Shrimp in their serving state, originally uploaded by hannahcooks.

Some days you have maybe eaten really well and plentifully for two days running (and although this is not a restaurant-review blog, per se, I do have a lot to say about Mozza at some point) and you want something that is light but not a salad.

Those days I almost always make shrimp in a ton of oil, and Sunday was one of those days, so we had the sizzling garlic shrimp from The New Spanish Table. This recipe (not that one really needs a recipe for garlic shrimp- I cannot imagine combining decent olive oil, garlic, and shrimp and not producing something edible) calls for first heating a ridiculous amount of olive oil (one cup, it could easily be done with half that) and a just right amount of garlic (six cloves, minced) in a cazuela or other flameproof serving dish over moderate heat. I am pretty sure this casserole is not flameproof, so I heated the oil in a regular skillet. Then I poured it over some salted, peeled shrimp which WERE in the casserole and plunked it in the oven for 10 minutes.

The recipe would have you cook it on the stove for a mere 2-3 minutes. If I had it to do over again, I would have done that, too, in the skillet, and served it directly from the skillet. It would not have been as attractive a serving dish, but the oil would have had more sizzle, and I am kidding no one if I pretend that I care more about appearance than taste.

Sizzling or not, the shrimp was still perfectly cooked, tender and garlicky, and while there was way, way, way too much garlicky oil leftover, that is also why they make french bread.