Louisiana: How to Speak the Language ~ Pawprints and Purrs

Louisiana: How to Speak the Language

Andouille (ahn-do-ee)
A spicy country sausage used in Gumbo and other Cajun dishes.

Bayou (bi-yoo)
An outlet of a lake or one of the delta streams of a river, usually sluggish and marshy.

Beignet (ben-yea)
Delicious sweet doughnuts without the hole and usually square-shaped, lavishly sprinkled with powdered sugar.

The Big Easy
A nickname for New Orleans meaning to take it easy; easy living.

Bon Appetité! (bon a-pet-tite)
Literally - good appetite - or Enjoy!

Boudin (boo-dan)
Hot, spicy pork mixed with onions, cooked rice, herbs, and stuffed in sausage casing.

Café Au Lait (caf-ay oh-lay)
Coffee and Chicory blend with milk; usually a half-and-half mixture of hot coffee and hot milk.

Café Brulot (caf-ay broo-loh)
This dramatic after-dinner brew is a blend of hot coffee, spices, orange peel, and liqueurs. It is blended in a chafing dish, ignited, and served in special cups.

Cajun (cay-jun)
Slang for Acadians, the French-speaking people who migrated to South Louisiana from Nova Scotia in the eighteenth century. Cajuns were happily removed from city life preferring a rustic life along the bayous. The term now generally applies to the people, the culture, and the cooking.

Chicory (chick-ory)
An herb, the roots of which are dried, ground; roasted and used to flavor coffee.

Courtbouillon (coo-boo-yon)
A rich, spicy soup, or stew, made with fish fillets, tomatoes, onions, and sometimes mixed vegetables.

Crawfish (craw-fish)
Sometimes spelled "crayfish" but always pronounced crawfish. Resembling tiny lobsters, these little crustaceans are known locally as "mudbugs" because they live in the mud of freshwater bayous. They are served in a variety of different ways, including simply boiled.

Creole (cree-ol)
The word originally described those people of mixed French and Spanish blood who migrated from Europe or were born in Southeast Louisiana and lived as sophisticated city or plantation dwellers. The term has expanded and now embraces a type of cuisine and a style of architecture.

Crescent City
New Orleans is located at a bend of the Mississippi River, where the bend forms the shape of a crescent. Hence, the nickname Crescent City.

Dirty Rice
Pan-fried leftover cooked rice sautéed with green peppers, onion, celery, stock, liver, giblets and many other ingredients.

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

Etoufée (ay-too-fay)
A succulent, tangy tomato-based sauce. Crawfish etoufée and shrimp etoufée are delicious New Orleans specialties. The term literally means "smothered."

Fais do do (fay-doe-doe)
The name for a party where traditional Cajun dance is performed. This phrase literally means "to make sleep," although the Fais do do parties are the liveliest of occasions.

Filé (fee-lay)
Ground sassafras leaves used to season, among other things, gumbo.

French Quarter
The 100 block area originally settled by the French. The architecture, however, is credited to the Spanish.

Grillades (gree-yads)
Squares of broiled beef or veal. Grillades and grits is a popular local breakfast.

Grits
Coarsely ground wheat or corn, cooked down in water and served with salt and butter. Somewhat similar in appearance to mashed potatoes, but the taste is closer to corn.

Gumbo (gum-boe)
A delicacy of South Louisiana. A thick, robust soup with thousands of variations, only a few of which are Shrimp Gumbo, Chicken Gumbo, Okra Gumbo, and Filé Gumbo.

Jambalaya (jum-bo-lie-yah)
Another many-splendored thing. Louisiana chefs "sweep up the kitchen" and toss just about everything into the pot. Tomatoes and cooked rice, plus ham, shrimp, chicken, celery, onions, and a whole shelf full of seasonings.

Jazz
Rhythmic, syncopated music, often improvised, that was originated by African American musicians. New Orleans is one, if not the birthplace of this popular style of music.

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. Tradition requires that the person who gets the baby in their piece must provide the next King Cake.

Lagniappe (lon-yap)
This word is Cajun for "something extra," like the extra donut in a baker's dozen. An unexpected nice surprise.

Laissez les bon temps rouler! (lay-zay lay bon ton rule-ay)
Let the good times roll!

Mardi Gras (mardi graw)
Commonly known as Fat Tuesday, it is the day before Ash Wednesday, the first day of the Roman Catholic season of Lent.

Mirliton (mel-e-taun)
A hard-shelled vegetable pear with edible innards, it is cooked like squash and stuffed with either ham or shrimp and spicy dressing.

Muffuletta (muff-a-lotta)
A huge sandwich made up of thick layers of several different types of Italian meats, cheeses, a layer of olive salad, and served on special seeded Muffuletta bread.

Neutral Ground
A strip of land dividing a highway or street into two parallel lanes; the median.

Praline (praw-leen)
The sweetest of sweets, this New Orleans tradition is a candy patty. The essential ingredients are sugar, water and pecans. There are many variations on that theme in French Quarter candy and gift shops.

Po-Boy
Another sandwich extravaganza, this one having begun as a five-cent lunch for poor boys. There are fried oyster po-boys, roast beef and gravy po-boys, soft-shell crab po-boys and others, all served upon crispy-crusted loaf bread, called French Bread.

Red Beans and Rice
Red beans cooked in seasonings and spices which usually includes big chunks of sausage and ham. These cooked beans are served over a bed of rice. This is one of Louisiana's special dishes and is traditionally eaten on Monday (and any other day you get a hankering for it).

Vieux Carre (voo ca-ray)
French, meaning "old quarter" and referring to the French Quarter.

Zydeco (zi-de-co)
A Cajun dance music that is a combination of traditional Cajun dance music, Rhythm and Blues, and African blues.