French in Cooking

Pièce de résistance- the most

important dish of a meal

Restaurant- A restaurant prepares and serves food, drink and

dessert to customers.

Café- a small restaurant where drinks and snacks are sold.

Filet- a boneless steak cut from the tenderloin of beef.

Terrine- Usually describes a kind of pâté made of pieces of meat in a deep dish with straight sides. Can also be used to describe the dish itself.

Gratinée- Cooked so as to form the gratin- with a melted

cheese top layer

Julienne-a vegetable cut into thin strips

Meringue- A preparation of

sugar and the beaten whites of eggs, spread upon pastry, and slightly browned.

Pâté- a mixture of meat or seafood ingredients to create a spread

Potage- strong broth; a sort of liquid food prepared generally by boiling flesh of

some kind.

Etiquette- the standards of proper social manners.

Chef (cuisinier)-a person who cooks professionally in a professional

kitchen setting

Soufflé- light fluffy dish of egg yolks and stiffly beaten egg whites mixed with

e.g. cheese or fish or fruit

Foie Gras- a food product made of the liver of a duck or goose that has

been specially fattened.

Sorbet- Ice cream made of fruit, sugar, and water.

Fondue- dish of melted cheese or chocolate in which you dip croutons or

fruit.

Champagne- a sparkling, clear, celebration wine.

Escargots- a dish of cooked land snails, usually served as an appetizer.

Éclair- a long, thin pastry made with choux dough and filled with a crème.

Praline- sugared almond

Bisque- a thick cream soup made from shellfish

Crème Brulée- crème and egg dessert with sugary crust.

Filet mignon- delicate piece of meat

Biscuit- piece of bread served with dinner

Caramel- firm chewy candy made from caramelized sugar and butter and

milk

Rôtisserie- a small broiller with a motor- driven spit, for barbecueing fowl,

beef, etc.

Frappé- a fruit juice mixture frozen to a mush consisting of a liqueur, as crème de menthe, poured or cracked or shaved

ice.

Flambé- served in flaming liqueur, esp. brandy.

Entrée- The main dish of a meal

A la Carte- With a separate price for each item on the menu

Buffet- Self service to a spread of food

Banquet- A fancy reception dinner

Maître d’- a dining-room attendant who is in charge of the waiters and the seating of customers

A Votre Santé- “To your health”/ “cheers”- used as a toast

Gourmet- A person who enjoys good quality food

Gourmand- A person who loves to eat

Bon Vivant- A person having cultivated, refined, and sociable tastes

especially with respect to food and drink.

Dessert- Last sweet course of a meal

Cordon Bleu- 1. A skilled Chef

2. thin slices of chicken stuffed with cheese and ham and then sauteed

Connoisseur- A person who knows a lot about an area

Apéritif- alcoholic beverage taken before a meal as an appetizer

Hors d’ oeuvres- Appetizers

Amuse- gueule- a small

appetizer that is served before a main meal begins

Table d’ hôtes- a meal, usually of several preselected and fixed courses, in a

restaurant, hotel, or the like, for which one pays a fixed price- all guests sit at a long table.

Dinette- A nook or alcove located in or near a kitchen and used for informal meals.

Canapé- a small, prepared and usually decorative food, held in the fingers

and often eaten in one bite.

Crudités- traditional French appetizers comprising sliced or whole raw

vegetables which are dipped in a vinaigrette or another dipping sauce.

Café au lait- coffe with milk

Petits fours- a small confection generally eaten at the end of a meal (e.g. with coffee) or served as part of

dessert.

Omelette- a dish made from beaten eggs quickly cooked with butter or

oil in a frying pan, sometimes folded around a filling such as cheese,

vegetables, meat (often ham), or some combination of the above.

Bouillion- a clear seasoned broth

Cognac- high quality grape brandy distilled in the Cognac district of France

Mayonnaise- a spread used on sandwiches

Soupe du jour- A soup featured by a restaurant on a given day

Vinaigrette- is a mixture of salad oil and vinegar, often flavored with herbs, spices, and other ingredients, most commonly used as

a salad dressing.

Consommé- clear soup usually of beef or veal or chicken

Beignet-French fritter: a deep-fried, yeast-raised doughnut dusted with

confectioners' sugar

Profiterole- a small hollow pastry that is typically filled with cream and

covered with chocolate

Andouille- A spiced, heavily smoked, Cajun pork sausage, often made from the entire gastrointestinal system of the pig

Croûtons- Small toasted squares of bread, used to top salads.

Légumes-plants of the pea or pod family, including peas, beans and lentils.

Croque- Monsieur- a hot ham and cheese grilled sandwich

Petit beurre- a small, usually oblong butter cookie.

Truffes-

Mousse- Mousse is a form of light and creamy dessert typically made from

egg and cream, usually in combination with other flavors such as chocolate or pureed

fruit

(sauce) Hollandaise- eggs and butter with lemon juice

Baguette- a specific shape of bread, commonly made from basic lean dough, distinguishable by its length, very

crisp crust, and slits cut into it

Bombe Glacée- an ice-cream dessert frozen in a spherical mould

Bonbons- a candy that usually has a center of fondant or fruit or nuts

coated in chocolate

Crêpes- Thin, French pancakes used in desserts or savory dishes

Quiche- unsweetened custard in a pie shell with spinach, mushrooms, or

ham.

Sirop- sweet fruit and sugar mix used to top foods or mix in with water

Coq au vin- chicken and onions and mushrooms braised in red

wine and seasonings

Savarin- a sponge cake baked in a ring mold

Sauce (béarnaise)-Classic French sauce made with a

reduction of vinegar, wine, tarragon and shallots and finished with egg yolks and butter. Served with meat, fish, eggs, and

vegetables.

Purée- to mash

Sauté- to lightly fry in butter

Au gratin- vegetables covered with cheese and roasted in the oven

Provençal- prepared in the style of Provence, in south of France, usually, with olive oil, garlic, thyme, rosemary

A la…- in the style of

Emincé- a term used to describe meat, vegetables, or fish sliced very thinly,

placed in an earthenware dish and simmered in added sauce.

Nouvelle cuisine- a school of French cooking that uses light sauces and tries to bring out the natural flavors of foods instead of making heavy

use of butter and cream

Brut- extremely dry

Feuilleté- served in a puff pastry in many thin flaky layers

Casserole- dish of several ingredients put to cook in the oven

together in one pot

A la mode- with ice cream on top or on the side

Au jus- served in its natural juices or gravy

Au naturel- dishes cooked as simply as possible and served with a

minimum of accompaniments

Grillé- grilled