Salmon

The river port that welcomed presidents, generals and occasional gangsters is offering 21st- century visitors a walk through its history. Havre de Grace, which overlooks the confluence of the Susquehanna River and the Chesapeake Bay, has lined up guides well-versed in local lore for its first-ever Haunted History and Ghost Walk Tour. "Don't take any spirits home with you," Mike Salmon cautioned a group of about 20 taking the mile walk through city streets on a brisk fall evening. As they set off from a tavern on Washington Street, a ghoulish character whispered, "I hope everyone makes it back all right."

A recipe for salmon croquettes called for cooked salmon. I have some wild salmon and was wondering how best to cook that for the croquettes. Wild salmon is a treasure that I don't think you should waste in making croquettes, where its glorious flavor and taste will be buried under other ingredients. We recently came into possession of a whole fillet of wild salmon when my niece sent us one after she and her husband returned from an Alaskan fishing trip. My wife carefully thawed the fillet in the refrigerator and cut it into generous single-serving pieces.

Our son, his wife and their kids live in Boston, only an hour and a half drive away from us, so I often invite them to come for the weekend. I make them an offer that's hard to refuse: free babysitting and home-cooked food. However, the menus I prepare for the family, which includes two active youngsters younger than the age of 5, are always limited. They have to be uncomplicated and certainly not time consuming. My son and his crew all adore seafood, so when I recently spotted a recipe in a French cookbook for pan-grilled fish topped with a quick caper vinaigrette, I knew it would make a perfect entree to serve on their next visit.

Barbara Tropp, the late San Francisco restaurateur and author, dubbed these "gold coin" cakes in her China Moon Cookbook because of their round shape and golden color. These salmon patties are treasures, rich with minced ginger, garlic, green onions and chili sauce. Over the years, I've adapted the recipe to my taste, adding little cubes of sweet bell pepper, dropping the minced cilantro, using saltine crackers instead of bread for binder and - always - serving them with a simple aioli sauce made with prepared mayonnaise.

Cold fish may be a pejorative term when applied to a person, but to a pretty piece of summer salmon, simmered gently in aromatic liquid and chilled for serving, it's actually a compliment. Poaching is an easy, low-fat treatment for any kind of fish in hot weather. Though this method does involve some cooking, the fish can be prepared hours ahead - perhaps at a cooler time of day - and served cold with a refreshing salad or vegetables. If you need your fish in a hurry, poaching works, too. Poaching also invites experimentation.

This dish recently made a brief seasonal appearance at Bonefish Grill restaurants, including those in Owings Mills and Glen Burnie. Before starting, you'll need to soak eight untreated pieces of cedar plank, about 5 inches by 3 inches each, in water for at least three hours. WILD ALASKAN CEDAR PLANK SALMON WITH CHORIZO TOPPING MAKES 8 SERVINGS 8 7-ounce fillets wild Alaskan salmon CHORIZO TOPPING: 1 pound chorizo sausage 1 cup brown seasoned bread crumbs zest of 1 medium-size lemon BONEFISH LEMON-BUTTER SAUCE: 1 / 2 cup dry white wine 3 tablespoons lemon juice 1 / 4 cup heavy cream 2 teaspoons salt 10 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter To make chorizo topping: Cook sausage to well-done over a fire-burning grill, then refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.

My husband, a quintessential extrovert, never met a stranger, so after several decades of living with him, I'm no longer surprised when he mentions that he's invited friends over for wine and appetizers. He often asks a group of his fellow professors who are working on a project together to meet at our house for drinks, or he'll arrive home from work, announcing that he's met some new people I am certain to like, and that they can stop by for cocktails on such and such a day. He reasons that having guests in for sips and nibbles is not the same as a dinner party, so he can be spontaneous.

A summer night in paradise, supper in the back yard, and the neighbors' elderly cat, who is on his last legs, wanders over, smelling the salmon on our grill, walking as if his feet hurt. He's got the old cat blues. He wakes up in the morning and everything tastes like turpentine; he feels like going down to the railroad line and letting the 4:19 pacify his troubled mind. My wife serves him a piece of salmon and he eats slowly, savoring the fish oil. He is 15 years old, and this likely will be his last summer, and a fine one it is. In Minnesota, we look forward to these warm summer nights.

Poaching fish in liquid is an age-old method that ensures moist, tender results. But chefs of late have been experimenting with poaching seafood in olive oil, claiming you get the same moist results but with the boost of flavor that comes from the oil. We tried the method with a salmon fillet. The key is low heat and slow cooking. The fillet came out moist throughout with an almost but not quite flaky texture. Any type of sturdy fish fillets or steaks may be cooked with this simple method.

Seafood lovers who have been following fish news know that it's going to be a long spring. Salmon, the king of the season's fish, is missing in action and its prices are likely to stay high through the summer. But, as Momma used to say, there's never a door that closes without a window opening somewhere else. This season's silver lining is Pacific halibut, which, thanks to the salmon shortage, might finally get its moment in the spotlight. Halibut is a fish with charms all its own. While salmon is rich and assertive, halibut is mild-mannered.