Seafood

The Ginger Fried Rice with Shiitake Mushrooms is a perfect side dish for this salmon.

Cooking doesn't get much easier than this, but it still took me a while to catch on. Being a northerner, I didn't realize that everyone south of Baltimore knows spiced shrimp like New Englanders know maple syrup. I tried spicing up my shrimp and crabs with a spice mix called "Shrimp and Crab Boil." I took the cue from the name and added the spices to boiling water to boil the shellfish. Not until I moved to Maryland crab country did I find that you douse the shellfish with spices and steam them over boiling water. Perhaps someone should market a spice mix called "Shrimp and Crab Steam" for us literalists. The shrimp are cooked with their shells on, so provide lots of napkins for spice-coated hands and beer or lemonade for spice-coated throats.

You can form the sweet-potato pancakes up to six hours ahead, leaving only a quick frying before serving.

At the restaurant, orzo (rice-shaped pasta) is served alongside the gravy-rich lamb.

If you prefer, the eggs can be fried instead of poached. Do-ahead steps make this dish very manageable — even for six. The sauce can be prepared the day before.

"As a kid, I'd accompany my mother to her job at the racetrack, where she would lead the horses out to the starting gate," writes Michael Hunter of Studio City, California. "Eventually I was helping out in the stalls, and when I got older, I became a jockey. My mother was also the person who, in a roundabout way, inspired my other passion: cooking. I'd come home from school, and she would have prepared something from a box or can. I didn't always like what was on the dinner table, so one day I asked her to buy me a cookbook. Pretty soon I was making dinner for us almost every night. Now, after seventeen years of racing horses and cooking for family and friends, I'm making the jump to professional cooking."

(Thon Poêlé et "Mariné," Vinaigrette d'Olives Noires) A sophisticated starter from chef Guy Savoy.

This rich, savory dish (pronounced shrimp mah-lih-tone) is pure Cajun comfort food. In Louisiana it's often served as a side dish; it also works as a first course.

Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 1 hr

Camilla MacPhee, a longtime resident of Souris, Prince Edward Island, fondly remembers when staples like salt beef, salt cod, potatoes, turnips, beets, parsnips, and carrots came entirely from neighboring farmers and fishermen. This recipe is based on the fish cakes she still makes today.

Food editor Melissa Roberts-Matar figured out what makes The Harrison's clams so special: the lightness of the coating. That's achieved by draining the buttermilk-soaked clams well and shaking off the excess coating after you dredge the clams. One restaurant touch that we loved was the delicious addition of fried thin lemon rounds and parsley sprigs; another was Joey Campanaro's accompanying Lemon Coriander Aïoli .

Hannah Levitz of Monroe Township, New Jersey, writes: "I first became interested in cooking when my son, Paul, was growing up. He was a picky eater and quite a challenge to cook for. He's married now with children of his own, and thankfully, he has learned to love almost everything I make. When we all get together, I like to do the cooking — it gives my daughter-in-law a break. And because most of my recipes are speedy, I still have time to enjoy my three grandchildren."