Seafood

This recipe offers a prime example of cooking à la minute because the entire dish can be prepared and executed very quickly. (It also uses few enough ingredients that you could purchase all of them in the express lane of your local supermarket on the way home from work.) After sautéeing the halibut, the fish is removed from the pan, which is then deglazed with white wine and fresh lemon juice. Butter is swirled in gradually to yield a rich, flavorful sauce — punctuated by scallions, capers, and diced tomato — that is simply poured over the fish; its pleasing citric acidity and buttery richness make it a perfect foil for the halibut.

Osso buco is a traditional Italian dish of veal shanks simmered in a pungent tomato sauce and topped with gremolata. Ming Tsai's clever version is made with fish.

A refreshing starter from Arrows in Ogunquit, Maine.

Mark Taylor of West Hartford, Connecticut, writes: "I started cooking out of necessity when I first graduated from college, since I couldn't afford to eat out. Having grown up watching my mother cook for our large family, I used her recipes. She was always trying new dishes whenever we had guests and sharing her adventurous attitude toward eating. These days, even though my wife and I both work, we still cook several times a week. Now I tend to rely on recipes I've picked up from restaurants and friends. I enjoy experimenting with different ingredients and figuring out new ways to improve a recipe, as I've done with the one here." Serve the fish and sauce over couscous.

Pernod, the beloved French anise-flavored aperitif, adds an interesting twist to the sauce. Offer Champagne with the starters.

At the restaurant the chef garnishes this dish with fresh seasonal flowers, chervil, and chives.

Substituting cooked chicken for the lobster also yields excellent results.

Broccoli is called sparaceddi in Sicilian. In this side dish, it is "drowned" in a heady mixture of olive oil, onions, anchovies, olives, red wine and cheese. While there are variations of the basic preparation throughout Italy, food historians generally think it to be of Sicilian origin.

You can add some diced red bell pepper to give this full-flavored dish a splash of color.

Tarragon brings its distinctive flavor to this salad. Serve it alongside the strata.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. We used osetra caviar for this hors d'oeuvre, but feel free to substitute your favorite. Any leftover caviar can be used to brighten up a number of dishes, from scrambled eggs to pasta.

Chef Shelton uses a 4- by 2-inch round cake ring to mold the salad on the plate.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

At Lantana's, the salmon is served with spiced banana fritters.

Not an ounce of flavor escapes this dish! The salmon is seared, trapping its rich flavor, briefly baked, and then drizzled with a thick, lightly fragranced orange ginger glaze — a balanced companion for a fish as flavorful as salmon. Salmon provides ample amounts of protein, B vitamins, vitamin A, and omega-3 oils.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.