Crab

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

This is made with homemade pasta at the inn. Our easy alternative uses cooked lasagne noodles cut into squares. From the Inn at Perry Cabin, St. Michaels, Maryland. Watch how to make your own pasta for ravioli with our hands-on streaming video demonstration.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This recipe comes from my brother, Chris, a high-school athletic coach. If you think stuffed mushrooms sound too foofy for Super Bowl Sunday, I refer you to "Little" Brother. He tells me they are winners every time. There's plenty of room for play in the recipe. The only firm rule: Use more crab than cream cheese.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

These homemade sushi rolls are filled with avocado and crab.

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.

Pasta, a recent addition to the Irish culinary repertoire, is fast becoming a favorite. At Longueville House in Mallow, Ireland, ravioli is taken to refined heights in this dish, which is served as an appetizer. They make it with large rounds of homemade pasta, but store-bought gyoza wrappers are a good substitute.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Serve steamed rice, and drizzle oriental sesame oil and rice vinegar over blanched snow peas. Mango sorbet topped with sliced tropical fruits is the perfect finale.

"Athens, Georgia, has a great restaurant called The Basil Press," writes Linda Buchman of Hilton Head, South Carolina. "During my last visit there, chef Andrew Urell prepared an angel hair pasta with curried crab and shrimp. I'd love to try making it at home." At the restaurant, this is served as a side dish for grilled salmon.