Renee Erickson

Every Christmas Eve, chef Renee Erickson goes crabbing with her family and friends—then they make this simple and decadent pasta.

The dressing also makes a great dip for crudités.

A dead-simple shellfish dish that is pure Erickson: ocean-adoring, dairy-rich, fun to eat.

Chef Erickson has access to the best seafood anywhere; when it comes to sardines, she goes with Matiz sardines in olive oil.

In this otherwise straightforward chicken dish, cashews are transformed into a creamy sauce, and candied spiced walnuts are used as a crunchy topper.

If you can’t find Little Gem, use any other small crunchy green, such as romaine hearts.

This all-in-one brunch dish is both luxurious to eat and easy to make.

Find hot-smoked salmon, a Pacific Northwest delicacy, at specialty grocers.

This low-heat method is very gentle, lending the salmon a velvety texture.

Both the salmon and the artichokes are poached in spice- and herb-infused liquids, adding layers of subtle aromatic flavor.

Crème fraîche delivers tang along with creamy butterfat to this deconstructed salad; Greek yogurt can be substituted if you wish.

Cooking the salmon skin side down maximizes its crispy potential; brown butter carries nutty flavor into the flesh.

Weighing down the salmon fillet with heavy cans as it cures will press excess liquid out of the flesh to ensure a firm texture.

Use the best quality lamb you can find. Chilling the deboned loin in the freezer for 15 minutes will make it easier to handle.

There's no need to cook beets when they're very thinly sliced. Renee Erickson and Marie Rutherford of Seattle restaurant the Whale Wins mellow them out with a dollop of creme fraiche.