Seafood/9 recipes

Plantation-style catfish fillets: crisp pan-fried catfish served over garlicky sauteed spinach and tomatoes, finished with parmesan and a pass under the broiler. A Southern supper with Creole flair.

Salmon stuffed with arugula, garlic, honey-glazed carrot, and red currants, basted with white wine and finished with a crisp schmaltz-fried skin. A peppery, sweet-tart centerpiece fish dish worth the extra prep.

Lobster vinaigrette built from roasted lobster shells, fish stock, and wine vinegar, then emulsified with egg yolk and oil. A chef-level way to use the shells most cooks throw away.

Asian-style stir-fried shrimp finishes in a tangy ketchup, soy, Worcestershire, and sherry sauce with sesame oil and a Tabasco kick. On the table in 6 minutes flat.

Manhattan-style red clam chowder with fresh-steamed clams, salt pork, tomatoes, and thyme. The tomato-broth chowder New England purists love to argue about.

The Peace Maker, a New Orleans classic of fried oysters piled into a hollowed and buttered French bread loaf, served with parsley-flecked rice. A storied late-night supper from the Crescent City.

Shrimp de Jonghe is the classic Chicago restaurant casserole of shrimp baked in garlic-sherry butter under a crisp breadcrumb topping. Old-school elegance with serious flavor.

Pepper oysters are a chef-style appetizer of fresh oysters poached in their own liquor, then marinated overnight in mortar-ground black peppercorn, garlic, bay leaf, and lime. Bright, briny, bracing.

Baked swordfish steaks topped with caramelized onions, honey, fresh peaches, and dill. Sweet, savory, and herby on a meaty fish that holds up to bold flavors.

Crawfish canapes with sweet tails in a quick vermouth-cream sauce with shallots, dill, and briny capers, spooned into crisp pastry shells. An elegant Louisiana-meets-French cocktail bite.

Red snapper Veracruz: a classic Mexican fish dish baked in a tomato-olive-jalapeno sauce with garlic, oregano, and bay. Quick to assemble, ready in 30 minutes. The signature dish of Veracruz cuisine.

Grilled halibut with a soy, ginger, garlic, and brown sugar marinade. Asian-style fish steaks with caramelized edges and tender, flaky centers in just 12 minutes on the grill.

Oysters Souvenir de Tahaa breads and pan-fries fresh-shucked oysters, then plates them around a silky cream-of-shallots sauce reduced with white wine, lemon and oyster liquor.

Wanchese crab cakes are Outer Banks-style fried cakes with lots of lump crab meat, cracker crumbs, and a kick of Worcestershire and hot sauce. Golden, crisp, and minimally bound.

Chippewa trout marinates whole dressed fish in sherry, butter, and lemon juice, then wraps each one in bacon and grills over an open fire until the bacon crisps and the flesh flakes clean.

Yellow shrimp marinates jumbo shrimp in saffron, shallots, thyme, and lemon, then broils until charred at the edges. Served over rice with the saffron-stained pan drippings spooned on top.