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