Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? If you have a 9-year-old like I do, you probably know the answer to that question. SpongeBob himself would approve of this tasty crabby patty slider. I have eaten spider crab from the Mediterranean, blue crab in New England, stone crab in Miami, soft shell crab in Louisiana and even the impostor “crab with a K,” but, in my opinion, nothing compares with the delicate sweet flavor of the Dungeness crab found here in the Northwest. An afternoon of picking crab from the Bell Buoy in Seaside, Oregon is just as much of a beach activity as a long walk on the promenade, flying a kite on the beach or twenty mindless games of ‘Fascination.’

Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as an appetizer Ingredients: Crab Cake Mixture ½ pound cooked Dungeness crabmeat 2 ounces shelled, tailed, and de-veined prawn or shrimp meat 2 ounces fresh scallops 4 tablespoons heavy cream Juice of ½ a lemon ¼ cup chopped chives ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley Salt and freshly ground black pepper   Lemon Aioli (makes about ¾ cup) 2 egg yolks Juice of ½ a lemon 1 garlic clove, minced 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard ½ cup olive oil   Balsamic Syrup 1 cup balsamic vinegar Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste Fresh chopped chives for garnish   Directions: Pick through cooked crabmeat and remove shells. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil or butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Form 1/4-cup portions of crab mixture into small patties, about ½ -inch thick. Fry the cakes on both sides until golden…

Fresh salmon is something that played a big part in my childhood in Oregon. Every September, my father took the whole family to Nehalem Bay to camp for a week while he and his buddies fished over the Nehalem bar for salmon. We feasted nightly on salmon and freshly caught crab for the entire week, and if they caught more than their limit and we couldn’t eat it all, my father would take the surplus to the local cannery to be canned and eaten in the winter. My mom made salmon cakes, salmon loaf and giant nut-coated balls of salmon and cream cheese to spread on crackers. Not exactly haute cuisine, but great for kids. This recipe takes the combination of canned salmon and hazelnuts to a sublime level.

At Nostrana in Portland, chef Cathy Whims adds hazelnuts to bring an Oregonian flair to her pesto sauce, rich with Parmesan cheese, basil and extra virgin olive oil. Whims, who was a finalist this year for the prestigious James Beard Award for the best chef in the Northwest, said the hazelnut adds a lightly toasted nut flavor to her rustic Italian cuisine. “I like cooking with hazelnuts because they are such great local treasure,” says Whims. “Also they are a highly prized nut from my favorite region of Italy—Piemonte. They find their way into many traditional Piemontese dishes here at Nostrana such as Brutti e Buoni cookies (‘ugly and good’ hazelnut meringues); gianduja gelato (chocolate hazelnut); and salsa verde, a green nut sauce.” This recipe is a wonderful room-temperature sauce for salmon, halibut, tuna, chicken breasts and, of course, fettuccine and potato gnocchi.   Ingredients: 2 cloves garlic, peeled 2…