garlic and lemon maine shrimp

i have always been a horrible sleeper.

always. i have very vivid memories

of me, as an 8-year-old, getting

out of bed in the middle of the night,

wide-awake and looking for my father

who i knew would be downstairs,

also awake, playing computer

games. that's how i became so good

at tetris, so young.

i also have very vivid memories of me,

a freshman at college, not sleeping

at all - but not in the good way.

i would stay in my dorm room,

with my roommate sleeping one bed away

and wish that i could just sleep

like everyone else seemed to be able to do.

my problem has always been falling asleep.

once i did, though, i was out.

lately - even though, don't get me wrong,

many nights, i'm still awake way past when i

want to be - my biggest sleep problem is

actually staying asleep.

i wake up very early in the morning.

and that's it. i'm up.

or at the very least, i'm in that very

blurry awake-asleep stage where i'm

dreaming/thinking.

and it's all about work.

who needs that?

not me - and that's why at 4:19

this morning, as i was using sheer will

to coax myself back to sleep, but

instead kept remembering

three deadlines that i face today

when i get into work,

i decided to put this time to good

use and tell you about maine shrimp,

because i'm running out of time

on those, too.

maine shrimp, you see, are very

time-limited and it would be a shame

if i didn't write about them before

they are out of the markets and

you have to wait until next year.

so i have to tell you and get

rid of this guilt that it's taken me

so long - and maybe,

just maybe, it will help me sleep.

i can dream, right?

so anyway, the maine shrimp.

i have to admit that i'm a bit

of a shrimp snob. i like the big

ones, or at the very least, the almost

big ones. i'm not crazy about small

shrimp that curl up into bites of nothing

once they are cooked.

and so, even though i've spotted

very pink, small maine shrimp

in the market many times

over the past couple years, i've always

looked the other way. fool.

but, a couple weeks ago,

in the middle of grocery store,

i was offered one maine shrimp, raw.

i hesitated for a moment -

i love raw oysters, clams, fish

and now scallops, but to me, shrimp

always seemed like a seafood

better served cooked.

then the fishmonger told me that

these are the same shrimp that

are sold in sushi bars for $3,

two at a pop, over sushi rice.

he ate one, himself,

and i felt ridiculous and boring,

so i went for it.

the shrimp was amazing -

like nothing i ever had before:

sweet and buttery and what could

likely be a total addiction.

and they were $4.99 a pound.

that night, i brought six home

(they cost a little less than 50 cents)

and practically skipped in the house,

excited to reveal my find.

i peeled two, handed one to larry

and ate one myself.

yes, just as i remembered.

larry? not so into it.

he just could not get behind

the raw shrimp.

i was a little bummed.

but over the next week,

i started to research maine shrimp

and learned that they are only

available for a limited time each winter,

that in the northeast

(way in the northeast, we're talking

maine, massachusetts, rhode island -

not new york and new jersey),

people anxiously wait for them to

appear and that if cooked properly,

they are just as lovely.

and then, as i planned to pick up

a pound one night and i found a recipe,

a little bell went off in the back

of my head and i remembered why

maine shrimp carried an extra layer

of familiarity with them:

jen from last night's dinner had

referenced them (or, more specifically,

their stock) here, when she had cooked

my squid stew a couple months back.

(oh, and coincidentally, she made another

maine shrimp recipe this week.)

so then i knew this would be a very wise

$5 dollars spent:

dinner tonight,

stock for the future.

when shrimp are so tiny,

a lot make up a pound and i was glad

when larry started peeling with me

(and i swear, i ate only one or two

in the process).

but once they were prepped, this

recipe from the washington post

came together very quickly.

in fact, the bulk of time was spent

waiting for the accompanying couscous

to cook.

you zest a lemon,

chop a bunch of garlic,

crumble a dried chile.

the zest

and some of the garlic

are tossed with the raw shrimp

and then the remaining garlic

and the dried chile cook for

a few minutes in a bit of oil,

until they're sizzling.

that's when you add the shrimp,

immediately turn off the heat and toss.

and that's it.

and, cooked maine shrimp

are just as special as the raw.

they're lighter, but still sweet

and still buttery in texture.

larry, whose complaints vanished

once they were cooked,

said that they tasted like something

he couldn't quite identify,

similar enough to shrimp to be familiar,

but just different enough to stand out.

before the season runs out,

i hope to buy make stock

from the shells in the freezer,

buy another pound

and make maine shrimp risotto,

using both.

but for now,

i'm just glad the secret's out

(although it just occurred to me that

maybe i'm the only one who didn't

know about them before now):

maine shrimp are a lovely

limited-time treat.

if you see them, you should

get some and maybe even

cook them.

now that that's out -

one thing to cross

off my list -

maybe, i can go back

to sleep. i still have

an hour and a half before

i need to wake up.

garlic and lemon maine shrimp

adapted from the washington post

i would make this again, but i would double or triple the garlic and lemon, and instead of the dried chile, i would add a pinch or two of ground cayenne. i assume that the seasonings were kept on the light side so that the shrimp could really shine, but i like a lot more oomph in my food. oh, and on that note, the recipe doesn't say this, but i would absolutely finish the dish with a very big squeeze of lemon.

and, although i'm writing their version, below, i did make one change, which is reflected. instead of turning off the heat and then adding the shrimp, i added the shrimp and then turned off the heat. i know my stove and i knew that it would work better this way. oh, and the original recipe was for four, but i scaled it down to two (which is how i've written it).

i served the shrimp over lemony couscous, but they would also be great on their own, over a salad, on top of pasta or maybe, even with meat.

1 pound uncooked maine shrimp, peeled (they do not have to be deveined - and if you see any grey roe, just brush it away)

1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic, plus 1 medium clove, chopped

1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest

1-2 tablespoons canola oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 dried chile pepper, crumbed (remove seeds and membrane for less heat) or a few pinches of ground cayenne

in bowl, combine shrimp, finely chopped garlic and lemon zest.

in large skillet, add oil to pan and heat over medium. as soon as the oil starts to make popping sounds, add the chopped garlic, salt to taste and the crumbled chili pepper. cook 2-3 minutes, or until the garlic sizzles and turns golden brown, stirring constantly.

add the shrimp; immediately turn off the heat. toss 1 minute, or until the shrimp are gently cooked. (if they seem like they need a little more cooking, turn the heat back on to medium and cook until heated through, stirring constantly.)

squeeze lemon over shrimp; toss to combine.