Large Shrimp

"Good Chinese food is no more difficult to cook than good Italian food."That's the opinion of a former librarian who turned her love of cooking into one of the most successful and innovative restaurants in the country. A quick flip through her first cookbook, "Susanna Foo Chinese Cuisine," by Susanna Foo (Chapters, $35), proves just how creative yet simple Chinese cooking can be.The native of Inner Mongolia grew up in Taiwan, studied library science in the United States, and learned to cook from members of the family and from professional chefs.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The price of shrimp has come down in recent years, so now this delectable shellfish can appear on our tables more often. For busy cooks, shrimp should be a favorite choice, as it is one of the fastest-cooking foods. Shrimp are easier to shell than most shellfish, and they are less temperamental in the pan than many fish, as they don't fall apart when stirred.Freshly cooked shrimp have far better flavor and texture than shrimp that you buy already cooked. An easy technique that I use is to cook shrimp directly in a sauce.

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.

Many people love seafood baked in a creamy sauce with buttery bread crumb topping. Unfortunately, many of the same people would prefer to avoid the calories and fat these foods contain.Creamed seafood casseroles with crunchy topping contains about half the fat of traditional recipes because they're made with evaporated skim milk instead of cream. Evaporated skim milk contains 60 percent less water than ordinary skim milk, so it has a richer flavor and creamier texture. Yet it contains less than a half-gram of total fat in 1 cup and has a fraction of the saturated fat of whole milk.

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.