I can’t even, you guys.

The Splendid Table’s How to Eat Supper. My favorite cookbook this summer, and this is another reason why. One of my biggest regrets about our trip to Hawaii a few years ago was that we never managed to time a visit to a shrimp truck. We saw them everywhere and just never made it to one. They were closed, or we’d just eaten somewhere else, or they looked really shady. But I still think about them, and I will imagine that they taste exactly like this until we get back there to try them.

Garlicky. Lick-your-fingers good. Swimming in wine, lemon, and butter. Somehow the best thing to eat on a hot summer night with some rice. I totally get it now and wish I’d eaten these at every truck we saw. Make sure you leave time for them to marinate overnight.

North Shore Shrimp Scampi
Serves 3 to 4

For the marinade:
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
6 or 7 large garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh-ground black pepper
1-1/2 lbs. raw extra-large or jumbo shrimp, shelled and deveined

For cooking:
3 Tbsp butter
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup dry white wine
Juice of 1/2 large lemon
2 Tbsp fresh parsley leaves, chopped

Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, and shrimp in a bowl.

Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Set a 12″ skillet over medium-high heat (the book says to do this 15 minutes before you’re ready to serve and eat, so set the table and get the rice ready). Melt 2 tablespoons of butter with a little salt and pepper.

Add the shrimp and all its marinade, stir a couple of times, and turn the heat down to medium low.

Cover the skillet and cook the shrimp 3 or 4 minutes, until they’re “barely firm.”

Use tongs to transfer them to a heated serving platter and taste for seasoning. Turn the heat under the skillet up to medium high. Stir the wine into the pan juices and boil it for 1 minute or until it’s evaporated.

Off the heat stir in the remaining tablespoon of butter. Scrape the contents of the skillet over the shrimp. Drizzle lemon juice over them, scatter with the chopped parsley, and serve immediately to thunderous applause and happy, messy fingers.