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or hunter-gatherer cultures grow up taking all that for granted, but not city-bred kids like me.  As I watched, my entire focus was on learning the method of preparation being demonstrated by the affable Ms. Julia.  It would be several years before I developed the empathy to recognize the slaughter and was forced to deal with it. 
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Homard à l’Americaine
4 – 2-pound (4 – 1 kg) lobsters
¼ cup (60 mL) olive oil
1 shallot, peeled and minced
½ cup (120 mL) Spanish onion, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup (240 mL) Cognac
1 cup (240 mL) dry white wine
1 bay leaf
1 bunch parsley stems & 2 sprigs tarragon, tied together with cotton twine
6 vine-ripened (or equivalent canned) tomatoes, roughly chopped
½ pound (¼ kg) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch (12 mm) pieces
salt and cayenne pepper to taste
½ cup (120 mL) parsley, finely chopped
     
On a cutting board on top of a small pan, cut the lobsters in half, and separate the tail from the main body.  Split the tails in half, then remove the claws, and crack with the heel of the knife.  Cut the body into about eight pieces, saving all juices that runs out of the lobster.  Season lightly with salt.
Heat the olive oil over a medium flame, then sauté the lobster pieces for several minutes, or until they turn bright red.  Remove from the fire, and transfer the lobster pieces to a serving platter.  When cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the tail and claws, and cut into 1-inch (25 mm) pieces.  Set the meat aside, discard the claw shells, and reserve the tail shells and body pieces.
Sauté the shallot, onion, celery and garlic in the olive oil for several minutes.  Add the cognac, ignite, and allow the flame to die out.  Add the white wine, the herbs, tomatoes, any juices collected when cutting the lobster, and the lobster shells to the pan.  Cover, and gently simmer for 20 minutes.
Strain the sauce through a fine sieve, making sure to extract all of the liquid. Return this sauce to the pan, and bring to a boil.  Add the cut up butter, stirring continuously, under all of the butter is incorporated.  Add the tail and claw meat.  Season to taste with salt and cayenne pepper.  Serve on an appropriate platter, using the tail shells to hold the lobster and sauce.  Garnish with parsley sprigs.
    NB: There still exists today some disagreement over the true origin of Homard à l’Américaine .  Some contend that the contemporary name is a corruption of Lobster à l’Armoricaine, in reference to its roots in Brittany, the nor th-western-most region of France, and the location of a mountain mass known as the Armorican massif.  Brittany is well known for many lobster dishes, given its proximity to the North Atlantic, but it is not known for tomatoes.  This dish, raw lobster sautéed in olive oil, and simmered with tomatoes, onion, garlic and parsley, is found in pre-19 th-century French cookbooks – notably Jules Gouffé’s Le Livre de Cuisine , published in the late 1860’s.  Until the 19 th-century, tomatoes were scarcely known outside of the Mediterranean region, giving further credence to Gouffé’s name for this dish – Homard à la Provençale .  Provence, a region of France located on the Mediterranean coast, and a celebrated gastronomic region – well-known for an abundant use of tomato, garlic and olive oil.  Chef Michel Reculet, at the celebrated Parisian restaurant, Noël et Peters, made famous a dish entitled Homard à l’Americaine , about 1860, supposedly for a distinguished American diner.  August Escoffier (1847-1935), the father of modern French cooking, contended that an unnamed cook created Langouste de la Mediterranée at Le Restaurant Française in Nice, then exported the Provence-style dish to the United States when he opened a restaurant there by the same name.  It was then re-imported to France with the new name.  I tend to side with Escoffier, because of his reputation,