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For many years a professional cook who specialized in seafood dishes prepared the meals at my parents’ house. Pedro Rocha would go to the fish market with my dad, bring home whatever had been caught that day, and turn it into an incredible meal for the family or for my father’s friends (who often came just for the food). Many of my seafood dishes are inspired by or derived from dishes Pedro taught me to make. This is one of them, and it’s always a favorite with my friends. As soon as we figure out how to get Pedro a passport, we’re opening a fish restaurant in the United States!

Arrange the oysters, preferably over crushed ice, on a platter.

Mix the onion, cilantro, lime juice, clam-tomato juice if using, Maggi sauce, Worcestershire sauce, serrano chile, and hot sauce in a medium bowl. Season the salsa to taste with a little salt. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the salsa over each oyster, and serve immediately.

TIJUANA-STYLE SUSHI ROLL

SERVES 4 TO 6

¾ cup whole milk

2 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

2 cups (loosely packed) fresh spinach

1 cup (loosely packed) fresh cilantro

½ cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 serrano chile, stemmed and seeded

Salt

2 mangoes, peeled and pitted

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon soy sauce

½ teaspoon dry mustard

¼ teaspoon wasabi paste

Freshly ground black pepper

Nonstick cooking spray

8 ounces lump crabmeat, picked over to remove any shell and cartilage

1 teaspoon hot chile sauce (such as sriracha)

1 teaspoon masago caviar

8 medium cooked shrimp, peeled and halved lengthwise

1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, and thinly sliced

I had to include Baja sushi because I think the fusion of Asian techniques and Mexican ingredients is phenomenal! This recipe, which uses a spinach crêpe as a wrapper instead of nori (seaweed), comes from my friend Andres Brambila, who owns Negai, a wonderful sushi restaurant in Tijuana.

Combine the milk, eggs, and egg yolk in a blender and blend to combine. Add the spinach, cilantro, flour, butter, serrano chile, and ½ teaspoon salt, and blend until very smooth. Transfer the crêpe batter to a medium bowl. Let the batter stand for 30 minutes.

In a clean blender, blend the mangoes with the mayonnaise, sugar, soy sauce, dry mustard, and wasabi paste until smooth. Season the mango sauce to taste with salt and black pepper.

Heat a crêpe pan, or a nonstick skillet measuring 6 to 7 inches across the bottom, over moderate heat until it is hot. Spray the pan lightly with nonstick cooking spray, and heat it until it is hot but not smoking. Add a scant ¼ cup of the crêpe batter to the pan. Immediately tilt and rotate the pan quickly to cover the bottom with a layer of batter. Cook the crêpe for 1 minute, or until the top appears almost dry. Loosen the edge of the crêpe with a spatula, turn the crêpe over, and cook the other side lightly. Transfer the crêpe to a plate. Make more crêpes with the remaining batter in the same manner, spraying the pan lightly with nonstick cooking spray as necessary and stacking them one on top of the other on the plate. (The crêpes can be made 3 days in advance, wrapped in plastic wrap, and chilled.)

Mix the crabmeat, hot chile sauce, and masago in a small bowl.

Place 1 crêpe on a work surface and spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of the crab mixture down the center of the crêpe. Top with 2 shrimp halves and 2 or 3 avocado slices. Roll up the crêpe into a cylinder. Cut it into 4 equal pieces, as you would a sushi roll. Spread 1 tablespoon of the mango sauce on a plate. Place the sliced roll on top of the sauce. Repeat with the remaining crêpes, filling, and sauce.

JALAPEÑO AND CHEESE STUFFED OLIVES

SERVES 4 TO 6

One 21-ounce jar large jalapeño-stuffed olives

2 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, cut into matchstick-size strips

1 cup fresh bread crumbs

2 large eggs

½ cup all-purpose flour

Olive oil, for panfrying

I was visiting my father one afternoon when unexpected guests stopped by for a game of futbol. He turned to me and said, “Quick,