Seafood

Almost any type of seafood, meat, or vegetable is superb cooked in a sambal, the fiery spice mixture that is a mainstay of Malay cooking. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Some classic Scandinavian flavors show up in this simple-to-make, cross-cultural pizza, made even easier by the use of frozen bread dough.

This recipe originally accompanied Poached Halibut with Black Truffles and Purple-Potato and Crab Gratin .

If you're feeling extravagant, try replacing the scallops with half a pound of lobster. Or substitute a pound of cubed chicken for the seafood and chicken broth for the clam juice.

The following is our own recipe for shrimp De Jonghe, the Chicago specialty. All recipes for shrimp De Jonghe are pretty much the same, the major variable being the amount of garlic used-from one to five cloves, depending on whether you want it to taste like a dainty, ladies' lunch kind of dish or a hearty casserole.

Potato chips are a great accompaniment. Finish with sliced bananas topped with brown sugar, cream and white rum. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

In doubling or tripling this recipe, you can put all the ingredients for the dressing into a blender (cutting the amount of garlic in half) for a quick whirl. Store the dressing in a screw-cap jar until the salad is ready to be tossed. The flavor is the same, but the texture of the dressing is creamy and looks less attractive on the romaine.