While you are making your menu plan, think about what will be happening in next week. Is Friday night Football Game Night? Plan to have a supper that is quick to fix. Is Wednesday your day off? That is day you might want to try out a new recipe that takes a little longer to prepare.

Whatever your schedule, plan your menus around it. And be flexible! If it snows on Tuesday, and you hadn't planned to make chili until Thursday, you can just switch menus around.

Keep your lists, so that in weeks to come, you can be reminded of some meals your family especially liked (or disliked!). After a few weeks, you will end up with a set of weekly menus that you can use over and over.

With your plan in hand, you won't be tempted to go for takeout because you just can't think of anything to make for supper. And you won't get caught without that "one ingredient" you need to make tonight's supper, so no more last minute trips to grocery store!

Voted Best New Restaurant in a Hotel Las Vegas Review-Journal — Best of Las Vegas Awards

Named one of Top Casino Restaurants Casino Player Magazine

Named one of top Five Gourmet Restaurants Travel and Leisure Golf Magazine

Host of one of 2001 Chaine Des Rotisseurs Dinners

Exceptional Eats Celebrated Living - American Airlines, Fall 2001

After a couple of Bourbons I felt more like sitting under a magnolia tree watching cargo float down lazy river. Of course restaurant has a choice of non-alcoholic beverages, or try eye openers — Commander’s Palace Bloody Mary or Champagne Mimosa.

All appetizers are à la carte and all priced at $8.50 at time of our dining experience (May, 2005), making it easy and inexpensive to try several. Jane and I decided to try Turtle Soup Ali Sherry, now that turtles are being raised on farms, and threatened species are not on menu. But hey, you are in New Orleans (sort of — even though pavement outside is starting to crack in heat, we are chilled in style). I notice one of soups is a 1-1-1 and found out it is a demitasse portion of three soups: Gumbo, Turtle, and Soup du Jour. We passed on Breakfast Parfait of fresh and sun-dried fruit, house-made granola and vanilla yogurt. I am certain that French Quarter Beignets are traditional bite-sized ones dusted with powdered sugar — accompanied by warm café au lait sauce. Then we were served up Shrimp Remoulade, Creole seasoned Gulf shrimp tossed in spicy Louisiana remoulade sauce with salted lemon zest (an additional $2, but worth it.)

Jane had never tried alligator and I had not had it since dining at award winning restaurant, "The Yearling", in Cross Creek, Florida where they shoot gators out back door (okay, in season of course) and serve it on a plate chicken-like: “It taste’s just like chicken”. ( I am sure you have heard that one somewhere.) That is way they serve it in some parts of South and The Yearling won Five Golden Spoon Awards more than once to prove that this is traditional tell-tale gator tail. But Commander’s Palace in Las Vegas pounds their gator into sub-consciousness and it is so tender and non-rubbery that there is no hint that it is gator at all — or chicken!

We wanted seafood, so we passed on many of delicious sounding entrées, such as Panfed Pork Chop Milanese-style, and Onion Crusted Fried Chicken Cobb Salad. I can’t stomach bottom feeder fish so we passed on Louisiana Pecan Crusted Catfish. BUT, our eyes did stop half way down menu at Gulf Shrimp Creole — tender Gulf Shrimp pan seared and steamed in a full-flavored Creole-spiced (medium spicy) tomato ragout — served with Louisiana popcorn rice. BUT, not before Brunch Special Appetizer of Louisiana Crawfish Bienville — Sautéed fresh Fleur de Lys crawfish tails, roasted mushrooms, and house-smoked Tasso, smothered in a brandied Gulf shrimp cream — topped with French bread crumbs (an additional $3).

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Kriss Hammond, Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent. Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com