Crab

This elegant dish would be lovely for lunch. What to drink: Something light and fruity, like Sancerre or rosé.

Blue crabs take a little more work to eat than larger crabs like Dungeness, but their sweet flavor is worth the extra effort. Blue crabs are commercially harvested from New York to Florida — including, most famously, Chesapeake Bay — and the Gulf Coast states. The best are available from late summer to early fall. If you're landlocked or on the West Coast, you can order live blue crabs from The Crab Place (877-328-2722; crabplace.com).

Shirley Phillips was raised on Hooper Island, Maryland, in Chesapeake Bay, and grew up surrounded by the finest seafood imaginable. Given her upbringing, it's no surprising that she married a waterman, Brice Phillips. The couple made their way to Ocean City, Maryland, and opened a crab shack, selling "jimmies" — heavy, fat, perfectly seasoned crabs — to tourists and locals alike. Almost fifty years later, that roadside crab shack has evolved into one of the largest seafood operations in America, Phillips foods. Miss Shirley is still a part of the daily operation of her signature Ocean City restaurant, which serves thousands of crab cakes every season. According to Shirley, the secret to a good crab cake is good crab, lots of lumps, and simple seasoning.

Traditionally used to enclose a savory filling, wonton wrappers are cut and fried into crisp triangles here, lending crunchy texture to soft crabmeat.

In Venice, this salad would most likely be made with local crab from the lagoon.

Peter Tulaney of Brooklyn, New York, writes: "Your magazine has inspired me to become a more creative cook. I've tried this recipe a few times, and the reviews have always been good. The crab cakes are best served over a bed of mixed organic greens in a light vinaigrette."

The buttery sauce that coats the crabmeat and the shells is part of the pleasure of this dish; to really enjoy it, dispense with the utensils and just eat the crab with your hands. Serve with a green salad dressed with tarragon vinaigrette and plenty of crusty sourdough bread.

If Chinese broccoli isn't available in your area, you can substitute regular broccoli.

These crab cakes are amazingly tender and moist because of the generous proportion of meat. The restaurant uses a combination of claw and backfin meat from Atlantic blue crabs.

Peekytoe is a Maine rock crab prized by many chefs for its sweet, delicate flavor. Dungeness crab is probably the closest substitute.

Serve this quiche (John Travolta's favorite) for lunch or dinner with a green salad.

Nancy Dalrymple of New Orleans, Louisiana, writes: "Last year, my husband and I celebrated our anniversary with a long weekend at Annadele's Plantation, a charming bed-and-breakfast in nearby Covington. Although the rooms were lovely, what made Annadele's so special was the great food. During our stay we learned that the restaurant is open to the public, so we've been back several times for our favorite dish, the pompano fillet with crabmeat and beurre blanc." Pompano — a delicately flavored white fish — is a popular entrée in and around New Orleans. In Annadele's signature version, the fish is topped with sweet crabmeat and a creamy white wine-lemon sauce.

This main-course soup showcases some of summer's best flavors. Serve with: Flaky biscuits, and a baby spinach salad with roasted red peppers.

Serve with: Buttermilk biscuits with herb butter, and chilled steamed asparagus spears in a citrus vinaigrette.

The Meyer lemon's moderate acidity ties in nicely with the sweetness of the crab, though standard lemons can also be used.

A nice do-ahead starter for an elegant meal.

You won't even need a fork for this no-fuss supper. Include some top-of-the line potato chips and mixed pickled vegetables on the menu, and have ice cream bars for dessert.