Shellfish Skirmish!

George and I frequently visit the 2+2 web forum. The forum primarily exists to disseminate poker related knowledge but they also have some cool community areas. At the El Diablo Discussion Forum, they have a monthly cooking contest which revolves around a specific theme. This month's theme is shellfish so we decided to give it a shot and make a complete menu based on non-fish sea creatures. Needless to say, it was ALOT of work and we're going to be making the same menu in a few days for a few friends. We've sorta figured out what components we can make the night before and which need to be done the day of so, hopefully, the dinner party won't be horribly hectic. Here's what we cooked:

Scallop Tartare with Asian Pear, Bell Pepper and Walnut Oil Vinaigrette

Egg with Dungeness Crab, Softly-Scrambled Egg and Uni (Kinda looks like a brain is climbing out of the hollowed-out shell, yes?

Shellfish Stew with Ginger Bouillon (Clams, mussels and shrimp in what is basically a ginger-shrimp bisque)

Oyster and Uni in Seawater Gelee (Ripped off from Manresa)

Shrimp with Roasted Butternut Squash (Squash is flavored with ginger and there are also crispy, puffed pumpkin seeds for textural contrast)

Steamed Lobster with Ginger-Garlic-Basil Sauce (really, really tasty and not too hard!)

Lychee with Strawberries and Lime (Notice anything interesting? That's right...we wanted the first and last courses to look identical...to come full circle, so to speak. I think we succeeded.)

If I feel so inclined, I will throw up some pictures of the cooking process...Don't expect full recipes though because I don't feel like doing it. Unless 23 people leave comments asking for a full play-by-play.