I just got back from a good long trip to the panhandle of Florida along the Gulf of Mexico coast, where we’ve been vacationing since I was little. I’ve always appreciated the amazing seafood down there, but there’s one thing in particular I look forward to each trip — the shrimp.

Shrimp, of course, look and taste reflective of the water they live in. When raw, these glisten clear and just a little opaque, with a hint of coral and aqua. When barely cooked through they’re bright white and pink, firm, sweet — the best of both shrimp and lobster in a single crustacean.

This year, a few miles from the beach on a bridge crossing a large coastal bay, I came across a shrimp boat selling shrimp caught the night before. Jackpot. I went back again and again.

Because they’re so delicate, for all the ways I cooked them when I was there (I must have eaten six pounds), my favorite was simply boiled for one minute with crab boil, chilled, peeled, then eaten straight up with a glass of crisp white wine. I miss them already.

Recipe: Southern Boiled Shrimp
Recipe: Spicy Shrimp Salad Sandwich
Recipe: Spicy Shrimp And Corn Fritters