When I made my clove-infused shrimp the other day, I made enough for several meals. One way to stretch the amount of meat or fish you have available is to chop it and put it into a grain-based dish, in this case an Italian shrimp risotto.

I like seafood risotto, which is a Northern Italian way of cooking their short and medium-grain rice, because risottos are a perfect use for the fish stock I make with the heads and bones of the fish I catch. A good seafood stock can elevate a risotto from good to great; but don't be scared off if you can't find any -- chicken stock works as well.

While this shrimp risotto looks fancy, all I did was cram it into an old tin can with the bottom cut out -- a poor man's circle mold. This gives the dish a nicer presentation and let me top it with the cheeks of a Calfornia halibut I came home with the other day. Top your "fancy" risotto the next time you have guests over with something lovely like caviar, a shelled lobster claw, or even just a whole shrimp.

Photo copyright 2008 Hank Shaw

Life has been busy lately and as the weather warms, I've been looking for savory seafood dishes I can eat cold when I catch a break for lunch. Salads fit the bill, and while I like a traditional tuna salad, that's not what I'm talking about here.

Nope, I prefer to look to Asia and Europe for my seafood salads, and I've found a Spanish-style shrimp salad scented with cloves and thyme to be delicious and easy. It begs to be eaten with crusty bread, and an icy glass of lemon or limeade -- if you're at work.

If you're off the job, switch to a buttery Chardonnay or a Spanish Albarino. But truth be told, these shrimp even go well with a Bud. But don't forget the bread!

Photo copyright 2008 Hank Shaw

Kedgeree is a British dish said to have been developed by the colonialists in India when Great Britain controlled that country. The original version hinges on finnan haddie, which is a smoked haddock from Scotland, rice, curry powder, hard-cooked eggs and cilantro. This is a fine kedgeree, and I make it whenever I happen on smoked haddock.

But that isn't terribly often, so I have made a more uniquely American version of kedgeree with smoked king salmon and that most American of ingredients, wild rice.

Copyright 2008 Hank Shaw

Unagi. One of the most accessible items on a sushi menu, this rich savory broiled eel can also be bought vacuum-sealed and frozen in Asian markets. It's almost as good as the real thing, for which I am developing a recipe -- and truth be told, many sushi restaurants buy theirs frozen, too.

Eating pre-barbecued unagi eel, which is a freshwater eel native to Japan, is an experience. Unagi is high in fat (the good kind), high in protein and very dense. Remember eel is just a funny-looking fish, so don't be scared.

And once you have some pre-made unagi on hand, you can whip up an easy Japanese-style rice dish in about 30 minutes. It's a great meal you can make after a tough day at work -- and it goes great with a beer, too.

Photo copyright 2008 Hank Shaw

As healthy as eating seafood is, there is no doubt that some fish contain toxins that can hurt us. industrial use of mercury that gets into our water supply is the chief culprit, mostly affecting children and women of child-bearing age. Now a new study in Texas suggests that there is a link between mercury and autism, a disorder that has skyrocketed in recent years.

The bottom line: If you catch fish, pay attention to your community's fish consumption guidelines, which are usually available online with your state or local health department. And when you buy fish, know that species higher on the food chain -- striped bass, tuna, swordfish, sharks -- will often have higher mercury content that little fish such as mackerel or shad.

If you live on the Pacific Coast, springtime is when the sweet little Manila clams are in fine form. Manila clams are sweeter and more tender than the native Pacific Littleneck, and are being sustainably farmed throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Try these morsels with a springtime pasta dish, a fish soup or even on the halfshell. And Manila clams are usually inexpensive -- so you easily can buy an extra dozen when you pick some up for dinner.

Photo Copyright 2008 Hank Shaw

I've noticed that my octopus recipes have been getting a lot of attention lately, so I reckoned I ought to provide you with a way to tenderize what can otherwise be an incredibly chewy critter.

Octopus can be so rubbery it's inedible, but properly prepared it is dense, sweet and richer than lobster. And it's cheap: I bought a five-pounder at a Mexican market the other day for $10.

The trick is to braise the octo for ages over a bed of herbs at very low heat. This is how a lot of Greeks do their octopus, and the renowned food scientist Harold McGee codified this technique in a recent New York Times article.

My directions are a combination of what I learned from years of trial and error, with a little help from McGee.

It is becoming easier and easier to find really phenomenal preserved tuna these days; I say "preserved tuna" because the best comes in glass jars, not cans. But I cringe whenever I hear about someone buying a $20 can of Spanish or Italian tuna and slathering it with mayo the way you would with the kind of canned tuna your mom used to buy.

In order to really appreciate good tuna, you need tuna salad recipes that are off the beaten track. There are lots of Sicilian recipes for tuna, and the French and Spanish have some excellent ones as well. And mind you, mayo isn't evil -- it just needs to be used with a very light hand with this kind of tuna.

Some cooks are taking things one step further by making their own "tunafish." It's pretty easy: You flavor some olive oil, then poach albacore tuna in it over low heat for several hours. It's a great way to get that high-quality tuna taste without haveing to spend an arm and a leg for it.

Photo copyright 2008 Hank Shaw

Sometimes recipes just present themselves to you. Spring is in full swing here, and I have been spending time lately prepping for our annual Greek party, so Greek recipes are on my mind. I'd gone fishing the other day and brought home a striped bass, and it was so beautiful I wanted to do something special with it.

I'd been making a big batch of Greek tomato sauce -- which hinges on the sweet red wine Mavrodaphne and a cinnamon stick -- and was eyeing a couple fennel bulbs I'd taken from my garden that morning. Why not combine them?

After all, remember that tomato sauce is not just for beef and pork: Think cioppino, zuppa di pesce, sardines and mackerel -- all require the sweet, acidic zing of a simple tomato sauce. How was it? Fabulous.

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Every spring we throw a huge Greek-inspired party that has me scurrying around all week preparing enough food to feed 75 people. Not everyone will eat the whole lamb I order for the party's main meal, so I surround it with a constellation of seafood dishes.

One of the big hits is this octopus salad, which is my version of a common meze (Greek appetizer) that always seems to attract the curious. The keys are to slow-cook the octopus and to make a fresh, green oregano oil to dress the salad.

Photo Copyright 2008 Hank Shaw