SHRIMP To a gourmet, shrimp are ubiquitous and indispensable.  Hot or cold, plain or sauced, shrimp are a universal American favorite—because we have such good shrimp—and via deep freezing, they are available everywhere in the country.  But other countries also like shrimp; next to our own delicious Mexican Gulf shrimp, the best in the world are probably Korean. A gourmet cook can do absolutely anything with shrimp! They go into sauces, either whole or sliced; they can be used in any traditional course but dessert . . . and since there exists a liver ice cream (for diabetic diets), perhaps shrimps could also be used this way! Shrimp can be boiled in the shell: place in cold water with pickling spices, if you like; bring to the boil and cook no more than 4 minutes. Or shrimp can be shelled and deveined for use in special recipes . . . or they can be cut in fancy ways (particularly for Oriental dishes), with or without an inch of tail shell left behind for eating in the fingers. A Smorgasbord serves cold boiled shrimp unshelled; you do the work of skinning before you dunk in a sauce. One way or another, shrimp are runner-up in indispensability to onions. No true gourmet can live without either of them. Italian, Japanese, East and West Indian shrimp treatments —just to give a sampling.  Scampi is the Italian word for shrimp. There are many ways to prepare them, but all are basically broiled shrimp with garlic and tomatoes. The real variation lies in whether or not they are shelled.  Most Scampi dishes are shelled raw shrimp with a bit of serve Scampi in the shell, merely cutting down the inside curve and spreading apart to form a butterfly-shape. The latter is attractive, but hard to eat; it can only be used with the very largest shrimps or prawns.