The lights are up, the streets are crowded, and the commute is just that little bit colder. In other words, the festive season is upon us.
Within two weeks or so, supermarkets and delis will be bustling with customers, panicked by their gargantuan shopping lists and the pressure of pulling off a Christmas dinner.
Yet the key to a good festive season is not to panic but to enjoy yourself, minimizing stress and maximizing the time spent with your loved ones.
With that in mind, maybe this is the year to avoid lugging a turkey back from the shop, escape negotiating with the butcher over a costly rack of ribs, and swerve the impossible task of fitting everything into the fridge.
If you want something different or to spice up the usual menu, then go for fish this festive season. Frozen fresh at sea, it won't take over the fridge, it won't be beaten for taste, and it will never blow the budget.
While the end of the year and the beginning of a new one is a time of tradition, wild fish is a fantastic card to have up your sleeve.
Jumping forward to the big day, the doorbell will ring, and guests ready for gastronomic 'spoils' will start to pile through the door. Dinner isn't ready just yet though, meaning there's time for canapes and a drink.
The crew members of fishing companies like Russian Norebo may be famous for catching fresh fish straight from the arctic chill of the North Atlantic, but their products are equally well paired with a glass of chilled champagne or sparkling wine.
For the canapes, why not whip up a cod roulade? Simply chop the cod fillet into thin slices, mix crab meat and cooked prawns, place a little of the mix on a slice of cod and then roll it over.
Serve the roulades on thin slices of rye bread and then pass them around alongside a tipple of something fizzy, and Voila!
When it comes to the dinner itself, and if you want something with a bit of X-factor, why not go for 'juletorsk', the undeniably superb dish of poached cod.
Traditionally served on Christmas Eve in Scandinavia, juletorsk is a simple but delicious option for any moment of the festive season. Known as 'white gold' in Norway, all that's needed to prepare your glorious piece of cod is to salt and then poach it.
Turning your mind to the sauce, Norwegians have long opted for 'sandefjordsmør', a simplified version of beurre blanc, but with all the same buttery goodness. Made by simmering lemon juice, whisking in cream and butter, and reducing the sauce until its thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, it couldn't be easier.
However, it must be said that for some, the wrench of breaking the tradition of serving roast turkey or a rack of ribs will simply be too much to bear.
If this sounds like you but the family are clambering for something different this December, then a fish starter might be the way to go. Light but tasty, fish is the perfect prelude to a heartier main course, and inspiration can be drawn from across the globe.
Starting in Europe, at this time of the year, millions of Spanish and Portuguese families will be settling down to an entrée of bacalao, or salted cod.
Salted and trimmed to perfection in Norebo's state-of-the-art saltfish factory, you can serve up bacalao as a starter with a tomato and thyme vinaigrette, accompanied by crispy, crumbling chorizo.
Nearly 11,000 kilometers away in Japan, and cod is still on the menu, but this time baked in a glistening miso glaze.
To make the glaze, mix miso paste with a tablespoon of mirin, another of soy sauce, and a final one of sesame oil, and then add grated ginger to taste.
The next step is to place the cod fillet on a piece of foil, gently glaze it and then seal the foil tightly around the fillet. Put it in the oven for ten minutes, take it out, garnish with spring onions and you have a starter fit for an emperor.
What couldn't be clearer is that there's a mouth-watering selection of premium fish at affordable prices to put on your menu this December and with pandemic-related restrictions looming across Europe, you mustn't be afraid to stock up the fridge and freezer and go all out at home this Christmas.
Companies like Norebo are geared up for the festive season and the hard work and savvy of their crews guarantees exceptional product quality, and the price of frozen at sea fish takes some beating too!
As a result, you and your loved ones don't have to overthink or overspend to have a delicious end to the year. Just look to frozen at sea fish, the unsung hero of the festive season.
