Marjorie Taylor, Kendall Smith Franchini

Marge’s Fruits de Mer

Name: Marge’s Fruits de Mer
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: ½ cup (120 ml) Champagne vinegar; 1 cup (240 ml) dry white wine; 1 shallot, roughly chopped; 18 small clams, such as Manila clams or cockles, rinsed; 18 small clams, such as Manila clams or cockles, rinsed; 18 small clams, such as Manila clams or cockles, rinsed; 18 large cooked or raw head-on shrimp, rinsed; 18 large cooked or raw head-on shrimp, rinsed; 12 cooked or raw langoustines or large prawns, rinsed; 12 cooked or raw langoustines or large prawns, rinsed; 12 cooked or raw langoustines or large prawns, rinsed; 3 cooked or raw whole lobsters (roughly 1¼ to 1½ pounds / 565 to 680 g each); 3 cooked or raw whole lobsters (roughly 1¼ to 1½ pounds / 565 to 680 g each); Crushed ice or ice chips, for filling 2 or 3 large bowls; Crushed ice or ice chips, for filling 2 or 3 large bowls; 18 steamed whelks, periwinkles, or other small sea snails; 18 steamed whelks, periwinkles, or other small sea snails; 18 steamed whelks, periwinkles, or other small sea snails; 12 cooked crab claws or the claws and legs from 2 cooked crabs; 12 cooked crab claws or the claws and legs from 2 cooked crabs; 2 dozen raw oysters, rinsed and shucked; Lemon wedges, for garnish; 3½ ounces (100 g) caviar (optional); Simple Mayonnaise, made with garlic to taste; Simple Mayonnaise, made with garlic to taste

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

French at Heart

By Marjorie Taylor and Kendall Smith Franchini

Published 2025

About

Marge has been known to travel miles across Paris for certain fruits de mer platters. The iconic French seafood feast typically features raw oysters, cooked clams, shrimp, langoustines, crab, lobster, and always bulots, little sea snails that come steamed in their shells. It’s all piled high in a bowl (or three) filled with plenty of ice to keep everything cold and served with a pot of homemade aïoli for dipping.

The first time we had Thanksgiving together in Beaune, w

Ingredients

Europe
France
Fish course
Gluten-free
Pescatarian
New Year

Ingredients

Method