Seafood Dishes to Add to Your Feast of the Seven Fishes Menu

In many Italian-American households, Christmas Eve is celebrated with the Feast of the Seven Fishes. While a tradition, there aren't really hard and fast rules about the type of fish or number of courses served. Many families break up the feast into several rounds of appetizers and mains, while others make a seafood-filled stew or pasta (like this dish!) and call it a day. It's truly a personal preference. To help you create your own menu, we're sharing some of our favorite recipes featuring cod, lobster and more.

Don't be intimated by oysters! To safely shuck them, Marc Murphy uses a kitchen towel and an oyster shucking knife. He then places the oysters on top of baguette slices, adds a dollop of garlic-parsely butter and roasts until everything is sizzling.

Combine two Italian-inspired family favorites — sausage and peppers plus pasta with clams — into one delicious entree. (P.S. This is also a solid 20-minute dinner to add to your weekly rotation).

Giada's crispy risotto balls are a true crowd-pleaser. To make life easier, you can make the risotto and assemble the balls a day in advance, then take them out of the fridge and fry right as guests arrive.