Scallop

This fragrant soup from Sam Hazen, executive chef at Tao in New York City and Las Vegas, is brimming with lean protein. Perfect for chilly weather!

Now that imported caviar is no longer available, the domestic stuff is all the rage. Paired with lemon oil (sold at many markets), it's the ultimate garnish.

Bacon and scallops always pair beautifully, but it's the mixture of sugar and spice that transforms these easy-to-make hors d'oeuvres.

Lentilles du Puy are lighter than other lentils and hold their shape especially well during cooking.

Indulgence on a platter: Lobster, shrimp, scallops, and crab legs make one impressive presentation. (Ask the market to cut the lobster tails and crab legs in half lengthwise for you.) A selection of sauces adds to the party fun.

This light chowder with a subtle note of smokiness really lets the scallops shine.

Gael Greene shared these recipes with Epicurious from her new book, Insatiable. On a writing retreat at the cabin of screenwriter Vicki Polon, we put together this fragrant soup.

Fresh apple juice and Calvados, a dry apple brandy, make the sauce something special.

Editor's note:
The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Grace Young's book The Breath of a Wok. Young also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. For Young's article on Cantonese cooking, click here. Chef Yip Wing Wah, of the Spring Moon Restaurant in Hong Kong, garnishes these exquisite dumplings with a dollop of crab roe, which can be substituted for the carrots.

This dish — the result of a conversation between two food editors who had just returned from opposite parts of the country — almost made itself. Paul Grimes came back from Charleston talking about the creamy stone-ground grits, shrimp, and collard greens of chef Kevin Johnson at Anson, and Kemp Minifie returned from Seattle to tell us about the scallops over braised cabbage with foie gras vinaigrette that Johnathan Sundstrom serves at Lark. We loved the idea of both dishes so much, we met somewhere in between, with this simpler recipe.

The trick: Just add a slurry.
To thicken soups, Terry Conlan of Lake Austin Spa Resort in Austin, Texas, adds slurries, cocktails of flour stirred with a low- or nonfat liquid, such as broth or skim milk. The texture of his Bay Scallop and Corn Chowder comes from a mix of flour and fat-free cream. Use slurries for any soup that calls for full-fat cream by substituting a slurry of flour and nonfat half-and-half.

Round out your dinner: Add 1/2 cup cooked wild rice, 1/2 cup steamed spinach; 3/4 cup cream of carrot soup.

Editor's note: This recipe is excerpted from Harumi's Japanese Cooking , by Harumi Kurihara. Hotate no Sauté Miso Sauce These scallops make a good starter or they can be served as part of larger Japanese-style meal. I think that the combination of Japanese flavors, such as miso, and the western flavor of Parmesan cheese makes for a delicious and exciting dish.

Lynn Brown of Houston, Texas, writes: "For me, it's fun to see how much I can simplify or revise a recipe to make it my own. That's what I've done with the soup here (it's one of my favorite things to make). And the cioppino came from an old magazine, but I've changed a few things, plus I save time with canned tomatoes and peeled shrimp."