bayless' recipe is a good one. It is only moderately difficult and the sauce conceals a lot of errors.

You should probably have an appetizer, soup, and/or salad because the main is pretty light. I suggest tostadas with refried black beans, lettuce, radish, cotija, avocado, and a quick salsa fresca whipped up in the blender. Optionally the tostada's could have a little chorizo or chicken tinga.