Many people wonder what is in the secret sauce of a McDonald’s Big Mac sandwich. Others figure they know exactly what is in the sauce: ketchup, mayonnaise, and mustard. Still others figure it’s just a doctored-up Thousand Island dressing. They are not far off, except for the ketchup. The actual ingredients in the special sauce … Read more
The word puttanesca refers to an Italian sauce dating back to the early 1900s and composed of tomatoes, black olives, capers, anchovies, and garlic. Alla puttanesca is used to refer to a pasta or any other food that is served with this sauce. This bold and briny sauce is easy to prepare but offers lots … Read more
The most famous French dish that uses the term ‘au poivre’ is Steak Au Poivre. It means steak with a whole lot of poivre! In this term, ‘au’ is a preposition that means ‘with’ or ‘in the manner of’ and poivre means black pepper. A dish that is ‘au poivre’ is a dish with pepper, … Read more
Au gratin is one of many fancy-sounding French culinary terms to enter English during the 19th century, when a taste for French food, especially among the wealthy, developed in America. When you cook something au gratin or simply gratin, you are not, in reality, doing anything fancy at all. While most Americans think of au gratin … Read more
Burgoo, also known as Kentucky burgoo, is a thick, multi-meat and vegetable stew that is a specialty of Kentucky. A bit like Kentucky’s version of Louisiana gumbo, burgoo can contain any number of meats, such as pork, veal, beef, lamb, poultry, and vegetables such as potatoes, onions, cabbage, carrots, green peppers, okra, lima beans, and okra. Original versions … Read more
Lobster Thermidor is a classic French lobster preparation that was very popular in upscale restaurants during the early to mid-1920s. In the dish, cooked pieces of lobster are mixed into a rich béchamel or heavy cream-based sauce, to which Dijon mustard, white wine, shallots, tarragon, lobster stock (or fish stock), and cheese, such as Gruyere or … Read more