OK, today I want to have a chat with the serious French foodies out there. If you fall into this category, you may be hungry for a comprehensive French food dictionary. Those little pocket guides might see you through in a brasserie, but in a real French restaurant, you’re going to get bogged down in the eglantine (wild rose jam from Alsace) or the foudjou (a pungent goat cheese spread), and you’ll end up taking bets on which food group a lavaret is in (10 points if you knew it’s a river fish in the Savoie). I suspect even French diners can’t decipher some of the terms. The French are really, really serious about food and the vocabulary reflects the complexity.
So what’s a gourmand to do? Beh oui, a solution is at hand! Patricia Wells, that goddess of French cooking for the anglo crowd, has come to our rescue, and then some. In case you are not au courant, Patricia Wells is a famous American cookbook author and was a food columnist/restaurant reviewer for the International Herald Tribune, where her husband Walter was an editor. She now runs a cooking school at her home near the pretty town of Vaison-la-Romaine. She and Walter have written a memoir of their life called We’ll Always Have Paris…and Provence.
Madame Wells has a web site (http://www.patriciawells.com) where you can check out her books and cooking school, and where, most importantly, you can download her French food glossary, at our favorite price: free! Ron and I have used it for years, and we have yet to come up with a cooking term that stumps her. We’ve put it on the computer but we’ve also made our own little iPhone/iPad app out of it, using the ‘Documents to Go’ app (Patricia, take note, an iPhone app would be great!). If by chance you should encounter Ron and me in a French restaurant, look closely and you’ll see one of us sneaking out our iPhone and surreptitiously tapping away under the table, quick before the waiter arrives. Wouldn’t want to look like tourists, don’t you know.
What shall we cook today, in honor of Patricia Wells and to thank her for her wonderful glossary? I’m coveting her book, Vegetable Harvest: Vegetables at the Center of the Plate, in which she takes on the French legume. We’ll go with a vegetable main dish then, and since it’s August and the potager is popping, I’ll offer up a very southern recipe, a Summer Squash Gratin. Of course in South Carolina we’d call it a squash casserole, but this being France, we’re going for a sexier title, and maybe we’ll throw in a bit of French cheese for good measure.
RECIPE: Summer Squash Gratin
Serves 6
2 pounds summer squash, sliced (also called yellow crookneck squash; you can use zucchini instead, or a mixture of both)
1 cup chopped onions
4 T. butter, divided
1 egg, beaten with 1/4 cup light cream or milk
Salt & pepper
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided, or use gruyère
1 cup crushed crumbs from crisp multi-grain crackers, divided
Heat oven to 350. Butter a 1 ½ quart shallow casserole dish.
Cook squash over boiling water in steamer basket until very tender, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, sauté onions in 1 T. butter for about 10 minutes.
Drain squash a couple of minutes, then mash lightly with back of spoon, pressing out as much water as possible.
In a bowl stir together squash and onions. Add salt and pepper to taste. Melt remaining butter in pan and stir it in, along with the egg mixture, ½ cup crumbs, and ¾ cup cheese. Put mixture in dish and top with remaining crumbs and cheese. Bake uncovered for about 25 minutes, until bubbly and golden brown on top. Serve hot.
Don’t miss last week’s comments if you want to learn what other readers are doing in their troisèime age.
16 thoughts on “Name that Dish: the Ultimate French Food Glossary”
Wonderful. I love your blog. I am however a bit puzzled. I have always understood the term “gourmand” to mean a glutton; someone who eats to excess without being particularly selective??
A “gourmet” on the other hand has always been my understanding of a foodie who is well-informed and passionately interested in good food and wine.
Are these terms in fact interchangeable?
thx, M
Hi! I am a squash lover…I painted a crookneck squash not long ago! (Then I ate it, of course: pumpkin cake recipe from an ancient Gourmet cookbook and a squash risotto). The painting is on the egg tempera and oils page of my website.
I look forward to your posts every week. I feel like I am back in France! I am such a foodie and love Patricia’s courses. As soon as the college payments are done – I am SO there!!!
WOW! What a gift! Last night I was searching around for a glossary of French cheeses for our up-coming trip–I could find nothing. You answered my questions for a French food glossary before they were asked–and I can download the pdf on my ipod! Thanks so much for the link!
Carla
Yum…thanks for the recipe. I will try it.
I love the mix of French and Southern culture. Hmm, maybe there’s a connection that predates any of us, all the way back to the Louisiana Purchase? Refinement of taste and manners. And good casserole.
How about a little garlic tossed in with the onions for the last couple minutes and a pinch of your favorite herbs?
I’m so pleased I stumbled upon your lovely site – with a combination of beautiful food and French photos. I will visit often.
~Dianne~
Dear Lynn:
Thanks for reminding me about Patricia Wells’ website, it is great! I never saw the glossary though and I’m going there as soon as I finish this comment!
In re: squash casserole, I can only say YUM…this is one of the best things I ever ate in the South, and my sister in Nashville kindly sent me her recipe so I could make it up here in Portland, Maine.
BUT…why oh why do you boil/steam the squash? I have never done it, can’t bring myself to do it, and the idea sounds so disgusting! Here’s what I do: saute the onions and throw in the squash for the last three or four minutes. Proceed with the recipe. It’s fabulous! I have made this with zuccini for Thanskgiving and it gets raves.
And my other Southern fave is pea salad…do you know this: Bag of frozen baby peas, 1/2 lb good bacon, some red onion and as much ranch dressing as you can stand, pour it in there until someone says “Whoa, Nellie”! Add a small (or large) can of cashews and mix it all together. Best thing you ever ate (is there a theme here?)
As you know by now, I love this blog!
Linda,
Portland, Maine
I love your site, enjoy the recipes and comments.
I have a cooking question- exactly what volume is “un verre”? I find it in French recette books and instructions but can’t find a precise amount. A French friend said it’s a standard drinking glass (relatively small)- but there is no “standard” glass. Any suggestions are appreciated.
Bonjour Lynn,
We like the PW glossary — for many years we’ve used the “Marling Menu Master,” but PW’s is more current and more useful. Now if only I were technically sophisticated enough to know how to put it into a file on my iPhone!
PS to my recent note about wanting to download PW’s Glossary to my IPhone: Surprisingly, I did it! A tech friend showed me a free program — http://www.dropbox.com — and I understand that by putting it in my “favorites,” I can have access to it without need to be connected to the internet — and hence no expensive roaming charges while using it. — Jake
Salut Lynn,
Thought you might enjoy the poem I wrote to go with your “Goats on a log” picture:
Goats on a log in a field of lush green
What kind of story is behind this scene?
A herd of nannies on a make-believe crest
Several are standing, a few are at rest
One might wonder, is this part of a mini caper?
Or a live photo-shoot by the local newspaper
There must be an intriguing story for us to read
Maybe with a prince riding a pure white stead
Alas! There’s no sensational story to behold
It’s just a game to see who’s next to fold
The last one standing fits the bill
To be known by all as “Queen of the Hill”
I have so much fun coming to your blog….RaeDi
I follow you VIA GFC and I love your blog!
Great blog
There is a wonderful iPhone App with
a gastronomic dictionary for French,
Italian and German into English:
visit http://www.gourmetguides.eu or look in
the Apple App Store for
“gourmetguides”
Good reading, and eating