After living with a professional chef for a number of years, one who comes from humble cooking roots can begin to get a little big for her britches. I realized my developing culinary snobbery when my parents were over for a visit and shrimp was on the evening's menu.  

I'll cook the shrimp, my dad says. Super! I love Dad's food. I mean I grew up eating it, didn’t I? 

But no sooner was the word "super" out of my mouth, when I spot Dad dumping 2 pounds of beautiful prawns ... in. a. pot. of. boiling. water. OMG, I thought. I felt like performing a running tackle on him before the shrimp hit the water. But it was too late. 

(I apologize now lest I offend any who adore boiled shrimp.) Sorry Dad, I’ll never let you cook shrimp again. But I still love you. 

OK, people. Unless you want bland, translucent, rubbery, waxy looking, Crayola crayon peach-colored shrimp, never boil them. However, I don't expect that everyone prepare prawns using Four Season's techniques. So this is my super-tasty, quick-and-easy preparation that includes using dried spices from the cupboard, but can also be prepared with fresh ingredients if you have them (and it's still easy).

 1 pound 31-40 fresh or thawed prawns

Extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

Fresh ground black pepper

Granulated garlic (or 2-3 cloves fresh garlic, very finely chopped)

Granulated onion (or ¼  cup finely chopped yellow onion)

Chili powder

Dried parsley flakes (or fresh parsley, finely chopped)

Instructions: Drizzle olive oil in your skillet and heat on medium-high. In a bowl, drizzle shrimp with olive oil and mix in all the above ingredients, tossing gently. Dump the shrimp mixture in the hot skillet. They will cook very quickly, so keep the shrimp turning over and over until they are a beautiful orange color. You can also cook these on the grill. Serve immediately.  

This yummy appetizer pairs well with a buttery white wine, such as a Ferrari-Carano, J. Lohr or La Crema chardonnay. Cheers!