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Kitchen Note: Although you can buy cocktail sauce, it is easy to mix it up in your kitchen, making just enough for one meal. Start with ¾ cup ketchup and add 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish. Taste. Add more horseradish if you like. You can also add 1 to 2 tablespoons of lemon or lime juice. And that’s about it.

Moules Marinière with Leeks

Serves 4

Years ago, traveling in France with my soon-to-be husband and choosing restaurants from the France on $5 a Day guidebook, we fell in love with moules marinière (mussels in white wine). A good thing, too, because it was usually the least expensive option on the prix fixe menus. I’ve added leeks and canned tomatoes to the traditional broth to make it more of a main dish. This must be served with French bread to mop up the broth.

4 pounds mussels in their shells

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 leeks, trimmed and sliced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1½ cups white wine

1½ cups diced tomatoes with juice, or 1 (15-ounce) can Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 Scrub the mussels under cold running water, pulling off any beards hanging from the shells. Discard any mussels that do not close if tapped on a counter. Also discard those with broken shells. Set the cleaned mussels aside.

2 Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the leeks and garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 3 minutes.

3 Increase the heat, add the white wine and tomatoes, and let simmer for 10 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Season with salt and pepper.

4 Add the mussels. Cover the pan and steam for about 7 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally to ensure even cooking. Check to see if the mussels have opened. If not, cover and let cook for 1 to 2 minutes longer, until all the shells are open. Remove from the heat and discard any mussels that have not opened.

5 Ladle the broth and mussels into bowls and serve.

Kitchen Note: A good fishmonger will inspect each mussel and discard any dead ones. If the supermarket sells bagged mussels, you may want to buy extra because inevitably some will have broken shells and need to be discarded.

Clam Pot Pie

Serves 6

Swanson made famous the chicken pot pie and, to a far lesser extent, the tuna pie. But, in fact, seafood pies are an Atlantic seaboard classic, from Hudson Bay all the way down coastal New England. The fish may change from cod to clams and the topping from short crust to biscuit, but the basic goodness of seafood, potatoes, and carrots in a creamy sauce remains unchanged.

FILLING

1 pound thin-skinned potatoes, peeled and diced 1 carrot, peeled and diced

1 large celery root, peeled and diced

2 cups chopped fresh clams, or 2 (6.5-ounce) cans chopped clams

2 (8-ounce) bottles clam juice

6 tablespoons butter

1 shallot or ½ small onion, diced

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

½ cup dry white wine

1 teaspoon dried thyme Salt and freshly ground black pepper

BISCUIT TOPPING

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons baking powder

1½ teaspoons salt

2/3 cup butter, cut into small pieces

1 cup buttermilk

1 Cover the potatoes with salted water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. When the potatoes come to a boil, add the carrot and celery root, cover, and cook until the vegetables are just tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Drain.

2 Drain the clams, reserving the juice in a large glass measuring cup. Add the clam juice. You should have 3 cups. Add water if needed to make up the difference.

3 Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot and sauté until softened, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and stir until all the flour is absorbed into the butter. Whisk in the 3 cups clam juice and the wine and cook, stirring, until thickened and smooth. Stir in the drained vegetables and thyme. Taste and adjust the seasoning; be cautious with the salt and generous with the pepper. Bring to a boil. Keep hot while you prepare the biscuit topping.

4 Preheat the oven to 400°F. Set out a 9- by 13-inch baking dish.

5 Combine the flour, baking powder,