• a la carte (ah lah cart') - A term used on menus to indicate that a meal is ordered dish by dish, each of which has a separate price. French.
• Antipasto (an tee pahs' tow) - A first course of assorted relishes, smoked or pickled meats or fish. Italian.
• au gratin (oh grah' tn) - Topped with bread crumbs and browned. May also be topped with shredded cheese. French.
• Au jus (oh zhu') - Served in natural meat juices from roasting. French.
• Barbecue - To roast or broil over an open fire and served with a barbecue sauce.
• Bechamel (bay sha mel) - Rich white cream sauce. French.
• Bisque (bisk) - A thick, cream soup containing fish or game. Also a cream soup of pureed vegetables. French and American.
• Blancmange (blah mahnj') - A flavored milk dessert thickened with cornstarch, flour, or gelatin, and usually shaped in a mold. French.
• Bombe (bomb) - A dessert of two or more ice or cream mixtures frozen in a round or bombe-shaped (melon) mold. French.
• Borsch (borsh) - A soup containing beets. Usually served with a topper of sour cream. Russian.
• Bouillabaisse (boo yah base') - A thick soup, made of a combination of many kinds of fish and seafoods. French.
• Brioche (bree ohsh') - A feathery rich yeast roll with topknot. French.
• cafe au lait (kah fay' oh lav') - A beverage that's half hot coffee, half scalded milk. French.
• Canape (ca' nah pay) - A small piece of bread, toast, or a cracker spread or topped with tasty food eaten as "finger " appetizers. French.
• Cannoli (can o' lee) - Pastry shells filled with sweetened ricotta cheese or pudding mixture. Italian.
• Caper - The bud of the caper bush pickled and used as a seasoning.
• Caramel (care' uh mel) - Burnt sugar.
• Caviar (kav' ee are) - The roe or eggs of sturgeon or other large fish, processed, salted, and used as an appetizer.
• Charlotte (shahr' lot) - A dessert of fruit filling, whipped cream, custard, gelatin, or other filling usually in a ladyfinger, bread, or cake "crust." Popular form is charlotte russe (roose). French.
• Chateaubriand (shah toh bree ahn') - a double tenderloin steak of excellent quality served with a butter and lemon sauce. French.
• Chutneys: Combinations of fruits and/or vegetables, spices, sugar and vinegar, cooked for a long period of time to develop flavor and texture. Chutneys are often highly spiced with a sweet-sour flavor.
• coq au vin (coke oh vahn) - Chicken in red wine sauce. French.
• Court Bouillon (koo bwe 'yon) - A broth flavored with meat, fish, and various vegetables. Used for poaching and for sauces.
• Crepe suzette (krayp' sue zeht') - A thin sweet pancake usually served rolled with sweet hot orange sauce flavored with curacao or other liqueurs. Usually set aflame just before serving. French.
• Croissant (krwah sahn') - A rich, flaky crescent-shaped roll. French.
• Crouton (kroo' tahn) - A small cube of dry toasted bread served atop soup or salad. French.
• Daikon (die' kon) - Large radish often grated or sliced and used as a relish for Oriental dishes. Japanese.
• Demitasse (dem' ee tahs) - A small or "half" cup of strong black after-dinner coffee. Also, the small cup in which it is served. French.
• Dolma (dole' mah) - A seasoned mixture of rice, chopped meats, and chopped onion wrapped and cooked in cabbage leaves. Turkish.
• du jour (dah zhur') - Used on menus to indicate feature "of the day." As, soupe du jour (soup), carte du jour (meal). French.
• Empanada (ehm pah nah' dah) - Meat pie. Spanish.
• en brochette (on' bro shet') - On a skewer kabob-style. French.
• Enchilada (en chah lah' dah) - A tortilla topped or rolled with highly seasoned filling. Served with chili-seasoned tomato sauce. Mexican.
• Endive (en' dive; ohn' deev; on deev') - An herb grown for salad greens. Curly endive is lacy; French or Belgian endive grows in small finger-shaped heads. Also called witloof.
• Escargot (ess kahr go) - Cooked snail, often served in the shell with garlic butter. French.
• Espresso (eh spre' so) - A strong black coffee made by forcing steam through ground coffee.
• Filet Mignon (fih lay mean yohn') - A round fillet of beef, garnished with bacon or pork. French.
• Fillet (fil' eht) - A strip of lean meat or of fish without bone.
• Fondue (fahn doo') - The Swiss national dish - melted Swiss and/or Gruyere cheese, thickened, seasoned, and flavored with white wine and kirsch. Or, a baked dish, usually of eggs, butter, and cheese, thickened with crumbs.
• Frappe' (frahp) - A flavored liquid or fruit juice mixture frozen to a mush. French.
• Fricassee (frik' uh see) - A stew of meat or poultry in gravy. French.
• Frijoles (free hoe' lees) - Beans. Mexican.
• Garbanzos (gar bahn' zos) - Chick peas. Spanish.
• Garnish - To trim with small pieces of colorful food (e.g. pepper, pimento, parsley, lemon).
• Gazpacho (gah spah' cho) - A cold soup made of raw chopped vegetables. Spanish.
• Gherkin (grr' kin) - A small cucumber used for pickling.
• Glace (glah say') - To coat with a thin sugar syrup. Synonymous with glaze.
• hors d'oeuvre (or derve') An appetizer. French.
• Jams - Generally prepared by rapidly cooking crushed or chopped fruits in small batches. Jam recipes may be prepared from a single fruit or combination of fruits and/or vegetables and contain sugar and pectin. The finished product should be firm, yet spreadable.
• Julienne (joo lee en) - Match-like strips of vegetables, fruits, or meats. French.
• Kolacky (kah lahch' ee) - A bun made of rich sweet dough filled with jam or fruit puree. Czechoslovakian.
• Kuchen (koo' ken) - A cake, often coffee cake. German.
• Kugelhof (ku' gahl hoef) - Raisin-studded sweet bread baked in a special mold. German.

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Page 3 ~ Cajun Food Glossary
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