Definitions Of Creole Cuisine Terminology

Louisiana Bistro

Contemporary Casual Creole Dining In the French Quarter of New Orleans.

Boudin

A traditional Cajun sausage made from pork without blood, unlike the French Boudin Noir. What makes Boudin stand apart is the use of rice as a moistener in the sausage rather than pork fat. Pork fat was too precious to the Cajuns so cooked rice was ground into the sausage, making it one of the world’s first low-fat sausages. Boudin is traditionally simmered before serving. We prefer initially roasting Boudin to nicely crisp the natural casing.

Creole Mustard

A modified version of whole-grain mustard where the seeds are slightly toasted then crushed, not ground, before being mixed into a paste with vinegar and aged for several years.

Jalapeño Hollandaise

An emulsion sauce of butter, lemon juice and white wine using egg yolks as a binder and seasoned with diced jalapeños.

Corn Macque Choux

The only dish commonly used in New Orleans restaurants from the original Chocktaw Indians that existed in our area. Macque Choux consists of corn, onions, and jalapeños sauteed so that the starch from the corn comes out and thickens the liquid that sweats from the onions and jalapeños. Don’t be confused…THIS IS NOT CREAMED CORN.

Gumbo

Oh my, where to begin? Well, Gumbo is like a soup unlike any other. Created in New Orleans by French and Spanish chefs borrowing from African culture and using Native American (File Powder) influence that truly represents the blending of cultures in Louisiana. Made from stewed meats and/or shellfish with the holy trinity and thickened with either okra or file powder, never both, and a dark roux. Recently, mainly roux-based gumbos have become common.

Holy Trinity

Onions, celery, and bell peppers in equal amounts. originally a Spanish tradition.

Roux

Wheat flour cooked with oil and used as a thickener for soups, sauces, etouffees and other popular Cajun and Creole dishes. The darker the better.

File Powder/Gumbo File

Dried and ground sassafras leaves used as a thickener. Introduced to the Europeans by the local Indians, it was first used in Gumbo during the winter when fresh okra was not available. By the 1800s, the argument over file and okra gumbos was already a heated debate.

Drum/Puppy Drum

An abundant Gulf fish in the Croaker family related to the Atlantic Croaker, red drum (redfish), and spotted sea trout.

Creole Meuniere Sauce

Based on the French sauce made from butter, parsley and lemon browned in a pan. The Creole version is an emulsified lemon-butter sauce browned by the addition of a reduction of caramelized onions, Worcestershire, garlic and black pepper.

Creole Tomato Sauce

All the good stuff that goes into a great Italian tomato sauce with the addition of more spice. Where the Creole version differs is in the thickening method. An Italian sauce is slowly simmered until the ingredients slowly incorporate. Before air conditioning it was too hot in Louisiana kitchens so the tomato sauce was thickened with a dark Roux with a chunkier result and distinct flavor.

Confit

One of the first cooking and preservation methods and a specialty of Southern France. Meat is submerged in its own rendered fat, slowly cooked, and stored still submerged for up to 3 months. The meat is then removed from the fat and reheated before serving.

Andouille Sausage

A coarse ground spicy pork sausage considered essential in many Creole dishes.

Tasso

A very spicy cured pork diced and used as an ingredient in Creole and Cajun cooking. Named for the 16th-century poet who wrote the epic poem “Jerusalem Delivered”.

Panko

A Japanese breading made of coarse ground crustless bread crumbs.

Aioli

A garlic flavored fresh mayonnaise.

Jambalaya

A new world version of the old world dish, Paella. Meat and sausage are cooked with tomatoes and the trinity then simmered with rice.