Mousse: Creating an assortment of desserts (melted chocolates, puree fruits, etc.) by incorporating (folding in gently) either whipped heavy cream or whipped egg whites to lighten and fluff said dessert.
Nantua Sauce: I experimented with this one ... puree crawfish tail meat, minced tomatoes, garlic, onions, and bell peppers, cooked in a bechamel sauce, then laced with Cognac. Hell, it’s excellent topped over any style of seafood dishes. I’m kind of proud of this creation.
Ouef: Yeah, baby! That’s egg in French. Ouef in the morning ... Ouef in the evening ... Ouef at the midnight hour!
Osso Buco: Thick and meaty Veal Shanks, crosscut, braised in oven for hours with carrots, celery, onions, bell peppers, seasonings and herbs, covered with meat stock. Allowed to reduce till stock becomes lightly syrupy in consistency.
Pancetta: Italian style cured pork belly, rolled and tied. It’s not smoked like American bacon.
Panino: That means sandwich in Italian. Give me a panino with ham & swiss with dijon on rye, on the fly, ya’ll!
Pate: French for paste, and for a style of pastry.
Pate Choux: Made by adding flour and sugar to boiling milk with butter, creating a sweet paste, to which eggs are blended in to leaven it.
Pesto: A mixture of olive oil, minced fresh basil, parmesan cheese, minced fresh garlic and minced fresh parsley. Sometimes roasted pine nuts or minced walnuts are added.
Pico De Gallo: A combination of fresh diced onions and tomatoes, minced garlic, jalapeno peppers and cilantro, olive oil and red wine vinegar.
Polenta: Italian version of cornmeal mush that’s seasoned with onions, garlic and parmesan cheese. It’s mighty tasty!
Praline: Well, here’s two types of this item. In France, it’s a paste made out of caramelized almonds and/or hazelnuts. Her, in the States, it’s a caramel sauce with pecans, or a solidified candy version of pecans praline.
Prosciutto: That’s ham in Italian...usually raw cured hams from Parma, Italy. Cooked hams from other regions of Italia.
Pumate: Sun dried tomatoes in Italian.
Quiche: A mixture of eggs and heavy whipping cream, with an assorted cheeses, vegetables and/or meats thrown in an open-faced pie crust shell and baked.
