DEAR HELOISE: I work as a chef ...

... at a restaurant, and while trying to train a new chef on how to prepare certain dishes, I found he didn't know that there was a difference between shallots and white, yellow or red onions. If a recipe calls for shallots, it's best to use them instead of substituting them for another type of onion. While it's true that shallots are a member of the onion family, they have a flavor somewhere between onion and garlic.Also, if you cook shallots too long, they can taste bitter, so never overcook them. Instead, cook them just until they're brown. No more! Edger H. Fort Lauderdale, Florida Dear Heloise: Help! I lost your Shrimp Dijon recipe, and I need it for a dinner I'm having in mid-October. My in-laws are coming, and my father-in-law loves that recipe. I prepared it when my husband and I were dating, and he's spoken of it many times and how much he enjoyed it. Would you please print that recipe in your column so that I can make it for my father-in-law? Darcy M. Falls Church, Virginia Darcy, my Shrimp Dijon recipe is one of my most requested recipes. So, for all my shrimp-loving readers, here it is:1½ pounds peeled, deveined shrimp¼ cup butter or margarine1 medium onion, thinly sliced¼ cup flour1½ cups milk2 tablespoons Dijon mustard¼ teaspoon nutmeg½ teaspoon salt1/8 teaspoon pepper1 6-ounce package cream cheese, softenedMelt butter or margarine in frying pan, add shrimp and onions, and sauté for 3 minutes; do not brown. Sprinkle flour into mixture while thinning the mixture with milk a little at a time to avoid lumping. Add mustard, nutmeg, salt and pepper, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in cream cheese until blended and warmed through. Do not boil! Serve over white rice.As you can see, this is a quick and easy-to-prepare recipe that tastes great! If you appreciate recipes like this that don't require you to spend hours in the kitchen, then you want my pamphlet "Heloise's Main Dishes and More." There are so many meals you can prepare that you and your family will surely enjoy. To get a copy of this pamphlet, just go to www.Heloise.com or send $3, along with a stamped, self-addressed, long envelope to: Heloise/Main Dishes, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001.I think you'll really love these family favorites that have been in my family for many years. Heloise Dear Readers: One of my readers had a parakeet that she loved, and he would often play with the little bell in his cage. One day, he got out of his cage and escaped through an open sliding glass door. The owner was heartbroken because she thought her little bird was gone forever. In a last attempt to call her parakeet home, she stood outside on her patio and shook the little bell from his cage. He flew down from a nearby tree and perched on her shoulder. She quickly went inside and returned the bird to his cage, with his little bell, of course! Heloise Send a great hint to: Heloise, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001; by fax: 1-210-HELOISE; or by email: Heloise@Heloise.com