In French, the word gratin originally referred to the tasty crust left behind in a pan after baking, which was scraped off and eaten as a bonus for the chef.
Now, cooking something au gratin can mean preparing a dish that is cooked from scratch in the oven, like a gratin dauphinois made with potatoes and cream; or combining several cooked ingredients in casserole form, like a baked pasta dish.
A gratin is usually topped with grated sharp cheese and/or breadcrumbs. Adding just cream will also produce a lightly browned crust if baked in high heat. Technically, macaroni and cheese is a gratin, in that a protective crust forms while it bakes, giving it a lightly browned and crunchy topcoat, while keeping the rest of the dish moist.
Gratins are served straight from the dish; hence the term gratin dish, which refers to an (often oval-shaped) oven-safe serving pan. That old-fashioned favorite, onion soup gratinée, is made by pouring soup into oven-safe tureens, topping them with toasted bread and grated cheese, and baking au gratin until gooey.
In French, le gratin is also an idiomatic expression meaning "the upper crust" of society.
Recipe: Asparagus-Fontina Gratin
Recipe: Portobello Gratin
Recipe: Pak-Choi Gratin (Experimentation of Taste)
Recipe: Cardoon Gratin (Cooking with Amy)
British bread puddings are a family of desserts that go back as far as the 17th century and are popular in the U.S. Bread pudding is a handy way to use up stale bread. Either bread crumbs or stale bread cubes are soaked in an egg custard mixture of milk or cream, eggs and sugar -- plus vanilla or other spices like cinnamon and nutmeg -- then baked. Bread pudding can be eaten hot or cold, plain or made even more rich with a sauce like crème anglaise.
Bread pudding can be complicated with chocolate, nuts, dried fruits or other flavorings and can be made with sweet breads such as brioche. The homey traditional British baked dessert Queen of Puddings is made from a breadcrumb-thickened egg custard that is baked until set, then topped with raspberry or black currant jam and covered in meringue. It is returned to the oven to color the meringue and served hot, with lots of double cream.
Bread and butter pudding is another matter, a kind of baked French toast in which buttered bread is layered with raisins or other fruits, covered in a milk and egg mixture and baked.
Tarama is a nickname for taramasalata (or taramosalata), a Greek dip that is often served as part of a meze platter with drinks before dinner.
The authentic Greek dish is a creamy, smooth paste made with fish roe (tarama) that is combined with milk- or water-soaked (and squeezed dry) bread, plus lemon juice and grated onion. The mixture is then emulsified with olive oil until it reaches a whipped consistency. Tarama is served with grilled pita bread or crudités.
Tarama is popular the world over and can be bought prepared, although store-bought tarama is often poor in quality and has added pink food coloring as well as cream, egg yolks, mashed potato, gelatin or other unnecessary thickeners. Fresh tarama is simple to make at home, and the bread and olive oil lend it natural body and richness.
Black pudding is the polite term for a charcuterie otherwise known as blood sausage or boudin noir, a dark-colored European and Russian sausage made primarily from pig's blood and fat bound up inside a pig's intestine, that is believed to have been invented by the ancient Greeks.
A number of flavorings can be added to the black pudding mixture, from onions to brandy, eggs, milk, spinach, cream, breadcrumbs, apples, prunes, raisins and herbs. The Scottish mix in blood-absorbing oatmeal or barley. The French boudin noir is fried or broiled and usually served with apples or mashed potatoes. Germans enjoy it with a side of hot potato salad, and the British and Irish serve it with bacon and potatoes.
A rouille is a Provençal sauce that takes its name from the French word "rust." This is due to its ruddy saffron or chili-induced color.
Something along the lines of a kicked-up eggless mayonnaise, rouille is made from pounded garlic and chilies or saffron that is mixed with breadcrumbs and emulsified with fish stock and sometimes a touch of olive oil until thickened and increased in volume.
Rouille is smeared on baguette toasts and floated in bouillabaisse, and can also accompany poached fish. Depending on the cook, sometimes rouille is embellished with fish liver or lemon juice.
A croquette is a culinary invention with a cute French name that shows up in cuisines around the world.
Basically, you can make just about anything into a croquette, which essentially consists of a sweet or savory mixture of ingredients bound in a thick sauce, shaped into bite-sized, usually cylindrical pieces, coated with egg and breadcrumbs, fried in oil until crisp and golden, and served hot.
The classic French savory mixture includes minced cooked poultry, game, veal or other meats, mushrooms and Madeira combined with reduced velouté or demi-glace sauce, egg yolks and butter. Other popular ingredients include potatoes, cheese or salt cod. Rice- or custard-based sweet croquettes may be made with things like apricots or chestnuts. Traditionally, croquettes are served with a sauce.
To dredge means to coat food that's about to be fried or sautéed in a protective layer of bread crumbs, flour or cornmeal.
Dredging food first creates a barrier that allows it to cook without sticking and to develop a crispy crust while keeping whatever is inside -- like chicken, for example -- nice and moist. After you dredge your chicken leg or pork chop in flour, be sure to shake off the excess so that it doesn't burn in the pan.
Dredging is also used to "bread" meat, fish or vegetables in a thicker outward coating -- first in flour, then in beaten egg, and finally in bread crumbs or cornmeal -- before frying.
