What a great idea! My husband makes the best beer battered chipotle cod fish tacos with a apple cider vinegar slaw. Now I'm hungry for fish and it's only 9:00 am haha!
Make your fish like schnitzel - dip filets in flour, then egg wash, then either breadcrumbs or ground nuts, and bake or fry. I love salmon in ground almonds!
If the fish is thick you can just do the top instead of all over.
Parmesan crusted hogfish. Expensive fish, but it can't be beat. I'll also settle for lesser forms of snapper, like red, yellow tail, even mangrove, etc. Snapper is just an amazing, delicate, delectable fish and is excellent parm crusted or pan seared with a little lemon butter garlic mmm mmm mmm.
I also second @ladyamanuet on tuna and mahi being awesome.
There's an expensive-ish fish that I just die every time I eat it; it's called Orange Ruffie, and we usually cook them plain. If you want to do a breading, our combination is lemon pepper herb and panko. Add butter/lemon if you want, but man, orange ruffie's just to die for. I wish it wasn't so pricey out here.
I like grilled salmon as long as it isn't overcooked. Also almond or pecan-crusted trout or some other white fish.
Fish tacos are good, and maybe some kind of fish chowder or stew?
I'm trying to think of an appetizer other than soup (that's not smoked salmon with cucumbers and cream cheese, although I do love that) - maybe fish fritters or some kind of dip?
My mom's family is Italian and does this for Christmas Eve. I don't like seafood but they always have shrimp cocktail, pasta with lobster sauce, pasta with mussels and clams, fried calamari. There is also usually a baked whitefish and baked stuffed clams. Good luck!!
Re: Help me party plan. (NBR)
Fish tacos are good, and maybe some kind of fish chowder or stew?
I'm trying to think of an appetizer other than soup (that's not smoked salmon with cucumbers and cream cheese, although I do love that) - maybe fish fritters or some kind of dip?
These are really popular in Thailand and good:
https://www.templeofthai.com/recipes/thai_fish_cakes.php
I like them served with sweet chili sauce.
There's also a Thai fish curry that's good.