From Alligator to Zydeco: A Cajun Dictionary (contributions welcome!)

Alligator A large reptile, Alligator mississipiensis of the southeast United States A good white meat with a pork like texture.

Beignets A square fried pastry, a cross between a cruller and a donut without the hole, served hot and sprinkled liberally with confectioners sugar.

Boucherie (boo sher ee) A family or neighborhood gathering to help slaughter a hog. All share in the process and share in the proceeds.

Cafe Au Lait Coffee and Chichory blended with milk, usually a half and half mixture of hot coffee and hot milk.

Cher (sha) Honey or dear when speaking to the opposite sex, buddy or pal when addressing the same sex.

Chicory An her, the roots of which are dried, ground and used to flavor coffee, chiefly in New Orleans

Cochon De Lait A Cajun tradition, in which a young pig is roasted over and open pit. Today, this describes a method of preparing pork.

Courtboullion (coo be ahn) A thick rich fish stew made with tomatoes, onions and sometimes mixed vegetables. Gasper goo is an excellent fish for this dish.

Crawfish Resembling lobsters, but are much smaller and have sweeter meat, also called "mudbugs."

Crawfish Boil A party in a sack. Crawfish in a large pot with corn on the cob, potatoes, and seasoning in boiling water.

Do-Do (Make Do-Do) To go to sleep, one of the first terms some Louisiana children learn.

Dressed Referring to a sandwich or Po-Boy, this means add mayonnaise, lettuce, and tomatoes.

Fais Do Do Party where a traditional Cajun dance is performed. [French phrase meaning literally "to make sleep."

Filé (fee lay) Ground sassafras leaves use to season gumbo and other dishes.

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. The person who gets the baby in their piece is traditionally supposed to provide the next King Cake.

Lache pas la patate (losh pa la pa tot) Don't let go of the potato or don't give up. (A testament to the enduring spirit of the Cajun people.)

Mardi Gras Commonly called Fat Tuesday - the day before Ash Wednesday, the first

Me Same as in English, but frequently used with I as in "Me, I went to make groceries."

Po Boy A sandwich that is always made on French bread and can be filled with different fried seafood, roast beef and gravy, pork, meatballs, and more. Contraction of Poor Boy.

Red Beans and Rice Red beans cooked with ham or sausage and seasonings and served over rice.

Roux (Rew) "First you make a roux." It is the base for many Louisiana dishes (a slow browning of oil and flour.) It is what makes a gumbo great.

Sauce Picante A spicy sauce containing tomatoes, read peppers, and seasonings.

Zydeco Cajun dance music. A combination of traditional Cajun dance music and African blues.

Came across this while looking on-line for a Hoppin' John mix -- a la Zatarain's Red Beans and Rice, etc. mixes -- to send a couple of boxes to our active duty Sons-of-the-South over there in Afganistan and Iraq. Anyway, saw this little dictionary and thought, "Ah, what the heck?"

By the by, does anyone know if they even have Hoppin' John in ready-made, just-add-water-and-oil, boxed mix? I've been to quite a few on-line Canjun groceries all ready but no luck so far.

What?

No etoufee?

Crawfish Etouffee
Source: Chef Paul Prudhomme
8 servings

SEASONING MIX:
2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne)
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried sweet basil leaves
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves

1/4 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped green bell peppers
7 tb. vegetable oil
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3 cups BASIC SEAFOOD STOCK
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 lbs. peeled crawfish tails or medium shrimps
1 cup very finely chopped green onions
4 cups hot BASIC COOKED Rice

Combine seasoning mix ingredients in small bowl. Set aside. In separate bowl combine the onions, celery & bell peppers. In large heavy skillet heat the oil in high heat until it begins to smoke. With long handled metal whisk, gradually mix in the flour, stirring until smooth. Continue cooking whisking constantly, until ROUX is dark red brown (abt. 3-5 minutes). Remone from heat & immediately stir in the vegetables & 1 Tb. of the seasoning mix with a wooden spoon; continue stirring until cooled (abt. 5 minutes).

In a 2 qt. saucepan bring 2 cups of the stock to boil over high heat. Gradually add the roux & whisk until thoroughly dissolved. Reduce heat to low & cook until the flour taste is gone, about 2 minutes, whisking constantly. Remove from heat & set aside.

Heat the serving plates in a 250 oven.

In a 4 qt. saucepan melt 1 stick of the butter over medium heat. Stir in the crawfish & the green onions; sautÃ© about 1 minute stirring constantly. Add the remaining stick of butter, the stock mixture & the remaining 1 cup of stock; cook until butter melts & is mixed into the sauce, about 4-6 minutes, constantly shaking the pan in a back & forth motion (versus stirring). Add the remaining seasoning mix; stir well & remove from heat (if sauce starts separating, add about 2 more TB of stock or water & shake pan until it combines). Serve immediately.

To serve, mound 1/2 cup of rice on each heated serving plate. Surround the rice with 3/4 cup of the etouffee.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.