The LVRJ printed these terms you will most likely come across on the menus of upscale restaurants. Read this after a meal; otherwise you'll end up starving and wreck your diet! The definitions come from "The New Food Lover's Companion" by Sharon Tyler Herbst. (Wonder if she's related to "Terrible"?) [img]http://www.talkvegas.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img]
A•oli -- A garlic mayonnaise often served with fish, meats and vegetables.
A la carte -- A menu term denoting each item is priced separately (see prix fixe).
Beignet -- A traditional New Orleans yeast pastry that's deep-fried and served with a dusting of confectioners' sugar.
Beurre blanc -- A classic French sauce made of wine, vinegar, butter and a shallot reduction that's served with poultry, seafood, vegetables and eggs.
Blackened -- Describing meat or fish, often rubbed with a Cajun spice mixture, cooked in an extremely hot cast-iron skillet.
Ceviche (also seviche) -- An appetizer of raw fish marinated in citrus -- usually lime -- juice, often with onions, tomatoes and green peppers added. The acid in the lime "cooks" the fish, firming the flesh and making it opaque.
Chateaubriand -- Actually a recipe -- not a cut of beef -- involving a thick cut of beef large enough for two people that's grilled or broiled and usually served with bearnaise sauce.
Confit -- Meat -- usually goose, duck or pork -- salted and slowly cooked in its own fat.
Consomme -- Clarified meat or fish broth, served hot or cold and used as a soup or sauce base.
Corkage -- A fee some restaurants charge to open and serve wine a patron brings to the restaurant to drink.
Creme brulee -- A chilled, stirred custard sprinkled with brown or granulated sugar just before serving.
En papillote -- Food baked inside a wrapping or greased parchment paper. The paper is slit at the table to reveal the food.
Entrecote -- A French term for a tender steak cut from between the ninth and elevenths ribs of beef.
Jamaican jerk seasoning -- A Caribbean dry seasoning blend, usually containing chilies, garlic, onions and spices, used in grilling meat.
Jicama -- A root vegetable, used in Mexican cuisine, that has a sweet, nutty flavor.
Kobe beef -- an expensive grade of beef from Japan; the cattle are massaged with sake and fed a special diet that results in beef that's full-flavored and extremely tender.
Medallion -- A small, coin-shaped piece of meat, usually beef, veal or pork.
Prix fixe -- French for "fixed price," it refers to a complete meal served for a preset price (see a la carte).
Ragout -- A thick, rich, well-seasoned stew of meat, poultry or fish made with or without vegetables.
Roulade -- A thin slice of meat rolled around a filling -- mushrooms, bread crumbs or vegetables, for example -- usually browned before being baked or braised in wine or stock.
Saltimbocca -- Italian dish made of sliced veal sprinkled with sage and topped with prosciutto, then sautˇed and braised in white wine.
Sashimi -- Sliced raw fish served with various condiments.
Sommelier -- A steward or waiter in charge of wine.
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