Large Shrimp

In search of ideas for simple fare that would work inside or out, I found dozens of innovative ideas in Park Kerr's new book, "Burning Desires," a cookbook of Salsa, Smoke and Sizzle (William Morrow, $15). In his newest Tex-Mex border food companion, Mr. Kerr writes that every zesty morsel in his recipes is kissed by fire, touched by fragrant smoke or blessed by the heat of chilies, i.e. grilled, smoked or heated by spices. Particularly intriguing, was his Hot Lips Spiced Shrimp, which is fast and fiery.

One of my brothers-in-law lives in Louisiana, where shrimp is easily come by and no budget-breaker. That's where I first ate this wonderful dish, universally referred to throughout the Deep South as Barbecued Shrimp, even though a grill doesn't come within a mile of the meal. This recipe is among the few shrimp dishes that doesn't mind if the shrimp came from the freezer. It's a great casual dish. Eating with your hands - peeling the shrimp, dunking the bread in the pan juices - helps everybody relax and have fun. Robin Mather Jenkins writes for the Chicago Tribune, which provided the recipe analysis.

This dish was a signature item in my California restaurant years ago, but it's come a long way since then.It began as a recipe in my co-authored book, "The Aphrodisiac Cookbook," and keeps surfacing as a favorite among readers. It has always been a flash saute but needed some calorie trimming. In the updated recipe below, no flavor has been lost by trading what was an excessive amount of butter for a minute amount of olive oil and a nonstick pan.The recipe is best served over a starch to absorb the flavorful juices.

What better way to enjoy a summer evening than kicking back at the beach house, sipping margaritas on the deck and dining on fresh seafood and produce from the local markets? Cookbook author Barbara Scott-Goodman captures the evocative moods of summer in her latest book, The Beach House Cookbook (Chronicle, 2005, $24.95). Aided by 156 pages of color photography, the book contains 75 recipes of mostly traditional beach fare: seafood chowders; lobster rolls; boiled lobster; steamed mussels; grilled vegetables and fruit cobblers and sundaes.

Merry shrimpmas, all you prawn lovers. It's your lucky season. Party trays are loaded with the prized crustaceans at this time of year.In fact, most of the shrimp sold annually is served in December.It's a tradition for party-goers to eat most of the shrimp on a buffet in the first 15 minutes of a party. When we asked a couple of pros how they foil the shrimp hogs, caterer Susan Lancione, of Akron, Ohio, had a confession to make: "There are always going to be that type of people, and I'm one of them," she said.

There aren't many restaurants that would lure me to Westminster, but Paradiso Ristorante is one of them.Food tastes authentically Italian here. Not cookie-cutter Italian-American.Salvatore and June Romeo have owned Paradiso since 1992, but moved the restaurant across the street to a renovated Sherwood Distillery building last June.In the small dining room, the walls, trim and exposed ceiling are painted the deepest shade of green. Brass candle lamps with green shades provide intimate lighting at the cherrywood tables and wide upholstered booths in the room.

Don't dismiss orange juice as merely the breakfast beverage of choice. Imagine its vibrant juicy sweetness in a savory sauce. Married with a little spiciness, in this case, scallions and jalapeno chilies, and then enriched with cream and dry vermouth, orange juice makes a delectable sauce. Top a bed of pasta with the Valencia sauce, shrimp, fresh basil and crunchy pistachios and you have an irresistible entree prepared in less than 30 minutes.(For another meal one day, try orange juice as a replacement for part of the oil in a salad dressing or marinade.

Given the amount of money that must have been poured into building the harbor's newest restaurant, Victor's Cafe is startlingly under-publicized.Hardly anyone seems to know about Victor's, and that's too bad. I want it to hold on until spring, when its upper and lower decks will offer some of Baltimore's best waterside tables. It hardly matters how the food is when you've got a view like Victor's. But as a matter of fact, the food is quite decent.You'd think Victor's would be packing 'em in. All the hottest trends are represented here: A menu with plenty of choices under $15. Straightforward grilled food with Mediterranean and Southwestern touches.

One of my brothers-in-law lives in Louisiana, where shrimp is easily come by and no budget-breaker. That's where I first ate this wonderful dish, universally referred to throughout the Deep South as Barbecued Shrimp, even though a grill doesn't come within a mile of the meal. This recipe is among the few shrimp dishes that doesn't mind if the shrimp came from the freezer. It's a great casual dish. Eating with your hands - peeling the shrimp, dunking the bread in the pan juices - helps everybody relax and have fun. Robin Mather Jenkins writes for the Chicago Tribune, which provided the recipe analysis.

More than 100 "Gourmet Gents" are warming up their !B saucepans in preparation for the third annual Gourmet Gents of Baltimore Taste Extravaganza next Sunday. Participants include Mayor Kurt Schmoke, chef Benny Gordon, Meldon Hollis, chair of the Urban League board, and Stuart O. Simms, Maryland secretary of juvenile justice. Dishes last year ranged from chicken salad to Louisiana-style gumbo.The event, which begins at 2 p.m. at Martin's West, Beltway and Security Boulevard, is organized by the Baltimore chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, and all proceeds benefit the advocacy group's community service programs.

Around this time of the year, I find myself staring at the calendar, which has proudly proclaimed the arrival of spring. But just because it's official doesn't mean Mother Nature has taken the message, particularly in New England, where I live. Days are still chilly here, and our yard is far from the vibrant green it will be in another month. I've come to think of the beginning weeks of the new season as a transitional time, when winter hangs on with a touch of cold while spring gently tries to make an appearance with longer days and by coaxing the arrival of early bulbs and herbs, now peeking through the ground.

When it opened almost a decade ago, Liberatore's was the hot ticket in Timonium. Surprisingly, this expensive Italian restaurant hasn't cooled down much since then. Even on a Tuesday night in August, almost every table was filled. Partly it's the location, in a fairly affluent area filled with family places and chains but not many upscale restaurants. But mostly it's because Liberatore's delivers the goods. So many restaurants that opened in the '90s were hip little bistros or fusion restaurants in the minimalist mold.

I love to include polenta wedges or squares as side dishes in planning menus for entertaining. For the past few months, though, I have been experimenting with cooking the softer variety almost completely in advance and quickly finishing it when needed. Soft polenta has a creamy-smooth consistency. I was delighted with the results and began exploring variations, one of which follows. For a fall menu, you could offer boiled artichokes as a first course, follow with the shrimp and polenta, and finish with poached pears and homemade or bakery-purchased cookies.

Long before science proved that chicken soup really does do some good for a cold -- about 3000 B.C., in fact -- the Chinese already had discovered that certain plants and food combinations had healing properties.A new cookbook, "A Spoonful of Ginger" (Knopf, $30), by Nina Simonds phrases the argument in culinary terms, with some interesting recipes that are sure to soothe the senses if not the body.Simonds' book says flat-out on the cover that the recipes inside are "health-giving." Chinese cooking authority Simonds makes the claim based on personal research she has done since her first trip to Asia in 1972.

There aren't many restaurants that would lure me to Westminster, but Paradiso Ristorante is one of them.Food tastes authentically Italian here. Not cookie-cutter Italian-American.Salvatore and June Romeo have owned Paradiso since 1992, but moved the restaurant across the street to a renovated Sherwood Distillery building last June.In the small dining room, the walls, trim and exposed ceiling are painted the deepest shade of green. Brass candle lamps with green shades provide intimate lighting at the cherrywood tables and wide upholstered booths in the room.

My husband and I are only moderately competent when it comes to computers, but the students at the college where my spouse teaches are whizzes. So, a few weeks ago when we needed to have a new program installed in our computer, we asked a gifted young sophomore to come and help us. When we inquired about his hourly rates, he responded that a home-cooked meal was all he wanted. I was delighted to take care of this request and tried to plan a meal that would be more enticing than those offered in the school's cafeteria.

Food has always been one of the best incentives to travel. "World Class Cuisine," a television show on the Discovery Channel, and the title of the companion cookbook by Gail Grecco (Rutledge Hill Press) brings the faraway shores of Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Scotland and England to our doorstep.This production focuses on the elegant cuisines of these foreign lands. While the travelog highlights the recipes, it also shows the fresh-air markets, butchers and the inns or restaurants that are important points along the culinary landscape.

The only dine-in Chinese restaurant on Pasadena's Mountain Road peninsula has undergone an amazing transformation.Good but not remarkable in its days as the Lotus Garden, the tiny restaurant quietly closed with nary a sign of farewell. It reopened a few weeks ago under new management and with a new name: China Garden Restaurant.But for our money -- and very little money at that -- it was nearly a Garden of Paradise.Induced by an impending deadline for our restaurant review, a "grand opening" banner and a coupon in a neighborhood flier offering the second appetizer at half-price (remember, we're the cheap guys)

Given the amount of money that must have been poured into building the harbor's newest restaurant, Victor's Cafe is startlingly under-publicized.Hardly anyone seems to know about Victor's, and that's too bad. I want it to hold on until spring, when its upper and lower decks will offer some of Baltimore's best waterside tables. It hardly matters how the food is when you've got a view like Victor's. But as a matter of fact, the food is quite decent.You'd think Victor's would be packing 'em in. All the hottest trends are represented here: A menu with plenty of choices under $15. Straightforward grilled food with Mediterranean and Southwestern touches.