Shrimp with Garlic and Chile Butter

This is a recipe adapted from Food and Wine, which is delicious and even fast after you've made it a few times. It even tastes good with bagged frozen shrimp. We serve it over angel hair pasta or fettucine, the fresher the better. Reserve some of the pasta water in order to make the sauce stretch a little further.

One yummy alternative to just plain cherry tomatoes is roasting them before incorporating them on a cookie sheet until they are blistered and a little charred.

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup olive oil
1 or 2 pounds shrimp, shelled and deveined (how hungry are you?)
Salt & Pepper
4-6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 dried chile de árbol, stemmed and chopped (these are really hot; we've found using a whole dried chile is too spicy, but this is a matter of opinion)
1 cup clam juice
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved (OR canned diced tomatoes)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons snipped chives

In a large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Add the shrimp to the skillet and cook over moderately high heat until lightly browned, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.

In the same skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the garlic and chopped chiles and cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened, about 1 minute. Add the clam juice and bring to a boil. Simmer over moderate heat until the broth has reduced by one-fourth. Whisk in the butter a few cubes at a time until incorporated. Add the tomatoes and shrimp and simmer until the shrimp are just cooked through, about 2 minutes longer. Stir in the lemon juice, cilantro and chives and serve.