Seafood/4 recipes

Carolines, French savory choux pastries split and filled with warm crab and asparagus spears, finished with a beurre blanc-style lemon dill butter sauce. An elegant first course or canapé for eight.

Grilled shrimp skewers marinate in olive oil, lemon, ginger, coriander, and red pepper flakes, then cook in 4 minutes flat over hot coals. Bright, herbaceous summer grilling staple.

Gow gees are crispy fried Chinese dumplings filled with pork, shrimp, dried mushrooms, and scallions. Served with classic homemade sweet and sour sauce. Makes 48 for a crowd.

Poached fish gently cooks salmon, bass, or snapper fillets in seasoned court bouillon for moist, tender results in under 15 minutes. A French classic technique for delicate fish.

Steamed fish and vegetables in stove-top papillotte: halibut and sugar snap peas steamed in plastic over diced tomatoes and basil. A clean, light, restaurant-style dinner in 20 minutes.

Scalloped oysters layered with buttery cracker crumbs, cream, and a drop of Worcestershire. A microwave-quick version of the holiday side that comes together in under 20 minutes without giving up the toasty top.

Salmon corncakes flake poached salmon with sweet corn, shallots, peppers, and cilantro into pan-fried cracker-crumbed patties. Pacific Northwest meets Southwestern in one crispy bite.

Broiled salmon steaks with citrus vinaigrette: orange and lime juice, garlic, and fresh cilantro doubling as marinade and finishing sauce. Bright, light, and broiler-quick on a busy weeknight.

Hot spiced crab soup with whole cracked Dungeness crab simmered in a buttery white wine and chicken broth, spiked with garlic, cayenne, and hot pepper sauce. A messy, hands-on bowl built for cracking and slurping.

Creamed tuna on toast is the original 10-minute pantry dinner. Flaked tuna folded into silky bechamel and spooned over crisp toast points, finished with paprika and pimento.

Salmon au poivre: fresh salmon (or tuna) steaks pressed with crushed peppercorns and brushed with olive oil, then broiled or grilled. Three ingredients, French steakhouse technique, 30 minutes.

Halibut Pecante pan-fries halibut fillets in butter, then pours over a sweet-tangy pecan sauce of raspberry and balsamic vinegars and roasted garlic. A 30-minute fish dinner.

Crayfish tails poached in dill-scented court bouillon and topped with a dill hollandaise sauce. A Scandinavian-inspired dinner served over white rice.

Mussels mariniere steamed in dry white wine with scallion, garlic, parsley, bay, and thyme, finished with butter. The classic French moules style, ready in under 30 minutes from kettle to bowl.

Crab cakes bound with a silky béchamel and sharpened with dijon, horseradish, and capers, then pan-fried in a crisp breadcrumb crust until deep golden brown.

Oven barbecued salmon stuffs sockeye fillets with lemon, onion, and bacon, then bakes them in foil under a sweet ketchup-corn-syrup glaze. Smoky-sweet salmon supper, no grill required.