Seafood

Serve with pan-fried potatoes. What to drink: A crisp Sauvignon Blanc from California or New Zealand, or a French Sancerre.

To ensure a perfect blend of spices, chef Jason Girard makes his own Cajun seasoning, sold under the brand name BlueChef. We tested a variety of Cajun spice blends for this recipe and liked the McCormick and Spice Hunter brands for their balance of flavor. Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 30 min

This elegant first course from American Seasons is topped with parsley oil, which is easy to make and could also be drizzled over roasted fish or steamed potatoes, and other vegetables.

"You should tell your readers about Bistro Banlieue in Lombard," writes Judith Gill of Chicago, Illinois. "The smoked salmon, goat cheese, and leek tart alone is worth the short drive from Chicago." A slice of this rich tart served with mixed greens makes for a perfect starter.

The mustard dressing is used both to marinate the lamb and to coat the salad. And don't let the anchovies in the dressing scare you off. They add depth of flavor, but not a fishy taste. Complete this dish with a chilled Beaujolais.

Instead of Panela, other soft white Mexican cheeses — such as Oaxaca, or those used for making quesadillas — work well in this recipe. If none is available, substitute Monterey Jack cheese. The stuffed chilies can be assembled one day before baking. What to drink: A Napa or New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc (or any dry but fruity white wine).

Green chilies, cumin, and chorizo flavor this spicy southwestern rendition of the eastern seaboard classic.

Serve over steamed basmati rice. Garam masala, a spice mixture, is available at Indian markets and some supermarkets.

"On a visit to Miami Beach, a friend suggested we try the Gaucho Room at Loews Miami Beach Hotel," writes Anthony M. Stephens of Concord, California. "I have had many versions of Caesar salad, but none compare to the one I ate there; the house-made herbed croutons and dressing were so fresh. Would chef Frank Randazzo share his recipe?"

If you are looking for a chowder that is deeply flavored and hearty but not overly rich, this is it. It's perfect for a casual occasion, but the "meatballs" deliver an element of surprise, along the lines of an optical illusion, and make it really quite special. The idea for this chowder came from an old San Francisco recipe for "Force Meatballs" in a cookbook called Joe Tilden's Recipes for Epicures (1907), reprinted in Richard Hooker's Book of Chowders. The "meatballs" were actually made from crabmeat, a fun idea that I knew had great potential. Tilden, a renowned Bay Area amateur cook, left only these instructions for his meatballs: "Serve in any fish chowder or soup." So I paired my version of his meatballs with a chowder that had flavors similar to cioppino, the famous San Francisco seafood stew flavored with garlic, onions, bell peppers, and tomatoes. I served it to my wife and kids, telling them only that it was "meatball chowder." The well-browned meatballs look like the real thing, so they were all a bit dumbfounded when they tasted them. My son, J.P., said "Wow, they taste like crab cakes!" Everybody loved the chowder!

Cappe Sante con Mandorle Venice and nearby Trieste are two Italian cities that know how to use scallops well. After all, the shellfish is abundant in the northern part of the Adriatic. In this recipe, from Venice's Fiaschetteria Toscana, almonds add texture to an otherwise soft dish, and the brandy playing off the natural sweetness of the scallops gives the sauce a Sherry-like flavor.

Vegetables from the supermarket salad bar get an Asian spin. Start with purchased wonton soup, and serve a mixed green salad with ginger vinaigrette alongside the rice. Sliced pineapple with coconut sorbet is the perfect finish. Look for hoisin at Asian markets and in the Asian foods section of most supermarkets.

This salsa would also be great on chicken or pork.

Canned salmon (with soft, edible bones) and potatoes are good sources of calcium.

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 30 min For those who don't like their oysters raw, there's the classic po'-boy sandwich. New Orleans's first po'-boy makers settled on a roll that is light and mild, so that it doesn't overpower the tender oysters inside, yet is substantial enough to keep its shape when the sweet juices are released from their cornmeal crust. We discovered that a soft-crusted French, Italian, Portuguese, or Cuban loaf works well. Hot pepper sauce is the traditional condiment, but we've improvised a little, using chipotle mayonnaise to add a layer of smokiness instead of pure heat.

Creamy lobster salad heaped onto a buttered, toasted hot dog bun is the quintessential summer sandwich in northeastern shore towns. This is an equally delicious — and more economical — variation. Serve with: Potato chips, sweet pickles, and carrot and celery sticks. Dessert: Blueberry pie and vanilla ice cream.

It appears on your plate wrapped up like a present. But there's more to this dish than pretty presentation. When you bake salmon, potatoes, and fresh herb-sprinkled vegetables in parchment paper, something magical happens. Nestled in the package, the ingredients cook in their own juices. And when you snip the papillote open, dinner reveals itself in a cloud of aromatic steam. Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr

Don't let the unappetizing-sounding name fool you: I'm talking about mold as in "shape" here. I'm from New Orleans, which means I grew up with a lot of socializing, most of it centered around food. There, both the front door and the refrigerator door are always open for friends or family who drop in. My mother always seems to have a steady stream of visitors, whether it's a neighbor who's stopped by for tea, one of her many siblings who happen by at dinnertime, or me with a whole troop of friends in for Mardi Gras or Jazz Fest. True New Orleanian that she is, she always has something good to eat. This seafood mold is a common dish at parties all around the city, and as improvisation is the hallmark of New Orleans cooking, each chef has her own version. I haven't gotten to the stage where I've made my own mark on this recipe yet, so I just copy Mom's. This mold needs to be made at least a few hours in advance in order to give it time to set, but it's a delicious centerpiece to any hors d'oeuvres table. You can serve it with crackers, with thinly sliced, toasted French bread, or with vegetables. Sometimes Mom even serves this in boiled-egg halves, as a New Orleans–style variation on deviled eggs. Be creative!

Owner Dick Varano knows a thing or two about traditional New England lobster rolls: He sells about 20,000 of them a year. His customers love this dish so much that it's the only recipe he hasn't changed since he bought the restaurant 13 years ago.