Seafood

This dish is ideal for entertaining, because you can prepare the sauce ahead and then simply toss it with the cooked pasta. Do not overcook the shrimp!

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Active time: 10 min Start to finish: 15 min

Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 1 hr

If fresh chervil is unavailable in your area, substitute fresh basil leaves for the oil and garnish the mussels with tiny basil leaves.

Easy, elegant fare from chef John Jones at Renato's in Palm Beach.

A creamy sauce and a trio of caviars are the "dream" of this party dish. Buy the quality and quantity of caviar that fit your budget.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Don't marinate the fish more than 15 minutes, or it will be cooked by the citric acid in the lemon juice (like the Latin dish seviche). And don't toss the vegetables until serving time, or the vinegar will discolor the beans.

Onioned Tuna Soup I first tasted this soup at La Canoa, a restaurant in Guayaquil, Ecuador. They prepared the tuna in the popular style of leaving it mostly rare, then they added it to the soup right before serving. When we serve the soup at the Patria, we use all the meaty trimmings from the tuna steaks we've served as full portions.

Giving up fried shrimp is probably easier than giving up, say, chocolate cake, but only because so much fried shrimp is so badly prepared. Here is a terrific version, complete with tartar sauce for dipping.

We topped these rolls with a combination of plain tobiko (flying-fish roe) as well as seasoned and wasabi-flavored tobiko and golden whitefish caviar. The specialty tobiko and caviar are available from the mail-order source given below.

Fresh strawberries and cookies from the bakery round out the meal nicely. Pour a dry white wine or iced tea. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Also try the salsa with some corn bread or scrambled eggs for a spicy treat.