Seafood

A creamy sauce and a trio of caviars are the "dream" of this party dish. Buy the quality and quantity of caviar that fit your budget.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Don't marinate the fish more than 15 minutes, or it will be cooked by the citric acid in the lemon juice (like the Latin dish seviche). And don't toss the vegetables until serving time, or the vinegar will discolor the beans.

Onioned Tuna Soup I first tasted this soup at La Canoa, a restaurant in Guayaquil, Ecuador. They prepared the tuna in the popular style of leaving it mostly rare, then they added it to the soup right before serving. When we serve the soup at the Patria, we use all the meaty trimmings from the tuna steaks we've served as full portions.

Giving up fried shrimp is probably easier than giving up, say, chocolate cake, but only because so much fried shrimp is so badly prepared. Here is a terrific version, complete with tartar sauce for dipping.

We topped these rolls with a combination of plain tobiko (flying-fish roe) as well as seasoned and wasabi-flavored tobiko and golden whitefish caviar. The specialty tobiko and caviar are available from the mail-order source given below.

Fresh strawberries and cookies from the bakery round out the meal nicely. Pour a dry white wine or iced tea. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Also try the salsa with some corn bread or scrambled eggs for a spicy treat.

Chiles Anchos Rellenos de Atún con Papas This is more sweet than spicy, because the chiles are softened in brown sugar and vinegar before stuffing.

This can be served immediately as a warm salad or made ahead and served chilled.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Stitt likes to use rock salt — the kind used for old-fashioned ice cream churners — as a bed for these oysters because it keeps the shells from tipping and sliding around in the pan and on the plates. Rock salt is sold at many supermarkets, but kosher salt is a good substitute. At the restaurant, Stitt makes this recipe with local Apalachicola oysters, though he also likes the flavor of East Coast varieties such as Blue Point, Pemaquid, and Malpeque, so feel free to use your favorite.