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SMOKED SHRIMP WITH 3 DIPPING SAUCES

serves 8 as a snack or 4 as an appetizer • TIME: 30 minutes

Smoking shrimp with a stovetop smoker creates a thrillingly addictive, fun-to-eat cocktail-hour food that’s also a great appetizer.

“Wait! What?” you’re saying. “A stovetop smoker?”

Yes, there is such a thing and if you don’t own one (Athena, Camerons, and Nordic Ware are top brands), you can make one in a pinch, as long as you have a stainless steel or aluminum roasting pan and a flat roasting rack that fits inside it. The smoking chips you use in a stovetop smoker are like a coarse sawdust. They’re made from a variety of hardwoods—apple, cherry, and hickory are most common—and you can buy them at department stores such as Target and Wal-Mart, or from cookware retailers like Williams-Sonoma. Learning your way around a stovetop smoker (see Notes on Successful Stovetop Smoking) adds a new vector of creative exploration to your repertoire (see Smoked Cauliflower, and Smoked Trout).

Serve these smoked shrimp with one or all three dipping sauces.

1 pound headless large shell-on shrimp (26 to 30 per pound; see Notes on Deveining Shrimp, and Shrimp Shopping Notes)

½ recipe Garlic Buttermilk Dip

LEMON CHIVE MAYO

½ cup high-quality store-bought mayonnaise, such as Hellmann’s or Duke’s

¼ cup sour cream

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

¼ teaspoon grated lemon zest

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

SRIRACHA BUTTERMILK DIP

¼ cup buttermilk

¼ cup sour cream

2 teaspoons Thai chili sauce (sriracha), plus more to taste

1 Put 1 tablespoon applewood chips in the center of your stovetop smoker pan, or in the center of a 9-x-13-inch stainless steel or aluminum roasting pan. Lay the shrimp on their sides on the rack of your smoker. (If using a conventional roasting pan and rack, wrap the roasting rack in aluminum foil, then place it in the pan, and lay the shrimp on their sides in a even layer on the rack.) Cover the smoker only partly; if using a roasting pan, cover with aluminum foil, crimping the edges tightly but leaving one corner uncrimped. Turn the burner to medium and center the pan above it. When you see the first wisp of smoke rise from the smoker or pan, cover it completely and continue to smoke until the shrimp are pale orange, firm, and cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes.

2 While the shrimp are smoking, prepare any or all of the dipping sauces by whisking the ingredients together in a separate bowl.

3 When the shrimp are done, you can either serve them immediately, smoker-warm, or let them cool to room temperature and then refrigerate them until ready to serve, but not for more than 2 days. Either way, serve the dipping sauces alongside.

notes on successful stovetop smoking •••

• On discoloration of the smoker pan: Using a brand-new stainless steel stovetop smoker (like the ones Camerons Cookware and Max Burton by Athena make) for the first time is bittersweet because its shiny pristine surface discolors to an oily brown, but that is to be expected. If you’re using a roasting pan as a stovetop smoker, be aware that it will discolor as well, so if you prefer your roasting pan looking nice and shiny, you may simply want to buy a stovetop smoker or a second inexpensive roasting pan to devote exclusively to smoking.

• On vigilance with respect to stovetop smoking: Because stovetop smoking calls for the application of direct heat to a dry pan, vigilance is required. Why? Because you’ll have no aural cues—the sizzling of a skillet of onions, say—to remind you that the pan is very, very hot.

OYSTER SOUP

Liquid nourishment is often overlooked in the headlong rush to put food, solid food, on the table, but soups can be one of the most effective ways to deliver flavor and refreshment. Most soups are easy to prepare ahead, in quantity, and they make terrific leftovers, since they reheat easily and often improve with a little time in the fridge. If,