Shellfish

Collen Healey of Denver, Colorado, writes: "During my visit to the Myrtle Beach area last summer, some locals recommended that I go to Flo's Place for the best shrimp po'boy ever. They were right!" Ground saltine crackers would work in place of cracker meal.

Cele Bullis of Gainesville, Georgia, writes: "My husband and I recently went to a restaurant in Alpharetta, Georgia, called Vinny's on Windward. He ordered a pasta entrée with lobster and cream sauce and thoroughly enjoyed it. I'd love to make the dish for him. Can you get the recipe?" This can be prepared with 20 ounces of large raw shrimp instead of lobster, if you like. Peel and devein the shrimp, then sauté uncovered in butter until opaque in center, about three minutes. Cut each shrimp lengthwise in half.

This dish bursts with flavor yet is so simple to prepare. Adjust the heat by adding the curry paste to taste.

Sopa de Camarones con Chile Pasilla Fried pasilla chile strips add an alluring crunch and intense caramelized flavor.

The Hotel Le Maquis and its restaurant, L'Arbousier, are the labor of love of one remarkable woman, Catherine Salini. She bought the land many decades ago and built this charming inn very close to where she grew up in Porticcio. The rooms are decorated with antiques (personally selected and purchased by Salini), and the walls are hung with paintings by local artists. It's a true pleasure to dine on L'Arbousier's terrace just above the beach, with its wonderful views of the bay. Here you can taste the famous sardines stuffed with Swiss chard and brocciu (a local cheese), prepared by chef Gérard Lorenzoni Salini, Catherine's son. Another favorite dish is this lobster fricassee, which evokes the sunny splendor of this island treasure.

The classic — and amazingly easy — French sauce made with butter and wine gets a glamorous makeover with Champagne. Feel free to use less-expensive sparkling wine for cooking, but keep the blanc de blancs flowing as an accompaniment.

"When it's on the menu, I always order the sautéed veal with shrimp sauce at Kelsey's Restaurant here in New Orleans," writes Angela Stuck of Louisiana. "Can you get the recipe?"

At least two San Francisco establishments — Solari's restaurant and the St. Francis Hotel — have laid claim to this classic. Both places reportedly started serving crab Louis around 1915.

Adapted from L'Ardoise Serve this play on the classic escargots à la bourguignonne with lots of crusty bread to mop up the flavorful butter. The snails come in 7-ounce cans, so you'll have leftovers. You might want to consider making escargots à la Bourguignonne with the leftover snails.

These crab cakes are flavored with the "holy trinity" of Cajun cooking: onion, green bell pepper, and celery. Serve them with a helping of coleslaw or a green salad.

This rich and flavorful dish was inspired by a recent trip to Brazil. If you are making the coconut rice to accompany the shrimp a 14-ounce can of coconut milk will be enough for both dishes.

This light, spicy soup is delicious hot or chilled. The sautéed aromatics turn the broth a rich red-orange, more reminiscent of tomato than watermelon. See if your guests can guess the main ingredient. Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 1 hr (3 hr if serving chilled)

This recipe calls for giant 4 1/2- to 5-ounce prawns, which can be ordered from some specialty fish markets. If unavailable, substitute 24 large prawns.