Seafood

Start with grilled country bread spread with olive paste, or olivada, available at Italian markets, specialty foods stores and some supermarkets. Or puree pitted, black, brine-cured olive oil in a processor.

Complement this fragrant dish with Asian noodles or steamed rice.

Crisp baguette slices are a natural with this, or serve the Rosemary Toasts, substituting tarragon for the rosemary. Either way, a salad of Boston lettuce and Belgian endive with lemon vinaigrette makes a lovely accompaniment, and a fruit tart is a good grand finale.

Serve the baked fish with rice and a salad of tomatoes, cucumber and green onions.

(Stir-Fried Rice Noodles with Shrimp) Paad Thai, with its signature fettuccine-width rice noodles, is available in myriad variations throughout Thailand. In its country of origin the dish is often made with dried shrimp; for a milder flavor fresh shrimp is specified here.

A shrimp and scallop pasta dish with basil and fennel.

For some reason, small tunas like the bonito are not as popular fresh as the large yellowfin and bigeye tunas. Bonito has a delicate yet rich flavor. In this recipe, the fish is highly seasoned, grilled, and then broken up into pieces with the tines of a fork and used as the filling for tacos. The slight bitterness from the grilling combined with the smoky richness of the seasoned fish is a perfect excuse to experiment with several salsas as accompaniments. I particularly recommend Charred Tomato Mint Salsa. Don't forget to have plenty of soft, fresh tortillas on hand.

When Roy Yamaguchi invited me to cook at the 5th Anniversary celebration of his Oahu restaurant, I wanted to bring him something special from my neck of the woods and decided to attempt to transport soft-shelled crabs. I say "attempt" because soft-shells are very delicate and I wasn't sure they'd survive the long trip to Hawaii. Happily, of the 10 dozen live ones we packed up, about 8 dozen were still kicking when we got to our destination. I served them with simple accompaniments like wilted spinach and a crushed summer tomato vinaigrette. If you like using breaded soft-shell crabs, use panko, which will help maintain the visual character of the fish.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. French fries and purchased ratatouille are perfect with the steaks, and almond cake with fruit compote completes the menu.

Kedgeree, an Indian-influenced British dish, dates back to the 1800s and is traditionally made with smoked whitefish. It can be served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The soy-based sauce for these kebabs draws its various intensely flavored ingredients-cilantro, garlic, ginger and chilies-from the equatorial hot zone, where weather and food alike are fiery.