Don't throw that shrimp on the barbie! Don't toss it in water roiling with Old Bay! And, don't, please, hack it into small bits and stir it with mayonnaise and celery so you can slather it on bread!

Shrimp is one of the most delicious morsels to emerge from the sea, and it deserves better treatment. Or at least it deserves to be served in new ways that show off its delicate flavor and amazing versatility.

"I think shrimp is a very important part of living on the coast," says Cindy Wolf, chef-owner, with her husband, Tony Foreman, of Charleston in the East Harbor. "I love shrimp. It's so good and so sweet."

Wolf is well-known for her shrimp with grits, a dish she notes may make some people wary -- until they taste it. "If people are not familiar with grits, we bring them a little taste, and they usually say, 'These are great.' "

She sautes the shrimp with minced andouille sausage and tasso (spicy Cajun sausage and smoked ham), deglazes with white wine, swirls in some pieces of cold butter to make a sauce, and pours the whole thing over creamy grits made with milk and butter.

She also likes to rub shrimp with olive oil, maybe a little bit of seasoning, and then grill and serve them over a sauce of roasted corn.

Shrimp are crustaceans -- meaning they have an outer shell -- that thrive in salt water. They are found from Greenland to Ecuador, from Maine to Thailand. Although frozen shellfish keep fairly well, the best are the freshest ones, which preferably are caught in nearby waters.

"One thing I think people don't realize is that there's a lot of variation in the flavor of shrimp," says James Peterson, a chef, cooking teacher and cookbook author based in Brooklyn, N.Y. "It comes from all over the world, Asia, Japan. I'm a fan of Gulf [of Mexico] shrimp, if you can find them."

Like Wolf, who serves shrimp with their heads on, Peterson wants people to learn to cook shrimp with the heads intact. "When I was in Italy, I kept trying to figure out why Italian shrimp tasted so much better," he says. "And I realized it was because they grill them with the heads on."

Wolf says, "There's a lot of flavor in the heads. Of course, if people don't want to take them off, we take them off in the kitchen."

Peterson suggests that, even if you don't want the heads appearing on your plate, you should at least use them to make stock. "They make this orange, flavorful broth that really tastes of shrimp." The reserved shells also make wonderful stock.

Sometimes using shrimp instead of the expected ingredient in a dish can provide a tasty surprise. Edward Rogers, chef at La Tesso Tana and the Ashley Inn in Mount Vernon, serves Shrimp Parmesan, which uses seafood instead of veal or chicken. The dish is so popular, Rogers says, that if the restaurant is expecting a crowd, it may not put it on the menu because the kitchen staff can't keep up with the orders.

"We do a lot of shrimp," Rogers says.

While many people order shrimp in restaurants, they may not serve them as much at home because of the price ($5-$15 per pound, depending on size) and because shrimp have to be peeled and deveined. However, caterer Jerry Edwards of Chef's Expressions says an economical way to use shrimp is in appetizers.

One of his favorite hors d'oeuvres is marinated, grilled shrimp served over a little scoop of polenta or couscous in a martini glass -- with champagne sauce. It makes an elegant presentation. "There are so many cool martini glasses out there these days," Edwards says.

Chef Spike Gjerde says he also tends to serve shrimp as appetizers rather than as entrees. Gjerde, with his brother, Charlie, runs a string of local restaurants, including Spike & Charlie's in Mount Vernon, Atlantic in Canton and the Joy America Cafe at the American Visionary Arts Museum in Federal Hill.

At Joy America, one of the "little dishes" offered is papaya-habanero marinated, grilled shrimp. At Spike & Charlie's, a favorite is shrimp and black olive roulade, made with puff pastry.

"One of the coolest things about shrimp is that they're good for home cooking -- you can get good ones even in the supermarket," Gjerde says. "They're such perfect little things to eat."

Roasted Corn Sauce for Grilled Shrimp

Serves 2

2 cups of white corn, cut off the cob

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 cup chicken stock, commercial or homemade

3/4 cup heavy cream

few drops of Tabasco (optional)

In a medium saucepan, saute the corn and onion in the butter until the onion is translucent. Add chicken stock and cream, simmer for 15 minutes. Place mixture in bowl of food processor and process briefly, so there are still pieces of the corn. Finish with Tabasco, if using. To serve, spread pool of sauce on plate, top with grilled shrimp.

-- From Cindy Wolf of Charleston

Spike & Charlie's Shrimp and Black Olive Roulade

Makes about 24 appetizer-size portions

8 large (21-25-count) shrimp, peeled and deveined, chopped

1/4 cup kalamata or other high-quality black olives, pitted

2 roma tomatoes, cut in half, seeds squeezed out, roughly chopped

2 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 of the following: 12 chives, 8 basil leaves or 3 stems of bronze fennel

juice of 1/2 lemon

ground black pepper

1 egg

salt

1 6-inch-by-18-inch sheet of puff pastry, approximately 1/4 inch thick

Place shrimp, olives, tomatoes and shallots in bowl of food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse to create a rough-textured puree. Add olive oil, herb of choice and squeeze in lemon juice (use a strainer to avoid getting seeds in the mixture). Grind black pepper, 3 to 6 turns.

Whisk egg with a pinch of salt.

Spread puree over puff pastry, leaving a 1-inch border along the bottom long edge. Brush exposed pastry border with egg. (Reserve remainder of egg mixture covered in refrigerator.) Gently roll toward you, in the fashion of a jelly roll. You should end up with a cylinder 18 inches long. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or overnight.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Transfer roll to a cutting board and slice into disks approximately 3/4 -inch thick.

Evenly space on a lightly greased pastry sheet, brush with remaining egg mixture, and bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until puffed and golden brown. Test 1 piece by cutting in half and making sure the pastry and filling are baked through. Serve warm or at room temperature.

-- From Spike Gjerde

Shrimp Parmesan

Serves 4

20 (16-to-20-count) shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 cup flour

2 eggs, whisked lightly

2-2 1/2 cups seasoned bread crumbs (see note)

2 tablespoons butter

2 cups tomato sauce, homemade or commercial

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Working with 5 shrimp at a time, butterfly the shrimp, dredge each one in flour, then dip in the whisked eggs. Sprinkle a layer of seasoned bread crumbs on a plate. Place the shrimp on top of the bread crumbs in an overlapping manner (think of roof shingles). Sprinkle more bread crumbs on top. Use the flat side of a knife or a spatula to pat down and press into more of a patty shape. Shake off excess bread crumbs. Saute in the 2 tablespoons of butter in a moderately hot skillet about 3 to 5 minutes per side. Spread a layer of sauce in an oven-proof pan. Lay the 4 shrimp patties in the sauce. Cover with more sauce. Sprinkle with cheeses and place under broiler until sauce is hot and bubbling, and cheese melts and is golden brown.

Note: The bread crumbs chef Edward Rogers uses are seasoned with salt, pepper, basil and garlic.

-- From Edward Rogers of La Tesso Tana

Sauteed Shrimp With Mexican Salsa and Sauce Crevettes

Makes 30 servings

SHRIMP:

30 extra large or jumbo shrimp with heads, peeled (shells reserved), heads removed, shrimp deveined, heads and shrimp reserved in the refrigerator

2 tablespoons butter

salt and pepper to taste

MEXICAN SALSA:

6 plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, chopped

1 garlic clove, peeled, finely chopped, crushed to a paste

1 red bell pepper, blackened, peeled, seeded, finely chopped (see note)

1 jalapeno chili, seeded, finely chopped

1 or 2 canned chipotle chilies in adobo sauce

2 poblano chilies, blackened, peeled, seeded, finely chopped (see note)

1 ripe Haas avocado, peeled, chopped

1 medium red onion, peeled, very finely chopped

leaves from 1 bunch of cilantro

juice of 2 limes

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

salt to taste

SAUCE CREVETTES:

heads from the shrimp

1 1/2 sticks of butter, cut in 6 slices (for the shrimp butter)

shells from the shrimp

1 medium onion, peeled, finely chopped

2 whole garlic cloves, crushed

3 sprigs fresh thyme

1 tablespoon butter

2 tomatoes, coarsely chopped

1 cup heavy cream

salt and pepper to taste

To prepare the salsa: About 2 hours before serving, combine all ingredients and keep covered at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

To prepare the sauce: Prepare a shrimp butter by combining half of the shrimp heads with the 1 1/2 sticks of butter in the bowl of a food processor. Puree to a paste, about 1 minute, scraping down the sides 3 or 4 times with a rubber spatula.

Transfer the butter into a small heavy-bottomed saucepan and cook it gently for 20 minutes over medium heat, stirring every couple of minutes, until the butter turns oily and bright orange. Add the shells and enough warm water to cover the shells by about 2 inches, remove the pot from the heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Skim off and reserve the butter solids that float to the top, or chill the pot overnight in the refrigerator and remove the solids once they congeal. Discard the shrimp shells and the liquid. Heat the shrimp butter in a small saucepan and strain it through a fine-mesh sieve to remove fragments of shell and other particles. Reserve.

In a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan, over medium heat, cook the onion, garlic and thyme in 1 tablespoon butter until the onion turns translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the remaining shrimp heads. Crush the mixture gently in the pan with a European-style rolling pin (without handles) to extract as much flavor as possible from the shrimp heads. Add the cream and simmer gently, uncovered, on low heat for 20 minutes. Strain mixture first through a coarse strainer, pushing hard to extract all the liquid, and again through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean saucepan. Simmer the sauce gently to thicken it slightly, so that it has the consistency of cold heavy cream. Whisk in the reserved shrimp butter and season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve: Immediately before serving, saute the shrimp in the 2 tablespoons butter over high heat until they turn bright orange, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon about a tablespoon of the sauce in the center of a small, hot plate. Place a shrimp in the center of the sauce. Place a small spoonful of the Mexican salsa on top of the shrimp. Serve immediately.

Note: To blacken a pepper or chili, roast it over an open flame or place on cookie sheet under broiler; turn frequently until all sides are black. Seal in a brown bag for a few minutes; the blackened skin will peel right off.

-- From James Peterson

Marinated Grilled Shrimp With Polenta and Champagne Sauce

Serves 8

16 large (under 10-count) shrimp, cleaned and deveined

4 ounces sesame oil

4 leaves fresh basil, in fine chiffonade (strips)

1 stem fresh tarragon, in fine chiffonade

1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley

3 cloves fresh garlic, finely diced

prepared polenta or couscous (see note)

Champagne Sauce (recipe follows)

basil or tarragon, for garnish

Combine shrimp, sesame oil, basil, tarragon, parsley and garlic in glass bowl or zipper-top plastic bag and marinate in refrigerator for up to 2 hours. (But no longer; marinating too long will make the shrimp mushy.) Meanwhile, prepare polenta or couscous and Champagne Sauce. Before serving, remove shrimp from marinade and saute over high heat until bright orange, 3-5 minutes, or grill.

To serve, place a dollop of hot or cold polenta or couscous in a martini glass. Add 2 shrimp and top with some of the Champagne Sauce. Garnish with chopped basil or tarragon.

Note: For extra flavor, cook 2 strips of bacon, saute with 1/4 cup finely diced onion and add to polenta or couscous while cooking. Or add some crumbled bleu cheese.

-- From Jerry Edwards of Chef's Expressions

Champagne Sauce

Makes about 1/2 cup

3 shallots, diced

1 tablespoon butter

4 ounces of champagne (you can use leftover)

1 cup heavy cream

salt and pepper to taste

Saute the shallots in the butter until translucent. Add the champagne and reduce until it is about 1 ounce of amber-colored liquid. Add the heavy cream and salt and pepper to taste, and simmer, reducing until it is about half a cup of liquid.

--From Jerry Edwards of Chef's Expressions