Shellfish

María A. Alvarado-Gómez of Erie, Pennsylvania, writes: "I came to the United States as an exchange student, after spending the first 18 years of my life in Mérida, Yucatán. On school vacations I would go home and cook with my mother and sisters so that I wouldn't lose my touch. My mother was a skilled cook, and I was lucky to have learned at her side. Her food was so popular in our neighborhood that she sold portions of our daily meals to other families. With nine well-fed kids, she said we were her best advertisement. "I still take great pride in the food of my homeland. Yucatecan cuisine is known for its Mayan influence, and the essential ingredients we use — limes, spices, avocados, tomatoes, peppers — make for wonderful flavors. Now that ground spices are readily available and vegetables can be quickly chopped in a food processor, preparing traditional Mexican dishes is easier than ever." Fresh and lively, like a cooked ceviche.

See how to <epi:recipelink id="">devein shrimp</epi:recipelink>.

The traditional dish of Trapani.

(Mussels with Garlic Butter) "I can't stand snails of any kind, not land snails, not sea snails. But I'm crazy for the butter that accompanies them." Thus pronounced a shopper who was buying a large sack of shiny black mussels at Marée Daguerre, the fish stand in the shopping street in the rue Daguerre. This recipes is for mussels broiled in the butter that usually accompanies snails. You can cook the mussels in the oven, covered, or under the broiler. Under the broiler, the mussels open quicker and the butter sizzles faster, cooking the garlic. Baked, covered, in the oven, though, they keep more of the mussel liquor. Either way, it's a divine way to prepare mussels.

Hey-mul Pajun Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from restaurateur Jenny Kwak's book, Dok Suni: Recipes from My Mother's Korean Kitchen. Kwak also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. To read more about Kwak and Korean cuisine, click here. It is said that because Korea was almost all surrounded by water, Koreans looked seaward for culinary inspiration. Hey-mul pajun, a simple and reliable treat, is a good example of this. My parents both spoke of this dish when I was growing up. My father ate it when his family had little to eat, and still to this day he enjoys it with a bottle of soju (sweet potato vodka). My mother told me that the aroma of the dish was so good that it would entice her neighborhood girlfriends to peek over the walls that divided the homes and ask, "Hey, can I come eat that with you?" And because the girls enjoyed the company as much as the food, they sat by the fire cooking up one pancake at a time, talking and eating until their mothers called them back home.

Rouget, or red mullet, is renowned in the Mediterranean for its delicate flavor. It is increasingly available here in the U.S. (Incidentally, the fish is not a true mullet but is a member of another piscine family.) We loved the commingling of flavors that resulted when we put this concoction on a bed of zucchini potato lemon-thyme mash .

This savory, French-inspired dish is also delicious made with mussels instead of, or in addition to, the clams. Either way, it's good with crusty bread to soak up the broth, and a glass of spicy white wine.

(Arrossejat de Fideus amb Llagosta) This Catalan specialty could be described as a pasta cooked like a rice dish. Arrossejat is Catalan for "golden" and refers to the technique of sautéing noodles in oil until golden brown before simmering them in fish stock. The dish is usually prepared in a glazed earthenware casserole known as a cassola, but you can substitute an ovenproof skillet or saut0an with great results. The base of our intensely flavored dish is a sofregit~©on slow-cooked with tomatoes and often garlic and herbs'% foundation for almost every sauce and stewed dish in the region's cooking. Active time: 1 1/2 hr Start to finish: 2 hr

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

"Thai is my favorite Asian cuisine, and the Thai noodles at Q, A Thai Bistro, here in Forest Hills just may be my favorite dish," writes Loren Kliegerman of Forest Hills, New York. "Any idea how it is prepared?"

Try this as part of a barbecue buffet.

It's actually a clam boil, and it’s prepared on the stove top. The secret is to layer the ingredients, like clams, lobsters, potatoes, and sausages, in one pot so that the flavors mingle during cooking.

Accompany this light main course with Buttery Rice Timbales.

These mini tostadas make terrific appetizers. The topping is seasoned with cumin, serrano chili and cilantro.

This dish from Hotel d'Urville in Blenheim makes delicious use of New Zealand's green-lipped mussels.

Steamed baby yellow squash and rice pilaf studded with bits of pimiento would look pretty with the scallops. End the meal with a plate of petits fours or fancy cookies and some fresh berries.