Crab

This is a Web-exclusive recipe for Epicurious from Chef Robert Harrison of Mills Tavern in Providence, Rhode Island. It's a great dish to make any day of the year, and perfect for a Super Bowl gathering or any party. If you don't have time to make quince jam, or can't find quince, you can substitute any fruit chutney.

I thrive on discovering new flavor combinations, and Sea is a great example of a totally thrown together idea that worked out beautifully. That day I was really in the mood for some crab salad, but I wanted to do something untraditional. One of my purveyors had sent me some Tuscan cantaloupe to try, so I first made a melon emulsion. Then I tossed the crabmeat with my Colvin Vinaigrette (which is basically good on anything). I thought that avocado would be great with the melon, so I started with a little melon on the plate, then I layered sliced ripe avocado and the crab mixture with a huge quenelle of caviar I had on hand to top it all off. Honestly, it was like heaven. I had so much crab that I made two mini ones for my two friends downstairs, and they were like, "What the hell is this flavor combination? This is amazing!" Give it a try—it's elegant and just incredibly good.

These large yellow blossoms are the flowers that form on the fruit of the zucchini plant. They have a beautiful color, a delicate texture and a slight peppery taste. Filled with a creamy mixture of sweet crabmeat, they are steamed and then dressed with a creamy mustard butter sauce.

Fresh crab meat is so rich, fabulous, and sweet that, for this dip, I wanted to highlight the texture and flavor of the crab without masking it. Served bubbly hot with a crisply browned, lemon zest–panko topping, this dip will be a party favorite—easy to put together, quick to bake, and quick to disappear, too.

Sweet crabmeat and sweet peas make a great match in this springlike risotto.

I often wonder if tostadas—crisp tortillas mounded with your choice of topping—were the first version of modern-day nachos. If so, these would definitely be called "supreme." Crunchy tortillas are layered with slices of creamy avocado and topped with a zesty crab salad to make the perfect appetizer.

Folding sweet jumbo lump crabmeat and chopped scallions into the classic batter of cornmeal and buttermilk dresses up these pups for a party. They're crisp, fluffy, and, truth be told, dangerously easy to eat, especially after a dip in a lemony homemade tartar sauce speckled with parsley, sweet pickles, and capers. For information about crabmeat.

At the Citymeals-on-Wheels event, our food editors were astonished by the variety of flavors layered in these summer rolls. Within the confines of each wrapper, chef Alfred Portale combined sweet crabmeat, crunchy tobiko (flying-fish roe), and creamy avocado, then finished it with a citrusy yuzu sauce.

These colorful tartlets are quite simple to put together. One easy custard recipe is the basis for a trio of very different fillings (the ingredients can be doubled or tripled if one is a real favorite).

Be anything but crabby after enjoying this sunny citrus bisque. You'll net half your daily folate needs per bowl.

Editor's note: The recipe below is from Kimberly Kennedy's The Art and Craft of Entertaining. For Kennedy's baby shower tips click here.

Good-quality ingredients brought together with a minimum of fuss: That kitchen philosophy is inventively illustrated by this dish. Tender, delicate crab usually shows up amid other tender, delicate things, but when teamed with a rustic, chewy homemade semolina pasta (the real star of the show), it develops a certain swagger. Spring onions, fresh chile, and a bit of lemon juice add even more verve.

This dish can pack a lot of heat—or not. If you like a lot of spice, feel free to up the amount of fiery bird's-eye chiles. If you prefer a slightly milder dish, you can remove the seeds from the chiles.

A savory soup with ginger, saffron, and curry.

The keys to this fast, simple dish, which was inspired by a crab-stuffed tomato at Yves Camdeborde's Paris brasserie, Le Comptoir du Relais, are ripe tomatoes, fresh herbs, and excellent crabmeat.

You can use any kind of crab, or even dip lump crabmeat in the sauces.

A slightly tart dressing and a perfectly crisp-sweet cucumber salad are wonderful foils for rich, meaty chunks of crab.

The spirit of Japan comes through in this dish: It is lovely to behold and has a delicate, light quality, yet the extraordinary flavors will seize your attention with the culinary equivalent of surround sound.

The verdict in the test kitchen was unanimous: When we order crab cakes in restaurants, these meaty beauties are what we want—not the bready hockey pucks that dot many menus around the country. Pair them with a simple salad or some fries for a Chesapeake-inspired two-person dinner done right.

Our Australia correspondent, Pat Nourse, attended the Sydney Seafood School. The combination of flavors here is quintessentially Australian, inspired by far-flung sources and joined together in a unique way. The brininess of preserved lemons brings out the sweetness of the king crab you'll find in each twirl of pasta.

When cooking shrimp in boiling water, 2 minutes does the job. Overcooking toughens them.