Clam

Food Editor: Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez
Father: Alexander J. Miraglia, Howard Beach, NY
No matter what Italian restaurant we visit, my dad can't seem to resist ordering linguine with clams. Although they're not technically clams, cockles work best in this dish, since they're very small and have tender, sweet flesh. You can identify them by their tiny size (about 1/2 to 1 inch across) and green-tinged shells.

This variation on paella uses Israeli couscous in place of rice.

This tomato-based chowder tastes a bit like Creole jambalaya. Because the broth can be prepared one day ahead, the recipe is especially convenient for dinner parties.

Nice, being by the sea, offers interesting fish dishes. One of these is poutargue, made with dried and smoked roe, which you will find in some delicatessen shops. The roe should be grated or finely chopped. To every 2 cups add 1 cup chopped hard-cooked egg, 1 cup finely chopped onion, a dash of lemon juice and enough olive oil to blend all. Another dish from the sea is raïto or rayte. This is traditional on Christmas Eve throughout Provence. It is reminiscent of other fish stews, including the chioppino of California.

This "red sauce meets Guido in Little Italy" classic has much more to do with the clams than what you may be used to eating. Note that the bread crumbs here are fresh—that is to say, made only from today's bread, not from day-old bread (and definitely not the kind that comes in a can).

The bold flavors of Spain's famous paella-sausage, seafood and saffron-meet the luscious, creamy texture of Italy's risotto in this beautiful rice dish. Pour a chilled dry white wine during dinner, and offer flan for dessert.

(Pasta allo Scoglio) Tuscany is not famous for its seafood dishes, but fantastic fresh fish and shellfish are available all along the coast. A scoglio is a rocky seashore, and in the traditional pasta allo scoglio, only shellfish from the rugged Mediterranean seaside can be used in the sauce. Many kinds of fish are included in the various renditions prepared up and down the Tuscan coast today. Watch how to clean and prepare shellfish and how to make your own pasta.

A fabulous all-in-one dish, similar to paella, from Lucques in Los Angeles.

There's a lot of liquid here, so be sure to use a very large pot to prepare the stew.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This dish is named after the copper Portuguese cooking vessel, the cataplana, in which it is traditionally cooked.

"I got the inspiration for this recipe from a dish we made in a cooking class I took recently," says Tracy McGillis of San Francisco, California. "I added a few twists and came up with my own tasty version."

Most cookware stores carry baker's peels (wooden, paddle-like implements used to slide pizza into ovens) and pizza stones; these tools make it easy to create a crust with character, but good crusts also require a very hot oven. In our experience, the most common flaw in home-made pizza is mozzarella overdose: Too much of it smothers the rest of the pie, causing what's below to steam into softness. The following pie is made without any mozzarella at all. Needless to say, the roster of toppings is flexible.

Active time: 50 min Start to finish: 50 min Goodale's, on Second Avenue in New York City, became a favorite watering hole of Gourmet's staff after the magazine moved into its new headquarters at 777 Third Avenue in 1965. Goodale's owner, Perce, was renowned for wearing Bermuda shorts all year round. He also gave his name to this popular appetizer. Baked clams were a favorite first course in the '60s, but were often disappointing mushy mounds with nary a minced clam to be found. Goodale's version, which features whole clams and uses packaged stuffing, is the best and most straightforward we've tasted.

It's best to shuck your own clams, but if you buy them on the half shell, be sure to ask for the clam liquor.

Chef Jody Adams of Rialto at The Charles Hotel in Cambridge is famous for this type of rustic dish. At the restaurant she serves the stew on mashed potatoes.

The Mediterranean fish soup bourride is something like a bouillabaisse but has a consistency more like stew. Instead of putting the aïoli directly into the soup, as is traditional, Adams likes to dollop it onto toasts.

Jody Adams makes this dish in a 14-inch cast-iron skillet with a lid, but since that size is rare in home kitchens, we've adapted the recipe for a roasting pan.