Cajun Phrases
Cajun Phrases
Andouille and Boudin (ahn-doo-ee and boo dan)
Two types of Cajun sausage. Andouille is made with pork, boudin with pork and rice. Sociologists recognize two major categories of Cajuns; "River" (for andouille); and the "Bayou" (for boudin) ***
Beignet (bin-yay)
A fritter or strangely shaped doughnut without a hole, sprinkled with powdered sugar. A New Orleans favorite***
Bouquet Garni (boo-kay gar-nee)
An herb bouquet. A small cheesecloth bag containing 1 large bay leaf, teaspoon thyme, teaspoon dried basil, about 8 sprigs fresh parsley, teaspoon dried tarragon, 3 chopped green celery tops, 6 whole peppercorns and a slashed clove of garlic used in Cajun cooking**
Bouree' (boo-ray)
Popular Cajun card game, sometimes called "Cajun Bridge" ***
C'est la vie (say la vee)
"That's life" ***
Café Noir (caf ay nwah) & Café-au-lait (caf-ay-o-lay)
Black coffee or coffee and milk or cream ***
Cajun Cooking Robust,
inventive cooking evolved by the Acadian settlers rooted in resourcefulness, use of available ingredients and "made do" in artful ways **
Cajuns Bayou (by-you or by-yo)
A sluggish stream bigger than a creek and smaller than a river ***
Cher (sha)
Term of endearment or "my sweet" ***
Cochon de lait (coo-shon duh lay)
An event where a suckling pig is roasted over a blistering hickory fire until the inside is tender and juicy and the outside brittle as well-cooked bacon **
Comme ci, Comme ca (come-se, come sah)
So-so ***
Crawfish-crayfish (craw-fish)
A small fresh water crustacean related to the lobster**
Creole
Several definitions exist: in Louisiana, a Creole is a white person descended from French and Spanish settlers or a person of mixed European and African blood. It's also a style of cooking and architecture Etouffée (ay too fay) Method of cooking something (usually shrimp or crawfish) smothered in chopped vegetables over low flame, tightly covered until tender **
Fais-do-do (fay-doh-doh)
A type of street dance derived from European religious festivals. Originally called Festival of God.*
Grillades (gree yahds)
Beef or veal round steak, browned, then simmered until tender in browned tomato sauce served over rice or grits**
Gumbo (gum bo)
Thick, savory soup with chicken, seafood, sausage or wild game ***
Hush puppies
A cornbread-type of mixture, formed into balls and fried until crispy on the outside**
Jambalaya (jum buh lie uh)
Highly-seasoned mixture of any of several combinations of seafood, meat, poultry, sausage and vegetables, simmered with raw rice until liquid is absorbed**
Joie de vivre (zhwah duh viv-re)
"The joy of living" the attitude of our citizens that permeates our lifestyle***
Lagniappe (lan yap)
An old Creole word for "something extra." Soup meat is the lagniappe from vegetable soup preparation.**
Laissez les bons temps rouler (lay-say lay bawn tawn roo-lay)
"Let the good times roll" the motto of many Louisianans***
Pirogue (pee-rogue)
Cajun canoe, originally made from a dug-out cypress log***
Roux (roo)
Basic ingredient of many Louisiana recipes. Essentially seasoned flour browned in a skillet***
Zydeco (zy-duc-coh)
Lively variant of Cajun music derived from the word haricot, French for string bean
* * From the Louisiana Experience by Mary Alice Fontenot & Julie Landry
** From the Encyclopedia of Cajun and Creole Cuisine by John D. Folse
*** From the Louisiana Office of Tourism
