Name: Crab with Cantaloupe and Caviar – Sea Salad
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar; 1 teaspoon minced shallot; 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard; 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil; 1/4 cup canola oil; Salt and freshly ground black pepper; 2 pounds fresh crabmeat, cooked, shelled, and picked; 2 tablespoons mayonnaise; 1 bunch chives, chopped; Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper; 1 Tuscan cantaloupe, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks; 2 avocados, peeled, seeded, and sliced; 1 ounce caviar (Sturgeon royal)

Image may contain Plant Food Vegetable and Lettuce

Crab with Cantaloupe and Caviar – Sea SaladCookbook cover image courtesy of Random House

I thrive on discovering new flavor combinations, and Sea is a great example of a totally thrown together idea that worked out beautifully. That day I was really in the mood for some crab salad, but I wanted to do something untraditional. One of my purveyors had sent me some Tuscan cantaloupe to try, so I first made a melon emulsion. Then I tossed the crabmeat with my Colvin Vinaigrette (which is basically good on anything). I thought that avocado would be great with the melon, so I started with a little melon on the plate, then I layered sliced ripe avocado and the crab mixture with a huge quenelle of caviar I had on hand to top it all off. Honestly, it was like heaven. I had so much crab that I made two mini ones for my two friends downstairs, and they were like, "What the hell is this flavor combination? This is amazing!" Give it a try—it's elegant and just incredibly good.

Recipe notes

Spicy Honey Orange Shrimp (Xiang La Fengmi Xia)

A satisfying weeknight dinner from Tiffy Chen. Serve with rice or noodles.

Wampanoaug Clam Fritters

The clams’ natural briny sweetness serves as a surprising foil for the tender fritter batter—just be sure to pull off the tough outer coating of the siphon.

Oven-Fried Shrimp

Kewpie Mayonnaise is the ultimate secret ingredient to creating a perfect oven-baked battered-and-fried crunch without a deep fryer.

XO Sauce

Developed in the 1980s by a chef in Hong Kong, this sauce is all about umami.

Grape Dumplings

Native American people made these with cornmeal dumplings, simmering them with wild grapes, which were harvested at their peak sweetness.

Kimchi Bloody Mary

The kimchi brine is the secret hero here; just a splash of it brightens the cocktail while deepening it with a little funky je ne sais quoi.

Pad Kee Mao (Drunken Spaghetti)

Spaghetti is a common variation in modern Thai cooking. It’s so easy to work with and absorbs the garlicky, spicy notes of pad kee mao well.

Paloma Slushy

Frozen into a slushy, the classic tequila and grapefruit cocktail becomes even more refreshing.