LaCook

I realize this is old but didn't see any answers to it. As far as a downside to using the entire shrimp for stock, the downside is that you would miss getting to eat the sweet succulent shrimp. Even if you make a quick shrimp stock of 30 minutes, which is what I do, that is far too long to cook shrimp. The meat won't be any good to eat, and the shell will be stuck to the meal and very hard to get off. Peeling shrimp is not difficult. Remove the head; pinch the tail, and the meat will slide right out. Every part of the shrimp is edible, including their little bitty eyes, and the heads are incredible in stock. Even the vein in the tail is edible but, if large, is typically removed. Shrimp are easy to peel raw, and they are easy to peel when cooked--as long as they were not cooked too long in the first place. I peel fresh shrimp for use in a dish, then use the peelings and heads for a stock. Saute the heads/peelings first in a little butter to get a better flavor in the stock. Fresh shrimp should be kept on ice and eaten quickly, and they can be frozen also for use in future dishes. Freeze the shrimp raw. Hope this helps.

Stanley is a favorite for a late breakfast. Cafe du Monde is a better place for a late night snack of beignets and cafe au lait than for breakfast. Also, I noticed that you had Cochon for dinner. Google this place and check out pictures. IMHO the atmosphere makes it more enjoyable for lunch than for dinner. It's also in the warehouse district so it's not like it's in a convenient spot to walk around after dinner in the Qtr to add to a romantic evening.

Another vote for Wright's. They also have a peppered bacon that I buy sometimes.

I ask myself the same thing every week, but the answer is always NO, you can't eat them, because even if they look exactly like a safe mushroom, they might not be that. The only way to know for sure is to KNOW THE ANSWER YOURSELF beyond a doubt. If you have to ask, don't eat it. Maybe take some classes from your local university's ag center or something. I've never done that, so I don't eat mushrooms from my yard, but they sure look good, and I think they would partner well with some snails in my yard, too ))

I am soooo looking forward to this week and you sharing your world with us.

Food evolves... and you can bet that if our ancestors could get their hands on the ingredients at our disposal today, then classics would have evolved EVEN THEN. Incredible taste is what everyone is after, and that's how it should be. If the same logic as keeping classic food dishes in their original form were applied to the English language, then we would still be speaking in Shakespearian terms, and that’s just not the case. Know the basics, and respect the dish, but if you have on hand an ingredient that would enhance the dish, then by all means use it. I can just envision a stubborn chef not wanting to include an ingredient that would make a great classic dish even better JUST BECAUSE IT WAS AN INGREDIENT NOT AVAILABLE AT THE TIME, and one of our forefathers shaking his head and screaming, “ADD IT TO THE POT, YOU STUBBORN FOOL!”

This simply isn't true. At least not in the United States. I can walk into any megamart at 9 a.m. and ask a butcher to French a rack of lamb. Roughly half the time, there's a guy in the back who is capable of doing the job. He (or she -- a LOT of good butchers are women) almost ALWAYS works the day shift -- 5 or 6 a.m. to 1 or 2 p.m. After that, you're stuck with the pimple-faced kid who doesn't know what animal "veal" is. But the real butchers are still out there, quietly doing their jobs. The thing is, most customers don't know to ask for personal attention. It's usually there if you want it. I don't know about that. I live in the US, and when I want a special cut prepared, I know to call ahead and ask for it. The last time I did it, the 'butcher' assured me he knew exactly how to do it, and when I picked it up, it looked like the poster child for 'This is NOT how to do this!' I find that real butchers are rare around here, and if you want it done right, you had better learn how to do it yourself.