Shrimp

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 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.

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.

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

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.

Crisp julienned vegetables add crunchy texture to wheat-free pasta. To prep them fast, try the Oxo Julienne Peeler ($10, Oxo.com).

Take care with these little shrimp: They'll cook through quickly.

Serving Size: 8

In this Filipino dish, achiote oil bathes the shrimp in an amber hue, and citrus lends a bright, tart note.

We like to serve this main with couscous, rice, or grilled bread to sop up all of the shrimp's intensely flavored cooking liquid.

Wylie Dufresne, chef/owner of Alder and WD~50 in New York City, shared this recipe exclusively with Epicurious. "Modernist cuisine is a mind-set," says Dufresne. "It's a paradigm shift." In this recipe, Dufresne applies his modernist cuisine ideology to shrimp and grits, reimagining the flavors and textures of the classic dish. "I've always been interested in shrimp and grits. When I came across a Shrimp & Grits recipe on Epicurious, from an old issue of Bon Appétit, I thought, 'Wouldn't it be cool if we made the shrimp into grits?' Again, the modernist leap here was in the idea, not the technique, which is quite simple." To transform shrimp into grits, Dufresne grinds them in a meat grinder: once when raw, and then two more times after they've been cooked. Corn powder, vegetable stock, and "a healthy knob of butter" help create the creamy, starchy quality of actual grits, while homemade pickled jalapeños lend some heat. "Adding a fried quail egg is optional," says Dufresne, "but makes it much better, of course."

Shrimp absorbs the flavors of a marinade rapidly, making this quick entrée ideal for a busy weeknight. Steaming gently cooks the shrimp and reduces the likelihood of overcooking. Regular coconut milk offers the best flavor for this dish, as the taste of light coconut milk is too subtle. I often serve it over brown rice or whole wheat noodles.

Fiery chipotle gives a kick, and the iron in shrimp keeps you high-energy.

In every good restaurant kitchen, there's a combination of thrift and innovation. We always have a dish like this chowder on the menu because when we portion fish for main courses, there are inevitably some pieces of our excellent, sushi-quality fish too small to serve on their own. And that is another great reason to buy your fish whole: not only can you save the bones and head for fish stock, but you'll be generating two meals from one shopping trip. We call it chowder to give the idea of a hearty, chunky fish soup (sea bass, shrimp, mussels) with a lot of texture from vegetables. Our version shows off kabocha squash and ají dulce peppers. These are specific varieties of squash and pepper that I search for at the Greenmarket for their deep flavor and beautiful aroma. If you can't find these, use another variety of squash and mild pepper.

Make extra grains on Sunday and use them for this lightning-quick weeknight dinner.

This version of pad thai, developed by cookbook author and teacher Nancie McDermott, is for those who may not have a wok at home. Instead, the recipe calls for a 12-inch heavy skillet. Note that the skillet can hold only enough ingredients for two people (of course, if you have a wok, you should use it). McDermott's pad thai recipe to serve four , which does require a wok, is reason enough to invest in one (look for a 14-inch carbon-steel model with a flat bottom).