Little Chill Seafood Tower Recipe

In a small bowl whisk together sour cream, prepared horseradish, lemon juice, salt, and pepper until smooth. Taste and adjust horseradish or lemon for brightness. Chill until ready to use.

Make quick pickle brine

Combine white wine vinegar, water, sugar, salt and sliced shallot in a small saucepan and bring just to a simmer to dissolve sugar and salt. Cool to room temperature, add dill if using.

Place cooked clams and mussels in a shallow container and pour cooled brine over them. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour (preferably 3–4 hours) until chilled and lightly pickled.

If lobster is live: cook (steamed or boiled) 8–10 minutes for a 1 lb lobster, then cool in ice water and halve lengthwise. If pre-cooked, simply halve and chill. Keep meat in shell for presentation.

For cocktail shrimp: poach peeled shrimp in seasoned boiling water (salt, bay leaf, peppercorns) 1–2 minutes until opaque; shock in ice water and chill. For peel-and-eat shrimp: boil with Old Bay or seasoning 2–3 minutes until pink, then cool in ice water and peel or leave shells as desired.

Stone crab claws: if frozen, thaw in refrigerator. Serve chilled — claws are pre-cooked; crack tops slightly for easy access.

Tuna tataki: briefly sear tuna on all sides (30–45 seconds per side) in a very hot pan with a thin oil coat, then immediately chill and slice thinly. Keep tuna chilled until plating.

Oysters: shuck oysters just before serving and place on half shell on ice. Reserve any liquor to serve with the oysters.

Place cocktail sauce and red wine mignonette into small serving ramekins. Arrange lemon wedges alongside for squeezing.

Select a shallow serving bowl or tiered tower. Fill the base with a thick layer of crushed ice to keep everything cold.

Arrange the halved lobster prominently on the tower, meat side up for presentation. Nestle the stone crab claws beside the lobster.

Fan the tuna tataki slices on a chilled spoon or small plate and place near the oysters; garnish lightly with a touch of caviar on one or two slices if desired.

Place the six shucked oysters on the ice, evenly spaced. Dollop about 1/2 tsp horseradish cream onto each oyster and add a small pinch of caviar to three of them as accent (reserve some caviar for the tuna if using).

Arrange the four cocktail shrimp and four peel-and-eat shrimp in separate clusters. Put the three pickled clams and three pickled mussels in small shells or spoons and situate them where visible and easy to access.

Add ramekins of cocktail sauce and mignonette on the ice, along with lemon wedges and parsley sprigs for garnish.

Serve immediately with small forks, oyster knives, seafood crackers/picks, and napkins.

Keep the tower on crushed ice and replenish ice between servings. If offering specialty oysters upgrade, substitute oysters during plating and add extra caviar if requested.