Crab

This recipe originally accompanied Poached Halibut with Black Truffles and Purple-Potato and Crab Gratin .

Chipotle chilies are the secret to this sassy cocktail sauce.

Joe Martin was both a hero and a mentor to me. He was an old-fashioned New Orleans kitchen guy who never had national fame as a chef, but he could cook better than a lot of household names. Not only that, he was a great teacher, developing an army of everyday workers who were the backbone of good food served all over town. The funny thing is, for all the people he taught, he never wrote down his best dishes. He used to make this one hunched over like it was a big secret. I pieced the recipe together from some of the guys he taught. Joe, if you're looking down on this dish from someplace where the work isn't so hard, I hope you don't think we're leaving something out!

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Cooking the sea bass in parchment paper is a great technique — it keeps the pistachio topping in place and allows you to brown both the fish and the topping in the skillet (the parchment becomes translucent so you can see the browning. Since Gras is on the West Coast, he likes to use Dungeness crab when he makes this dish. We've substituted jumbo lump crabmeat because it's available year round nationwide.

Here's an Asian - and very elegant - spin on the classic American crab cakes. A dry Gewürztraminer compliments the flavors of this appetizer very well.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Low-fat buttermilk and nonfat yogurt provide the base in a refreshing, tangy soup.

Threads of rosy-tipped snow crabmeat look pretty atop this jade green soup, but you may want to splurge on jumbo lump crabmeat. This is also delicious hot.

For the start or close of a millennium (or almost any other significant occasion), this is an opulent but fuss-free combination. Purchase the crabs from a busy fishmonger to ensure absolute freshness. Inexpensive caviar (which is often dyed) can turn the dipping sauce gray; invest a little more if you can. Champagne — not too dry — is naturally the beverage of choice.

The crab salad is mounded over the ends of endive spears so that they work as edible scoops for the salad. This is served as a starter at Le Chat Grippé in Paris, France.

An elegant soup that can be prepared a day ahead. Begin the occasion by passing smoked chicken canapés. To make them, spread mayonnaise over crustless sandwich bread, and top with thinly sliced smoked chicken. Cut the open-face sandwiches into triangles, and garnish each of them with a few onion sprouts.

To make the nori rolls in this recipe we used a bamboo sushi mat*, available at the sources noted below. Alternatively, a 9-inch square of heavy-duty foil can be used.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

"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."