Shellfish

Make the filling ahead of time and you'll need only a few minutes to go from shucking to eating.

Miso is a quick way to add deep, rich savory character to your cooking.

If you have difficulty finding buster crabs or small soft shells, you can use large soft shell crabs, quartered, and they'll still make a great dish.

Blooming spices, or gently frying them in oil, is a quick way to deepen their flavor.

Use good butter, fresh crabmeat, and Meyer lemons and this simple spread will really sing. Can't find Meyer lemons? Substitute 2 tablespoons juice and 1-2 teaspoon zest from a regular lemon instead.

Alain Ducasse— The lobster must of course be alive, its claws firmly closed with elastic bands. After plunging it in boiling water, keep the lid on the cooking pot to avoid splashes.
Paule Neyrat— The flesh of the lobster is particularly low in fat but rich in protein. The vegetables are low in calories but full of vitamins and dressed with a yogurt sauce. This is a luxury dish but one that's really low in fat.

Shrimp have glutamic acid, the main taste component of umami. And at only 119 calories per 4-ounce serving, the little fellas are quite the low-cal catch.

Yes, romaine hearts are surprising in a stir-fry, but once you try their mild crunch in this fresh and lively meal, you may swear off takeout.

White wine and briny shellfish juices marry in the pot, then are puréed with parsley to create a light sauce so flavorful, it needs only a touch of butter.

Redzepi uses whatever foraged mushrooms he finds to make this rich ragout; feel free to do the same while foraging at your local farmers' market or supermarket. Omit the oysters and lardo (used here in place of Speck), if desired.

When gooseberries are in season, Redzepi juices them to flavor this dish. Verjus (a tart bottled juice made from unripe grapes) or a combination of white grape juice and cider vinegar make great substitutes.

This is a decadent dish that is very popular with my family at Christmas-time, when pasta with seafood is a holiday tradition for Italians. For others, though, it’s a reminder of summers on the Cape or in the Hamptons. Whatever memories it may conjure for you, we can all probably agree that it is a rich, sophisticated dish that puts a smile on the face of anyone who tastes it.

This might be the Italian answer to Seafood Newberg: chunks of crab and clams in a rich cream sauce tossed with wide noodles. If you really like clams, it’s worth checking to see if you can buy fresh chopped cooked clams at your fish market; the pieces tend to be a little bigger and meatier, with a more subtle, briny flavor than those in cans. The cream sauce is tinted a pretty pink from the tomatoes.

If you love seafood stew, this is the dish for you. It’s bright and colorful from the greens and the tomatoes, with lots of great sauce to dip your bread in.

On my last trip to Venice I fell in love with a shrimp lasagna I tried. This recipe is my twist on that Venetian dish. If you keep frozen shrimp in the freezer, this is a very good way to use them. Be sure not to overcook the lasagna noodles when you are boiling them, as they will finish cooking when you bake the assembled dish. You will only need twelve noodles in all, but cook a few extras in case some break or tear as you are boiling them.

This is one of the prettiest dishes I have ever made. It’s perfect for a ladies’ lunch, as it’s not too heavy and is extremely elegant looking. Make it ahead of time and serve slightly chilled. You could also substitute chopped cooked shrimp for the crab if you prefer.

The colors in this pasta—the orange of the squash and shrimp against the black eggplant skins—always remind me of Halloween, which is why I often serve it for that holiday. Actually, it’s a perfect dish for any celebratory fall meal.