Seafood/4 recipes

Avocado halves filled with crabmeat salad, topped with chopped egg and garnished with anchovies, pimiento, and olives. Served with a tarragon-chervil herbed mayonnaise dressing on the side.

Poached Pacific salmon with a white wine beurre blanc sauce finished with dill and lemon. Gentle poaching keeps the fillets silky while the butter sauce adds rich, tangy elegance.

Molded crab dip with cream cheese, cream of celery soup, scallions, and gelatin for a sliceable appetizer. Vintage party fare made for crackers.

Mushroom caps stuffed with crabmeat in a creamy bechamel with Parmesan, flambeed in sherry, then topped with Gruyere and baked bubbly. An elegant appetizer for special occasions.

Roasted langoustines on mesquite-charred bell peppers with wilted arugula, blanched French green beans and aged balsamic. Quick-seared shellfish that hits the plate in 60 seconds total.

Oven-baked salmon cakes with sharp cheddar, cracker crumbs, scallions, and Worcestershire sauce, coated in buttered crumbs and baked crispy. No frying, just 10 minutes in a hot oven.

Pan-seared swordfish with a lemon, dill, and chervil herb crust over peppery arugula. A restaurant-quality fish dinner ready in under 20 minutes.

Deviled crab croquettes with Old Bay seasoning, mashed potatoes, hard-boiled egg, and green pepper, rolled in cracker meal and fried golden.

Crab fritters with a featherlight batter lifted by whipped egg whites, deep fried golden and served with a curry mayonnaise dipping sauce made bright with chutney and orange.

Seared scallops in a white wine, cream, and lime butter sauce made with almond oil. Restaurant-quality pan sauce technique in 30 minutes flat.

Oyster and brie soup, a luxurious New Orleans-style chowder with plump oysters, melted Brie cheese, and a champagne-sherry finish. Restaurant-elegant starter for celebration dinners.

Crispy deep-fried calamari rings coated in seasoned flour, egg wash, and Italian breadcrumbs. Golden brown in 45 seconds and served with cocktail or tartar sauce.

Baked garlic butter shrimp with crispy bread crumbs, oregano, parsley, and lemon served over spaghetti. Jumbo shrimp roasted until golden and saucy in garlicky butter.

Sauteed shrimp with Earl Grey tea deglaze, asparagus, roasted red peppers, couscous, and papaya salsa. A fine-dining plate with unexpected bergamot flavor.

Grilled shark kebabs marinated in rice wine, dry sherry, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic. Firm, meaty fish that holds its shape on the skewer and picks up smoky char from the coals.

Fish broth with oysters and saffron simmers a homemade fish fumet with juniper, leeks, and white wine, then adds clams, just-curled oysters, mung bean threads, radicchio, and saffron at serving. A delicate, restaurant-style seafood consomme.