Seafood appetizers a quick party treat

The last time I served smoked fish dip at a party, we smoked a couple of cans of tuna and salmon on the grill.

It’s been raining for the last week, so if I wanted to smoke any fish now, I’d have to pull out the Emeril cast-iron smoker from the basement. It hasn’t budged from its spot in the graveyard of used-once cooking tools since I lugged it down there five years ago. When moving a pot feels like bench-pressing, you don’t use it often no matter how handy it is.

So earlier this week, I checked into a new line of seafood tortas from Inland Market, a line of prepared seafood items from Inland Seafood, a major wholesaler based in Atlanta. (One of the four tortas has smoked fish; the other three are shellfish-based.) Inland Seafood supplies restaurants and grocery stores around the region with fresh seafood.

The tortas come in four flavors: Provencal shrimp, smoked salmon, crab and artichoke, and Maine lobster. I put them to the test at various holiday gatherings.

Like many dips and spreads, these have a base of mayonnaise and cream cheese, with other seasonings. The Provencal shrimp was the favorite; small shrimp nestled with bits of zucchini, basil and tomatoes atop a cheese and herb mixture. Tasters liked the smoked salmon spread too, with hints of brown sugar and horseradish. The other two spreads tasted more of mayo and cream cheese than seafood.

If you’re headed to a party and need a quick appetizer, the shrimp and smoked salmon are worth checking out. Serve with crackers.

The tortas are available at Kroger and Costco.