§ Al dente: An adjective that describes pasta, rice, or beans that have been cooked so as to be firm but not hard. It is often used in reference to vegetables when they continue to offer resistance, but are cooked through. The term is Italian, meaning “to the tooth” or “to the bite.”
§ Aromatics: Onion, celery, and carrots. Often used as the base of dishes to enhance flavor. Others may be added depending on the cuisine/dish (e.g. garlic, peppercorns, herbs)
§ Arrabbiata: A Roman-style tomato sauce cooked with red chiles. “Arrabbiata” means angry, due to the spiciness of the chiles.
§ Avgolemono: Greek soup made with egg and lemon juice mixed with broth, heated until they thicken. It is a chicken stock base, and often made with rice or orzo pasta.
§ Béchamel sauce: Also known as white sauce, is one of the mother sauces of French cuisine. It is traditionally made by whisking scalded milk gradually into a white flour-butter roux.
§ Black pepper, freshly ground: I don’t think the necessarily require a definition, but I want to take this opportunity to say that once you switch to freshly ground pepper, you will never go back. It makes a world of difference. Next time you get one of those 20% off Bed, Bath, and Beyond coupons, march into the store and pick one up. It might even come already filled with pepper. You can get a little dinky plastic one; it makes no difference.
§ Braising: a process of cooking meat where it is seared first over high heat, and then cooked slowly over reduced heat with the addition of liquid. Traditionally, this method is used for tough cuts of meat, since the long cooking process, and the liquid help break down connective tissue.
§ Brisket: A cut of beef from the breast of lower chest. In traditional Jewish cooking, it is often braised.
§ Bulgur: Cracked wheat grains, often used in Middle Eastern dishes. Also called bulgur wheat.
§ Flat leaf parsley: Also known as "Italian parsley." Flat leaf has more flavor than curly parsley and is preferred for cooking.
§ Gruyere: A type of Swiss cheese. Sweet but slightly salty, with a flavor that varies widely with age. It is often described as creamy and nutty when young, becoming with age more assertive, earthy, and complex. Melts beautifully.
§ Immersion blender: also known as a stick blender. A hand-held blender with a rotary that is portable and can be directly immersed into cooking vessel.
§ Italian parsley: See "Flat leaf parsley."
§ Kalamata olive: a Greek black olive that ranges in color from mauve to deep purple. They are soft and meaty in texture, with a mild, fruity flavor.
§ Kosher salt: Kosher salt takes its name from its use in the koshering process. It contains no preservatives and can be derived from either seawater or underground sources. It tastes better, is better for you, and is much prettier than table salt.
§ Mark Bittman: a food writer whom I love! His cookbook How to Cook Everything is a must have, which truly lives up to its name. He also writes a column for the New York Times called The Minimalist, and a blog called Bitten.
§ Matzo ball soup: Traditional Jewish dumpling made from matzo meal (similar to cracker meal) served in a chicken stock with vegetables, noodles, or rice.
§ Microplane: The name brand of a wonderful hand-held grater. Perfect for zesting, shredding parmesan, ginger, or garlic. I use mine almost every day.
§ Mise en place: In French, it means literally “put in place.” In the culinary word, it means having everything set up before cooking: ingredients chopped and measured, pans and equipment out. This is key to restaurants functioning smoothly and done before the shift starts, but in certain instances at home, it makes for a much smoother cooking process.
§ Muffaletta: A specialty of New Orleans, this sandwich originated in 1906 at the Central Grocery. The sandwich consists of the round loaf of crusty Italian bread, split and filled with layers of sliced Provolone cheese, Genoa salami and Cappicola ham, topped with Olive Salad: a chopped mixture of green, unstuffed olives, pimientos, celery, garlic, cocktail onions, capers, oregano, parsley, olive oil, red-wine vinegar, salt and pepper.
§ Orzo: Pasta similar in shape to a grain of rice
§ Pancetta: An Italian cured meat; pork belly that is salt cured, spiced (often with peppercorns and garlic), and rolled. It is similar to bacon, but it is not smoked.
§ Panko breadcrumbs: Breadcrumbs made from bread without crusts, thus it has a crisper, airier texture than most types of breading found in Western cuisine. Often called "Japanese breadcrumbs," they are often used in Japanese cuisine as coating for fried food.
§ Pasta cooking liquid/water: The secret to great pasta. As the pasta cooks, it releases starch in the water. So adding a little to your pasta and sauce combo will bring it together, rather than sauce clumping about your pasta. Start with a tablespoon or so, and take it from there, but depending on the dish and how the quantity of pasta, it may take almost a full cup.
§ Peperoncini: small, yellow chile peppers that have been pickled; they are mild to medium in spiciness. They also have a slight sweetness to them and a tangy flavor from the pickling process. They are often served whole, with stems and seeds.
§ Phyllo dough: Dough that is made of layers of paper-thin sheets of raw, unleavened flour dough. When baked it becomes very browned a crispy and is often layered with olive oil or butter between each of the sheets to help the browning process. This dough can be used in sweet or savory applications.
§ Poblano peppers: Relatively large and mild dark green chile peppers. While they are generally mild to moderate in heat, there is a lot variability, and they can be quite spicy.
§ Puttanesca: A traditional Italian pasta dish made with a pungent tomato sauce, typically containing olives, garlic, capers, hot pepper, and sometimes anchovies.
§ Roux: A cooked mixture of wheat flour and fat, used as a thickening agent. Roux takes on a deeper color the longer it is cooked, and different color correspond to different dishes. (e.g. light roux is used for Béchamel, "peanut butter" roux is for gumbo)
§ Spanikopita: A savory Greek pastry made of Phyllo dough (see above for definition). The filling is made from spinach, feta cheese, onions, and bound with egg.
§ Sriracha: A Thai-style hot sauce, typically made from sun-ripened chili peppers, vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt. It has a thick consistency, and is bright red in color.
§ Tagine: a North African braise (see “braising”) of meat and/or vegetables, named after its cooking vessel (although it can be done without the special pot). The pot is made of clay with a shallow, round base and a cone- or dome-shaped lid. The lid is designed to return any condensation to the bottom. For more information, click here.
§ The Takeaway: An intelligent and engaging morning news radio show. Hosted by John Hockenberry and Celeste Headlee, this program provides opportunities for listener participation. The Takeaway is a unique partnership of global news leaders. It is a co-production of PRI (Public Radio International) and WNYC Radio in collaboration with the BBC World Service, The New York Times and WGBH Boston. For more information go to http://www.thetakeaway.org/
§ Tempering: The process of adding a cooler liquid to a hotter one (usually containing eggs) to prevent curdling.
§ Zest: The outer skin of citrus. The zest contains the fruit’s essential oils, and is packed with flavor. A fine grater can be used to remove the zest (I recommend a Microplane). Be careful only the get the outer colorful part. The white pith is bitter. Zest can also be used as a verb.
