Maggie and Colin Beer have been among my closest and dearest friends for the past 40 years. We have holidayed together, cooked together, drunk wine together, argued and laughed together, and we all hope to do more of it. But Colin has always caught the crabs! Blue swimmer crabs vary in size and the quantity of crabmeat given here does not need to be exact. Although more would always be better!. This is an edited extract from from Home by Stephanie Alexander.

Select fish that is thick and firm. I have used goldband snapper, hapuku and blue-eye trevalla with success. The baking dish should fit all the fish in a single layer. This is an edited extract from Home by Stephanie Alexander.

You need a deep wide pot with a lid to cook the mussels. I use a wok with a lid. I then scoop the opened mussels, and their strained juices, into a deep warm bowl to present at the table. This is an extract from Home by Stephanie Alexander.

Artichokes discolour after a very short time exposed to the air, so it is important that they are tossed with the oil as soon as they have been sliced. This is an extract from Home by Stephanie Alexander.

After stuffing, the flowers must be deep-fried within a short time, so have everything ready before you start.

Stephanie Alexander's fancy chocolate layer cake.