Shrimp

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

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?"

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 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.

A dish created by Kevin Taylor, Chef of Café Iguana, in Denver, Colorado.

The bold flavors of Spain's famous paella-sausage, seafood and saffron-meet the luscious, creamy texture of Italy's risotto in this beautiful rice dish. Pour a chilled dry white wine during dinner, and offer flan for dessert.

The following recipe calls for filé powder, a spice made from the dried, ground leaves of the sassafras tree. Although often added as a thickener to gumbos while they cook, filé powder can also serve purely as a seasoning. As in this recipe, it is then sprinkled over the gumbo at the penultimate moment.

This dish features garam masala, a flavorful blend of roasted and ground spices used in Indian cuisine and now available in the spice section of most supermarkets. Accompany the shrimp with bottled tomato chutney or fruit chutney and a basket of warm flatbread. A mango smoothie with a plate of coconut macaroons is the perfect dessert.

What the New Sammy's menu describes as a broth is really a purée. The dish is somewhat monochromatic, but its fascinating flavor spectrum will make your mouth extremely happy.

Pack the precooked crab or shrimp and the tangy sauce separately for this starter.

At the restaurant, this spectacular starter also has a tomato confit vinaigrette. Here, we've substituted chopped seeded peeled tomatoes to simplify the recipe.

A caldin is a coconut curry, typical of Goa. Though caldins are made with fresh coconut milk in India, chef Cardoz uses Chaokoh brand canned unsweetened coconut milk. It's thicker and richer than other brands, and imparts a great deal of flavor. It's important not to let the caldin boil during cooking, or the coconut sauce will break.