River Road Shrimp

Cook Along with Scoop, p. 28

Olive oil

Salt and black pepper

2 bay leaves

3 drops Tabasco

1 tablespoon rosemary

6 cloves garlic

2 pounds large fresh lake shrimp

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup dry white wine

If you're like me and you don't have access to fresh lake shrimp, rest assured that frozen jumbo ocean ones work pretty ok.

In a big heavy amiable skillet pour one quarter of an inch of Italian olive oil. The yellow, not the green variety.

Infuse this oil with what may seem to you an appalling amount of freshly ground black pepper.

Add a pair of bay leaves, 3 drops of Tabasco, one tablespoon of rosemary which hasn’t been in the pantry for a year or two, a tinge of salt and six pods of garlic, chopped, crushed, pressed or whole, as you please. (It’ll taste the same.)

I adore the smell of chopping garlic, so I went for the throat.

Heat the mixture slowly, otherwise the garlic may burn, for 10 minutes.

Add perhaps two pounds or more of large, fresh beheaded lake shrimp. Turn the fire up and semi-boil for 10 minutes. About midway add one teaspoon of salt. Stir and turn the shrimp often.

My garlic burned almost instantly so I threw the shrimp in much earlier than expected. They really did need the full 10 minutes of cooking, though.

Add one cupful or perhaps less of dry white wine of no particular vintage. Be careful because adding a cold liquid to hot fat is risky.

Stir and simmer for two more minutes.

Pour the concoction into a large heavy bowl, set it in the middle of the table (on a heat pad), furnish the diners with French bread (to dunk the sauce), and eat with the fingers.

I tried it with a fork for a while, but Scoop's right - just go in with your fingers.

My Rating: 5/5 "This sauce is AMAZING. Truly. And the best part of it is that it's amazing without crowding out the natural flavor of the shrimp. (I'd imagine that it's even more amazing with fresh shrimp like the recipe calls for.) If you're a shellfish person I can't recommend this highly enough."