Halibut

The inspiration for this entrée comes from the Bengal delta, where fish is the food of choice. The area is also known for its use of nigella (black onion) seeds and fenugreek seeds, which are sold at Indian markets.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Put out a relish tray of sliced carrots, celery, gherkins and radishes, and serve sour cream mashed potatoes with the fish. Have lemon meringue tartlets afterward.

Alice Marcus Solovy of Skokie, Illinois, writes: "When I was 12 years old, my mother taught me how to make my first pie crust. My father said it tasted just like his grandmother's, and I was very flattered. That's basically the story of how I started cooking. After almost a lifetime in the kitchen, I still enjoy playing around with recipes. I've even been known to go out to dinner, taste a certain dish, and then re-create it at home in a few tries."

This recipe offers a prime example of cooking à la minute because the entire dish can be prepared and executed very quickly. (It also uses few enough ingredients that you could purchase all of them in the express lane of your local supermarket on the way home from work.) After sautéeing the halibut, the fish is removed from the pan, which is then deglazed with white wine and fresh lemon juice. Butter is swirled in gradually to yield a rich, flavorful sauce — punctuated by scallions, capers, and diced tomato — that is simply poured over the fish; its pleasing citric acidity and buttery richness make it a perfect foil for the halibut.

Even though Aux Delices des Bois left Tribeca, Thierry and I still love Zutto, the sushi bar that was near our warehouse. It dates back to when Tribeca's cast-iron canopies cast their shadows on silent streets at night. Its metal loading dock held two tables, the precursor to the neighborhood's current profusion of loading-dock cafes. One evening the sushi chef, Albert Tse, made us this special dish, using a fish from each of the seven seas. Kind of like a Japanese version of the ancient French dish Coquilles St-Jacques, it combines fin fish and aromatic oyster mushrooms with the scallops and sharpens the flavor with rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, and seaweed. If scallop shells aren't handy, use any ovenproof baking dish.

We adapted this recipe from Big Bowl Noodles and Rice, by Bruce Cost with Matt McMillin (HarperCollins). Cost likes to stuff dried black Asian"flower" mushrooms. Because these can be expensive and hard to find, we asked if we could try fresh shiitake mushrooms instead. Cost agreed, and we loved the results. Look for shiitakes with caps that have rounded edges to better hold the stuffing. Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 1 hr

Portobellos make this simple dish shine. It's from Alfred Portale's 12 Seasons Cookbook written with Andrew Friedman (Broadway Books). Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 45 min

Osso buco is a traditional Italian dish of veal shanks simmered in a pungent tomato sauce and topped with gremolata. Ming Tsai's clever version is made with fish.

Begin by offering crisp breadsticks with roasted red peppers, black olives and marinated artichoke hearts on a bed of arugula. Follow the stew with apple pie.

At the restaurant the chef garnishes this dish with fresh seasonal flowers, chervil, and chives.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The saffron adds not only a lovely aroma but vivid color as well. Open a bottle of Chardonnay to go with the meal.

Serve with Garlic Mashed Potatoes. You don't know where the fish ends and the potatoes begin in this beautiful and satisfying dish Chef Desmond, of Island Cottage on Hare Island in Ireland, uses turbot that comes from the waters off nearby Clear Island. We call for halibut, which is more readily available here.

The flavorful olive salad is also nice with sea bass, red snapper or tuna. Serve with steamed new potatoes, and uncork a Sauvignon Blanc to go with dinner.

A nod to what could arguably be the dish of the eighties, blackened redfish. The technique works equally well with halibut.

This recipe is from Ellyn Goodrich, one of the 5,000 Jews who live in Alaska (the "Chosen Frozen," as they call themselves). The fish is baked in a bundt pan and unmolded, for a festive look.

If you would rather use swordfish or sea bass, by all means do. Whatever the choice, grill some zucchini that have been quartered lengthwise, and toss egg noodles with butter and fresh black pepper. Then finish the meal with sliced strawberries topped with sour cream and brown sugar. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Delicious with orzo or rice.