This flavorful pork with its tasty slaw is fun to serve at a buffet because it lets guests make their own wraps. Even my grandchildren like it.

Delicious po’ boys are hard to come by unless you are lucky enough to make a trip down to the South. Food always tastes better when you get the chance to eat at their place of origin! Unfortunately, I live in New York, which is pretty darn far away from Louisiana, so it was my mission to re-create what I think a shrimp po’ boy tastes like from Louisiana. A lot of people like to put in already made Creole seasoning from the grocery store in their recipe, but I found that it tended to be way too salty and I'd rather be able to control the spice and salt levels myself. However, if you prefer the convenience of using premade Creole seasoning, go for it! Just be careful with how salty it can be.

While enthusiastically volunteering to test this recipe, I must admit I didn't read the recipe in its entirety when doing so. I had no idea of the time involved (or how many supermarkets I would have to go to find corn husks—and in Los Angeles!). So I enlisted the help of my unsuspecting teenage daughter, tearing her away from her beloved electronic equipment. The flavor of the actual tamales was very tasty with it's subtle hint of honey and cumin and the shrimp and crema were a delicious combination of spicy and creamy. We had a fun and hilarious afternoon assembling the tamales (a very rare occurrence in the world of teenage parenting), and would highly recommend this recipe and project for a weekend.

This is an "at home" deconstructed variation on sushi or sashimi, where sushi rice is placed in a bowl or on a plate and topped with seafood and vegetables. I cooked the rice in green tea and also cured the salmon with it, while the shrimp cooked themselves in the hot, sweet tea. Garnish with green onion and cucumber, and serve with a little wasabi and soy sauce if you like. Start 3 days before serving.

I like to make these spring rolls with shredded green papaya, but they weren't in season when I made the ones pictured. These can be made with rice noodle or the green papaya. It's lighter and easier to eat than the pan fried Pad Thai we're used to. The mint and cilantro keeps it light. Then there's the flavor combination of umami, sweet, tangy with the crunch of a carrots, cucumber and peanuts.

In this dressy seafood pasta, mariaraynal layers in all sorts of lovely ingredients -- the last minute splash of saffron citrus butter hits you first. If you'd like more to pass at the table, I'd suggest upping the butter and white wine amounts, which will free more of the seasonings to slide through the tangle of shrimp shells.

Today, I have spent way too much time obsessing over shrimp recipes to make this weekend. I feel a bit like Forrest Gump, when he reels off all of the different ways shrimp can be cooked. It makes it hard to choose. When I saw this week's theme, it all came together. This particular recipe is based on one from Julia Child. Here, you SAUTE, FLAMBE, and then add some yummy accoutrements: shallots, diced tomatoes, and fresh herbs. The shrimp and its inebriated sauce are delicious served over rice or with French bread. As you bring the plates to the table, try to do a JETE (a leap with one leg in front; the other leg in back)....just because it rhymes.

A heart-warming, savory dish best reserved for those times when you absolutely need everyone to gather around the table.

This tasty pasta dish left me wondering why on earth I had never tossed pasta with a cilantro pesto before—I may never ever go back to basil pesto. The vibrant Latin flavors of the lime and cilantro work beautifully transformed into a just-barely-creamy sauce for the pasta. And the sweet tender shrimp are just as comfortable and delicious nestled in this fusion pasta as they would be in either shrimp scampi or shrimp tacos. It may seem odd at first that the recipe calls for no salt (except the pasta water), but with the amount of flavor packed into the sauce, the little salty accent of the feta is all that's needed. I'll definitely be making this one again.