Seafood

Crisp baby radishes, blanched snow peas and mini rice cakes make a light starter. The salad tastes even better with cold Asian beer to wash it down. For dessert, crumble coconut macaroons over orange sorbet. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

For the opener, spread butter and prepared horseradish on thin baguette rounds, and top them with bay shrimp. Boil small red potatoes and green beans to have alongside the seafood.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This starter gets a double dose of cayenne — in the cornmeal coating for the shrimp and in the garlicky mayonnaise dip.

A simple but elegant cold dish. The sauce can be made a day in advance.

Serve with rice for an easy party dish.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional sitting time.

Janet and Travis Kuhl of Cranford, New Jersey, writes: "We recently went to chef Ming Tsai's Blue Ginger restaurant in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Our entire meal was top-notch, but the shrimp cocktail was our favorite." Poured carefully side by side into a cocktail glass, tomato puree and avocado puree make a colorful dip for the lightly battered and quickly deep-fried shrimp.

This delicious salad is from Johannes.

A Syracusan recipe adapted from Mary Taylor Simeti's book Pomp and Sustenance.