Crab

These crab cakes get an extra kick from the chili-garlic sauce, available in the Asian foods section of most supermarkets.

"Andaluca restaurant in Seattle offers a delicious—and beautiful—green gazpacho served with a crabmeat topping," says Elida D. Wilson of Olympia, Washington. "Would chef Wayne Johnson be willing to share his recipe?"

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. If you prefer your soup a little thicker, crush 6 saltines into fine crumbs and add them at the end of the procedure, when you add the crab.

A seafood spread such as this one—especially when paired with crisp benne-seed (sesame-seed) wafers—has long been a popular cocktail nibble in South Carolina's Low Country.

"On a trip to San Francisco, I had a terrific bowl of cioppino at Rose Pistola, star chef Reed Hearon's Italian restaurant," says Gail Haines of Westerly, Rhode Island.

These crispy cakes are jazzed up with cayenne and lemon peel. Add purchased potato salad, sliced tomatoes, and a seeded baguette. A strawberry tart from the bakery would make a refreshing summer finish.

This appetizer has been one of the restaurant's most popular since it opened in 1950. For a pretty presentation, arrange the crab legs in Belgian endive spears, and garnish with cucumber and radicchio.

I know what you're thinking: Another crabcake. Well, all crabcakes are not alike. When this dish goes on Commander's menu, more than half our patrons will order it. They probably feel as my mother does: "True jumbo lump crabmeat is the caviar of Louisiana." We want to highlight the crabmeat, not mask it with heavy binders or frying, so this has no bread crumbs and only a small amount of binder. And the cakes are _not_fried, making them incredibly light. As for the accompaniment, crab and corn are a classic Creole combination.

Threads of rosy-tipped snow crabmeat look pretty atop this jade green soup, but you may want to splurge on jumbo lump crabmeat. This is also delicious hot.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 20 min

This recipe originally accompanied Poached Halibut with Black Truffles and Purple-Potato and Crab Gratin .

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Here's an Asian - and very elegant - spin on the classic American crab cakes. A dry Gewürztraminer compliments the flavors of this appetizer very well.

From coast to coast, diners in the eighties showed an insatiable appetite for crab cakes. Some chefs deep-fried them; others spiced them with Old Bay Seasoning. But the best crab cakes, like the ones here, let the sweet flavor of the crab predominate.