Seafood/4 recipes

By adding extra fish such as a lobster per person this will become a meal instead of a soup.

Steamed mussels in a lemongrass, chile de arbol, and white wine broth with napa cabbage, clam juice, and lime. A Thai-meets-French seafood bowl finished with fresh cilantro.

Fried crawfish tails get a Louisiana upgrade: sherry-marinated, dipped in dark beer batter, and fried crisp, served with a homemade remoulade spiked with Worcestershire, Tabasco, and sherry. New Orleans seafood done right.

Greek squid baked with rice (kalamarakia pilafi), simmered in white wine, tomato, garlic, and rosemary. Tender squid rings folded into a tomato-stained pilaf.

Scampi Principessa with butterflied shrimp poached in white wine, flambéed with aquavit, then served in cold yogurt sauce. An elegant Italian-Scandinavian appetizer ready in 20 minutes.

Steamed salmon in orange-tomato sauce poaches skinless salmon fillets over a bright reduction of orange juice, white wine, garlic, and plum tomatoes, perfumed with fresh basil. A light, low-fat 35-minute weeknight dinner.

Filet farcis a la creme: flounder fillets rolled around a shrimp, crab, and mushroom stuffing, baked in a cognac cream sauce under melted Swiss. Vintage French bistro elegance.

Baked red snapper topped with cumin, cilantro, Anaheim chile, mushrooms, tomato, and melted cheddar-jack cheese. Mexican-spiced fish on the table in 45 minutes.

Tuna almandine casserole made with noodles, canned tuna, mushrooms, and onion baked in almond sauce. Five minutes of prep, 25 minutes in the oven, dinner done.

Uunissa paistettu hauki, the Finnish whole baked pike stuffed with rice, cucumber, hard-cooked eggs, chives and parsley, browned in butter and finished in the oven until firm and flaky.

Chinese crab and corn soup, the restaurant favorite, made light at home. Half the corn is pureed for a naturally creamy body, the rest left whole, with fresh crab, ginger, and a quick cornstarch thickening.

Lighter crab stroganoff with mushrooms, sherry, and nonfat sour cream over spinach noodles. All the creamy, savory comfort of classic stroganoff with less guilt.

Sauteed shrimp with ancho chiles and 25 cloves of garlic in olive oil, finished with lime juice and fish stock. A bold, smoky 20-minute shrimp dinner served over rice.

Hobo hike lunch for kids with canned tuna, baked beans, and an orange tied in a bandana. A zero-cooking outdoor adventure meal that doubles as a fun activity.

Curried shrimp in a creamy roux-based sauce made with turmeric, ginger, curry powder, and shrimp-poaching broth. Served over white rice for a flavorful weeknight dinner.

Quick sweet and sour prawns in an orange juice, soy, ginger, and brown sugar sauce thickened with cornstarch. Ready in 20 minutes, served over rice with beansprouts.