Four cocktails to turn seafood into a party

[AUTHOR: DAVID REMÁRTINEZ]

As an exquisite food, seafood must be honored at the table. Something that has been bred in the sea and that concentrates saline and sweet flavors has to be ingested with a liquid that lives up to expectation, so today we propose a series of glasses so that you feel exceptional while you sip cockles and remove the heads of prawns as if you had just come out of a cave. What better than combining cocktails and seafood to feel that we have reached a stage in life where elegance has become natural in any of our daily gestures, from greeting an ambassador at a reception with chocolates, to taking the trash out to the doorway in cozy slippers? You have to be classy, especially on holidays. And it is precisely the seafood and the alcohol that were both created, without a doubt, to be served at parties. No one has found a better function for them yet. That’s why we offer you a list of cocktails that will raise your banquets to a higher level than dinners with white wine or champagne (which are fine, but end up being boring).

You are well aware that this association of food and drink which cooperate in tastes is called marriage, a word which originally referred to the mating of man and woman in holy wedlock. Today we can marry anything, be it man, woman, a Neanderthal or shrimp. A glittering drinking glass decorated with an exuberant lemon twist. Just follow a few simple instructions before and after. There are basically two types of drinks pre & post: the first type, outrageous alcoholic drinks that enhance the spiciness and salt, and the sweet ones that compensate the first. The second instruction is more familiar to anyone: the outrageous alcoholic beverages, consumed with pleasure, resoundingly transforms the pronunciation of the participants in any diner, the perception of other people’s friendship and the caliber of physical distances, including vertical balance. Having made both approaches, let’s get to the cocktail and seafood guests that we propose.

Mojito and curry with prawns

A classic. A fortunate continental combination, with the freshness of the Caribbean and the spice of the East. The Mojito is actually used to multiply the pleasure of any crustacean, whether it is a grilled lobster (smeared in butter with salt and a bit of chilli, for example), or the proposal we make of some prawns with curry. varies from the first to the last round, as successive beverages are prepared, to the rhythm of general laughter and music. So give it up for Ricardo Ray and his fantastic combo.

Dry Martini with barnacles

Or with caviar, if you have money to burn, Or with trout eggs, which is a cheaper and very tasty alternative. But with barnacles it’s crazy, I’m warning you. The Dry Martini, the cocktail par excellence, the mother of all cocktails, the one loved by the protagonists of Mash (Millennials, please search in Youtube), has to be well loaded, enough to satisfy James Bond! We propose to you the traditional one, with gin (very dry), although if you feel unavoidably cinematographic you can also prepare it with mixed vodka but not shaken. The composition of the Dry is as simple as it is magic: gin, dry vermouth and ice. We propose four or five parts of gin and one of vermouth. No pain. Pour them into a mixing glass filled with ice and stir with a long spoon in four rounds of 15 seconds each, two rounds on the right and two on the left. If possible, shake your hips in harmony. Strain over the glasses and decorate it with a lemon. The salt that the olive should provide (added to enhance the flavor) will instead be provided by the barnacles or the roe of the trout. Or mullet, if it is on sale.

Cocktails of the Movies: An Illustrated Guide to Cinematic Mixology / Stacey Marsh

Cosmopolitan with cockles

A radically opposite combination to the previous one. The Cosmopolitan, popularized first by Madonna and then on TV by Carrie Bradshaw, has a sweet touch that when you bathe the deep taste of cockles in your mouth, it will give you the eyes of SpongeBob. We recommend that you cook the cockles in a pan with oil, garlic, a cayenne pepper and nothing else, except the lid to get the steam. The Cosmopolitan, however, requires a shaker. Throw in half a dozen solid ice cubes, 4 centiliters of vodka, 3 centiliters of cranberry juice, 1.5 centiliters of Cointreau (or a triple dry) and 1.5 centiliters of lemon juice. Shake as if it were your life in it, strain and serve in a glass. In theory, you should finish off the alchemy with a flambéed orange peel, but we’re almost going to put it on if there’s a flame so that night doesn’t end up like super-bowl party, no need to add more gasoline to the fire.

Cocktails of the Movies: An Illustrated Guide to Cinematic Mixology / Stacey Marsh

Aperol Spritz and any seafood

Here is our last pairing, which we include because of the popularity that the Aperol has achieved as a light and friendly aperitif. This softness, where the bitterness is only a threat, makes it a perfect husband for any seafood we want to serve, either grilled, cooked or for example with pasta, which in our case it fits perfectly. The Aperol Spritz is prepared with the above mentioned, liquor, mixed with sparkling wine (the more quality, the better) and siphon. The doses, 2, 3 and 1, respectively, although it is normal to fix it by eye. Put some scallops next to it and sing Wham! jabbering on  English.

[ PHOTOGRAPHY: MARCUS HANSSON ]