Let someone else do the cooking and try these delicious holiday meals

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The holidays are almost here, and while there may still be some work to be done, that doesn't mean that you have to do it. Here are some delicious ways to make it easier on yourself this holiday season by letting someone else do the cooking for you.

The modern Japanese dining space Izakaya by Yanaga opened earlier this year in Fishtown. Until December 23, they are offering a seven fishes menu tasting, which means your only job is to make sure your chopstick skills are on point.

I sampled the Hamachi sashimi with chive oil and pears, grilled octopus, sea bass nigiri, the bluefin tuna bowl with seaweed salad and sticky rice, salmon rice cracker infused with habanero, the spider roll, and shrimp tacos and rounded it out with a few gorgeous cocktails, and what they call the sake punch.

The Garces Trading Company is offering a Christmas dinner package for preorder that is available for pickup at Volver in the Kimmel Center, during the days leading up to Christmas. I got to sample their package meant for two people, starting with a shrimp cocktail and some salty, buttery, baked bread. The grapefruit and white asparagus salad was light, the brussels were crispy, and the 16-ounce prime rib in a veal reduction sauce was top-notch. All of these items come precooked with instructions on how to finish the job once it gets into your kitchen.

The Fin is a brand new seafood restaurant off Delaware Ave, and besides having the biggest bar television you've ever seen, a broad selection of wine, high-end spirits, and fancy cocktails, their seafood selection is unmatched.

For the upcoming holiday they are offering some traditional dishes like the cioppino seafood platter in a light tomato broth and bread for dipping, and a play on the seven fishes with a huge seafood boil, and yes, there were seven sea creatures. I counted Dungeness crab, snow crab, king crab, scallops, mussels, clams, and crawfish in an old bay butter sauce with sausage potatoes and corn on the cob.

See Part 2 here!