Serves 4

Cook Time 35 minutes

Shopping Tip: Buying Whole Fish The key to cooking a whole fish on the grill is buying a whole fish that is unquestionably fresh. At the market, look for fish that smell clean and like the ocean, not fishy. Also, the eyes should be clear, not cloudy. We’ve found that fish larger than 2 pounds are hard to maneuver on the grill and are not good candidates for grilling. If the fish are a little larger than what we have called for (between 1 1/2 and 2 pounds), simply grill them a minute or two longer on each side. If the fish are smaller than 1 pound (whole trout, for example), use four whole fish (to serve four) and cut the cooking time down by 5 minutes or so.

Note: Snapper, bass, trout, mackerel, pompano, and bluefish all work well here. For added flavor, brush extra-virgin olive oil on the fish in place of the vegetable oil and fill the cavity of the fish with fresh herbs and lemon slices. You could also season the fish inside and out with a dry rub or a wet rub. To clean and oil the grill just before cooking the fish, dip a large wad of paper towels in vegetable oil, grab it with tongs, and wipe the grate thoroughly to lubricate and prevent sticking. This will also clean off any remaining residue from previous grilling.

Serves 4
Fresh crabmeat will make these crab cakes taste even better. With packaged crab, if the meat smells clean and fresh when you first open the package, skip steps 1 and 4 and simply blot away any excess liquid.

Serves 6
Serve the salmon with lemon wedges or with our “Smoked Salmon Platter” Sauce.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Our smoked salmon recipe combines the best elements of cold-smoked salmon (it’s cooked very slowly over a low fire to yield supple, moist fish) and hot-smoked salmon (it’s cooked over a hotter fire to yield a flaky, drier fish with tons of smoke flavor). To prepare the salmon for smoking, we quick-cure the fish with a mixture of salt and sugar to draw moisture from the flesh, which firms it up, and we season it inside and out. We then cook the fish indirectly over a gentle fire with ample smoke to produce salmon that is sweet, smoky, and tender. Serving the fish alongside a “smoked-salmon platter” sauce was the perfect pairing.

SERVES 4

In step 5, if your skillet is not broiler-safe, once the clams have started to open transfer the mixture to a broiler-safe 13 by 9-inch baking dish lightly coated with olive oil; scatter the shrimp over the pasta and stir them in to partially submerge. Broil and serve as directed. Serve this dish with lemon wedges and Aïoli, stirring it into individual portions at the table.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Traditional recipes for fideuà can take several hours to prepare. We wanted to streamline the recipe but keep the deep flavors of the classic recipes. To replace the slow-cooked fish stock of the classics, we made a quick shrimp stock using the shrimp’s shells, a combination of chicken broth and water, and a bay leaf. We also saved some time by streamlining the sofrito, the aromatic base common in Spanish cooking, by finely mincing the onion and using canned tomatoes (instead of fresh), which helped the recipe components soften and brown more quickly. The final tweak to our recipe was boosting the flavor of the shrimp by quickly marinating them in olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper.

Serves 4
In step 5, if your skillet is not broiler-safe, once the pasta is tender transfer the mixture to a broiler-safe 13 by 9-inch baking dish lightly coated with olive oil; scatter the shrimp over the pasta and stir them in to partially submerge. Broil and serve as directed. Serve this dish with lemon wedges.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Traditional recipes for fideuà can take several hours to prepare. We wanted to streamline the recipe but keep the deep flavors of the classic recipes. To replace the slow-cooked fish stock of the classics, we made a quick shrimp stock using the shrimp’s shells, a combination of chicken broth and water, and a bay leaf. We also saved some time by streamlining the sofrito, the aromatic base common in Spanish cooking, by finely mincing the onion and using canned tomatoes (instead of fresh), which helped the recipe components soften and brown more quickly. The final tweak to our recipe was boosting the flavor of the shrimp by quickly marinating them in olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper.

Serves 4

Cooking the pasta right in the pasta sauce infuses it with flavor and streamlines cleanup.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
To prepare our spaghetti with shrimp, we seared the shrimp over high heat until just barely cooked through, then set them aside while we prepared the sauce and pasta. We used just one pan for cooking both the shrimp and the pasta so the finished dish picked up the flavors left behind by the shrimp. Cooking the pasta in the pasta sauce infuses flavor and streamlines the preparation.

Serves 4

Jumbo lump crabmeat is available at the fish counter of most grocery stores. If you can’t find it, you can use pasteurized lump crabmeat.

Serves 4

The amount of bread crumbs you add will depend on the crabmeat’s juiciness. Start with the smallest amount, adjust the seasonings, then add the egg. If the cakes won’t bind at this point, then add more bread crumbs, one tablespoon at a time.

Serves 4

Makes 24 dumplings, 6 first-course servings

We prefer to use gyoza wrappers. You can substitute wonton wrappers, but the cooking time and recipe yield will vary. Potstickers are best served hot from the skillet; we recommend that you serve the first batch immediately, then cook the second batch. To freeze potstickers, place filled, uncooked dumplings in the freezer in a single layer on a plate until frozen, then transfer to a storage bag. There’s no need to thaw frozen potstickers; just proceed with the recipe.