Shellfish

Janet and Travis Kuhl of Cranford, New Jersey, writes: "We recently went to chef Ming Tsai's Blue Ginger restaurant in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Our entire meal was top-notch, but the shrimp cocktail was our favorite." Poured carefully side by side into a cocktail glass, tomato puree and avocado puree make a colorful dip for the lightly battered and quickly deep-fried shrimp.

This delicious salad is from Johannes.

Hangtown Fry This omelet hails from Hangtown, a town northeast of Sacramento that was named for the notorious hangings once held there (it's now called Placerville). The dish seems to have come into existence during the Gold Rush, as the high-priced breakfast of a lucky miner, and later became a specialty at San Francisco's Tadich Grill. It is traditionally served with bacon.

Though the truffles lend a wonderfully rich flavor to the shrimp, they are fairly costly, so you might want to save this dish for special occasions.

This dish is a wonderful combination of French and Indian flavors. Basmati rice and a green salad would round out the meal.

The signature dish at Américas in Houston. Achiote paste adds earthy flavor and deep red color to the shrimp.

Plump scallops, sprinkled with salt and pepper, are lightly grilled and served with a salsa rich in parsley and diced vegetables. The salsa should be made just before eating; otherwise the liquid content of the vegetables will turn the dish watery.

"A friend of mine insisted I try the red bell pepper bisque at Ristorante Grano in Williamsville, a suburb of Buffalo," says Lucy Mitchell of Grand Island, New York. "I did, and now I'm hoping to prepare it at home."

This spicy curry is wonderful spooned over basmati rice and paired with green beans. For dessert, dust sliced bananas with cinnamon sugar, then broil and serve with a scoop of butter pecan ice cream.

When we were children, shrimp dumplings were our favorite dim sum dish. The classic filling is shrimp and bamboo shoots. The dough is not difficult to make, but it is very important that the water be boiling hot. If it is not hot enough, the wheat starch will not cook and the dough will not work. Wheat starch _(dung fun)_is only available in Chinatown; regular white flour is not a substitute. The tortilla press used here is excellent for making the dough into thin, uniform rounds, but you can also make the dumplings by hand: Roll the dough into scant 1-inch balls. Place one ball between your lightly floured hands and press to form a circle. Press the dough evenly with your fingertips to make it as thin as possible, about 3 inches in diameter and a scant 1/8-inch thick.

It is very important to soak the wooden skewers in water, or they will burn on the grill. Devein the shrimp on the back side for a good appearance. See how to devein shrimp.

It's best to shuck your own clams, but if you buy them on the half shell, be sure to ask for the clam liquor.

Like gumbo, this is a thick and flavorful stew. But it takes a lot less time to make. Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr

"I'm hoping to get the recipe for a terrific appetizer I tried at Hamiltons' at First & Main in Charlottesville, Virginia," says Sue Carter of Murieta, California. "The seafood fritters came with lettuce leaves (to wrap around the fritters) and a spicy sauce."

The somen noodles called for in this recipe are a very thin Japanese wheat noodle. They are available in the Asian section of many supermarkets, at Southeast Asian markets and at specialty foods stores.

Cioppino is San Francisco's answer to bouillabaisse and, like that famous Provencal seafood soup, is made with a variety of the freshest fish possible. In San Francisco the mixture included Dungeness crab, which adds a unique flavor, but any regional crab will do. If crab is not available, substitute another shellfish. No clams? Try mussels. The point is to treat the following recipe as a guide and use whatever looks best in the market the day you make the soup.

Canapés came into fashion in the cocktail-party era that began in the 1920s. Bottled mayonnaise (which was first produced by Richard Hellmann in 1912 at his New York deli) and canned crabmeat help to make this canapé a model of fast food.