|
Andouille (ahn-do-ee)
|
A spicy country sausage used in Gumbo and other Cajun
dishes.
|
|
| Atchafalaya
(uh chaf uh ly uh) |
Choctaw Indian word
meaning “long river.” The Atchafalaya River runs through a scenic
river basin east of Lafayette, Louisiana. This swamp area is rich with
wildlife and seafood that are the basis of many Cajun dishes. |
|
Bayou (bi-yoo)
|
The streams crisscrossing
Louisiana
.
|
|
Beignet (ben-yea)
|
Delicious sweet doughnuts, square-shaped and minus
the hole, lavishly sprinkled with powdered sugar. Sometimes served
with café au lait (coffee with chicory and
milk).
|
|
Bisque (bis-k)
|
A thick, cream or milk-based shellfish soup, usually
made with crawfish, shrimp or oysters.
|
| Blacken
(black-end) |
Blackening
is a method of cooking invented by Chef Paul Prudhomme. Though he is a
Cajun country native, the dish isn't part of traditional Cajun cooking. To
blacken fish or meat, the chef coats it with spices and quickly sears it
in butter in a cast iron skillet. The goal is to get a crunchy coat. It is
not supposed to be burned, over-charred or excruciatingly spiced with
pepper. |
|
Bon Appetite! (bon a-pet-tite')
|
Good appetite - or "Enjoy!"
|
|
Boucherie (boo-shuh-ree)
|
A community butchering which involves several
families contributing the animal(s), usually pigs, to be slaughtered.
Each family helps to process the different cuts of meat, like sausage,
ham, boudin, chaudin, chops, and head cheese. Each family gets to take
home their share of the yield. This process was done in late fall to
provide meat throughout the cold months.
|
|
Boudin (boo-dan)
|
Hot, spicy pork mixed with onions, cooked rice,
herbs, and stuffed in sausage casing.
|
|
Bourre (boo-ray)
|
French for "stuffed”, it is the name of a
Cajun card game which requires the loser of a hand to stuff the pot with
chips.
|
| Bread
Pudding |
A
traditional New Orleans dessert made from yesterday's French bread. The
loaf is broken up, soaked in custard and baked until golden brown.
Restaurants usually serve it with whiskey sauce.
|
|
Café au Lait (kah-fay-oh-lay)
|
Coffee with steamed milk.
|
|
Cajun (cay-jun)
|
Slang for Acadians, the French-speaking people who
migrated to
South Louisiana
from
Nova Scotia
in the eighteenth century. Cajuns were happily removed from city life
preferring a rustic life along the bayous. The term now applies to the
people, the culture, and the cooking.
|
| Cajun
Cuisine |
The
cooking of the Cajun people, the transplanted Acadians expelled from Nova
Scotia in the 1750s who settled in Louisiana. Coming out of hard times,
Cajun cooking traditionally involved one large pot and often stretched
limited offerings to feed many.
|
|
Cayenne
(ki-yan)
|
A hot pepper that is dried and used to season many
Louisiana
dishes.
|
|
Chicory (chick-ory)
|
An herb, the roots of which are dried, ground;
roasted and used to flavor coffee.
|
|
Coonass (koon-ass)
|
A controversial
term in the Cajun lexicon: to some Cajuns it is regarded as the supreme
ethnic slur, meaning "ignorant, backwards Cajun"; to others the
term is a badge of pride, much like the word Chicano is for Mexican
Americans. In
South Louisiana
, for example, one can often see bumper stickers reading "Registered
Louisiana Coonass". The word originated in
South Louisiana
, and is derived from the belief that Cajuns frequently ate raccoons. It
is proposed that the term contains a negative racial connotation: namely,
that Cajuns were "beneath" or "under" blacks (or
coons, as blacks were often called by racists).
|
|
Couche-Couche (koosh-koosh)
|
A popular breakfast food, made by frying cornmeal and
topping it with milk and/or cane syrup.
|
|
Courtbouillon (coo-boo-yon)
|
A rich, spicy tomato-based soup or stew made with
fish fillets, onions, and sometimes mixed vegetables.
|
|
Crawfish (craw-fish)
|
Crawfish, sometimes spelled "crayfish,"
resemble lobsters, but are much smaller. Locally, they are known as
"mudbugs," because they live and grow in the mud of freshwater
bayous. They can be served many ways: in etouffees, jambalaya, gumbos or,
simply boiled.
|
|
Creole (cree-ol)
|
The word originally described those people of mixed
French and Spanish blood who migrated from
Europe
or were born in
Southeast Louisiana
and lived as sophisticated city or plantation dwellers. The term has
expanded and now embraces a type of cuisine and a style of architecture.
|
| Crescent
City |
Nickname
for New Orleans which is located at a bend of the Mississippi River that
is shaped like a crescent. |
|
Dirty Rice
|
Pan-fried leftover cooked rice sautéed with green
peppers, onion, celery, stock, liver, giblets and many other ingredients.
|
| Dressing |
In
Louisiana, dressing is synonymous with stuffing, or a side dish for a
meal. |
|
Etoufee (ay-too-fay)
|
A succulent, tangy tomato-based sauce. A smothered
dish usually made with crawfish or shrimp. Crawfish and Shrimp etouffees
are
New Orleans
and Cajun country specialties.
|
|
Fais do do (fay-doe-doe)
|
The name for a party where traditional Cajun dance is
performed. This phrase literally means "to make sleep," although
the parties are the liveliest of occasions with food, music, and dancing.
|
|
File (fee-lay)
|
Ground sassafras leaves used to season, among other
things, gumbo.
|
| Float |
Lavishly
decorated vehicle used in Mardi Gras parades, from which beads, doubloons
and other small trinkets are thrown. |
|
Fricassee (free-kay-say)
|
A stew made by browning then removing meat from the
pan, making a roux with the pan drippings, and then returning meat to
simmer in the thick gravy.
|
|
Gumbo (gum-boe)
|
A thick, robust roux-based soup sometimes thickened
with okra or file'. There are thousands of variations, such as shrimp or
seafood gumbo, chicken or duck gumbo, okra and file' gumbo.
|
| Hushpuppies |
A
cornbread-type mixture, formed into balls & fried until crispy &
golden on the outside. |
|
Jambalaya (jum-bo-lie-yah)
|
Louisiana
chefs "sweep up the kitchen" and toss just about everything into
the pot. A rice dish with any combination of beef, pork, fowl, smoked
sausage, ham, or seafood, as well as celery, green peppers and often
tomatoes.
|
|
Joie de Vivre (zhwa-d-veev)
|
An attitude towards life
|
|
King Cake
|
A ring shaped oval pastry, decorated with colored
sugar in the traditional Mardi Gras colors, purple, green, and gold, which
represent justice, faith, and power. A small plastic baby is hidden inside
the cake. Tradition requires that the person who gets the baby in their
piece must provide the next King Cake.
|
|
Lagniappe (lan-yap)
|
This word is Cajun for "something extra,"
like the extra donut in a baker's dozen. An unexpected nice surprise.
|
|
Laissez les bon temps rouler
(lay-zay lay bon ton rule-ay )
|
You often hear this popular Cajun
phrase during Mardi Gras. It means "Let the good times roll!"
and that's what we do here in Louisiana!
|
|
Levee (le-vee)
|
An embankment built to keep a river from overflowing;
a landing place on the river.
|
|
Maque Chou (mock-shoo)
|
A dish made by scraping young corn off the cob
and smothering the kernels in tomatoes, onion, and spices.
|
|
Mardi Gras (mardi graw)
|
Commonly known as Fat Tuesday, it is the day before
Ash Wednesday, the first day of the Roman Catholic season of Lent. It's
also the day of the Biggest Party on Earth!
|
| Marinade |
A
mixture of liquids and seasonings in which foods are soaked before
cooking. Marinades are an important part of Louisiana cuisine. |
|
Pain Perdu (pan-pear-doo)
|
Means "lost bread"; a breakfast treat made
by soaking stale bread in an egg batter, then frying and topping with cane
syrup or powdered sugar.
|
| Parish |
Political
division similar to counties in other states. Louisiana is the only state
which has parishes rather than counties. |
|
Pirogue (pee-row)
|
A Cajun boat, similar to a canoe usually for no more
than 2 people.
|
|
Po-Boy
|
A sandwich extravaganza that began as a five-cent
lunch for poor boys. Always made with French bread, po-boys can be stuffed
with fried oysters, shrimp, fish, crawfish, meatballs, smoked sausage and
more.
|
|
Praline (praw-leen)
|
The sweetest of sweets, this
New Orleans
tradition is a candy patty made of sugar, cream and pecans.
|
|
Red Beans & Rice
|
The traditional Monday meal in
New Orleans
, red beans are cooked with ham or sausage and seasonings, and served over
rice.
|
| Remoulade
(rem-oo-lard) |
A
spicy sauce used with shrimp and other seafood. |
|
Roux (roo)
|
Base of gumbos or stews, made of flour and oil
mixture.
|
| Rue
(roo) |
The
French word for street, used in the New Orleans French Quarter. |
|
Sauce Piquante (saws-pee-kawnt)
|
Means "spicy sauce"; is a spicy stew.
|
| Second
Line |
A
celebratory dance accompanied by jazz, and decorated umbrellas; a New
Orleans tradition at weddings, jazz funerals and other festive occasions.
The First Line consists of the somber mourners at a jazz funeral. |
|
Tasso (tah-soh)
|
Strips of spiced pork or beef which are smoked
like jerky and used to flavor many dishes; a sort of Cajun pepperoni.
|
| The
Big Easy |
A
nickname for New Orleans meaning people here take it easy. |
| Two-step |
A
traditional Cajun dance similar to a polka. |
|
Vieux Carre (voo ca-ray)
|
French, meaning "old quarter," and
referring to the French Quarter.
|
| Where
Y’at |
Contraction
for “Where are you at?’ In some neighborhoods in New Orleans this is
how you say “How are you doing?” |
|
Zydeco (zi-de-co)
|
A relatively new kind of Creole dance music that is a
combination of traditional Cajun dance music, R&B, and African blues.
|
