Shellfish

Telmo grew up in a Mexican neighborhood in San Jose, California. On warm evenings, he could be found at a busy roadside seafood joint called La Costa spooning up refreshing bites of coctel de camarón, or "shrimp cocktail." Served in a tall Styrofoam cup, the La Costa cocktail combines a sweet (but not cloying), tangy, and spicy tomato-based sauce, briny poached shrimp, avocado, cucumber, and pico de gallo, all topped with some shakes of a salsa picante and served with tostadas or saltine crackers. Our version is made with roasted fresh tomatoes instead of the traditional ketchup to brighten it up. The resulting sauce is more like a gazpacho than the typical country club-style cocktail sauce. The cocktail can be assembled a couple of hours ahead of time, but not too far in advance, as the shrimp becomes rubbery if left in the lime juice for too long. To make this shrimp cocktail into easy party fare, spoon it onto small store-bought tostadas, garnish with a little cilantro, and serve.

You can use any firm fish and fresh shellfish you like for this brothy stew. (A little crabmeat is a luxurious addition, as well.) Make the base a day in advance for a low-stress Christmas dinner.

Used in place of mayonnaise, yogurt brings tang and brightness to these crostini.

A version of this recipe helped Danny Bowien win the Pesto World Championship in Italy in 2008. He was kind enough to let us adapt it a bit.

Watson, who's from Louisiana, grew up on his mom's dirty rice; that dish helped inspire this bastardized fried version. The chicken-liver base tastes very concentrated and intense on its own, but becomes nicely balanced in the finished dish.

Nilou Motamed, Epicurious Editor-in-Chief, swears by this herb-infused lobster roll recipe inspired by her father-in-law Michael DePorte. When available, Nilou prefers soft-shell lobsters, or “shedders”, for their easy-to-crack shells (no tools required!) and sweet, tender meat. If you choose soft-shell lobsters, reduce the cooking time by 2 to 3 minutes. She also prefers filtered seawater as a cooking liquid, so if your fishmonger has it available, give it a try! Boiling lobsters in well-salted water is the next best thing.

A mixture of white wine and white wine vinegar, plus a host of spices and vegetables, infuse these shrimp with tangy, fragrant flavor. Serve them as a cocktail party hors d'oeuvre or toss them into a salad.

You can also make this dish with littleneck or cherrystone clams instead of mussels.

With store-bought cooked lobster (or shrimp if that’s more your speed) this luxe, buttery pasta comes together at lightning speed.

You can infuse your shellfish with smoky flavor (and keep the smells out of the house) by throwing it on the grill. The lobster, shrimp and clams here are meant to be cooked at the same time and served with three sauces for mixing and matching. If you make the sauces in advance, the mixed grill comes together in less than a half hour. For a simpler dinner, you can absolutely make one type of seafood and one of the sauces; just make sure to increase the quantities as needed.

Make sure to buy whole squid; precut rings will slip through your grill grate.

Liquid from the grated corn enriches and helps thicken the grits; fresh corn added at the end makes for nice bites.

These shrimp are so big and sweet you'd never know they weren't lobster. Hinged grill baskets make turning them super easy.

When you don't feel like struggling to shuck oysters, just throw them on the grill.

A smoky spice blend gives this quick, modern stir-fry a fantastic kick.

A long-standing Maryland favorite, the crab cake—plus fresh avocado and a dollop of Sriracha mayo—pumps up an iconic sandwich.

Rhode Island-style calamari, which is served with hot cherry peppers, is a local favorite. Look for medium-size fresh or frozen squid (about eight to a pound) for frying.

Cooking the shrimp with their shells on helps them retain flavor; scoring them along the back lets you remove the vein and makes peeling easier. Win-win.