Gâteau St. Honoré (gah-toe saint on-or-ay), noun: Named for the patron saint of bakers, this is a confection with a pâte brisé (pie crust) base, a ring of pâte à choux on the outside with little pâte à choux puffs affixed to the outside with caramel, and then filled with pastry cream.

In other words, a baker's dream-come-true...or personal nightmare! More

Chantilly (chan-tilly or shahn-tilly), noun: Sweetened and flavored whipped cream.

Isn't it nice to know that there's a name for everything, even the simple whipped cream that home cooks have made for eons? More

Court Bouillon (Court Boo-yee-an), noun: A flavored liquid used for poaching or steaming.

Unlike regular chicken, beef, or even vegetable stock, a court bouillon can be quickly made and then used immediately - it literally means "quick stock"! More

Clabber, noun: soured milk

Back before there was baking powder to use as a quick leavener in baking, there was clabber. This was something that every farm wife or person with access to fresh milk could make, no additional ingredients necessary! More

labneh: n. A fresh cheese made from strained yogurt, popular in the Middle East, that is served as a spread or formed into soft balls.

Several of us here at the Kitchn were traveling over the holidays, and this is just one of the foods we fell in love with while eating overseas. We ate labneh for breakfast every morning while on a trip to Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. More

Cassoulet (cass-oo-lay'), noun: A traditional French "casserole" with origins in the southwestern Languedoc region and usually containing white beans and several kinds of meat.

In our always humble opinion, cassoulet is THE comfort food. It's rich and creamy, and it will definitely stick to your ribs through a cold winter night! More

Le Trou Normand (luh trew nor-mahnd): A pause in the middle of a meal where everyone has a drink of brandy and then continues to eat.

Folklore has it that the shot of alcohol burns a hole ("un trou") in your stomach so that you can eat more food. This is something we definitely could have used last Thursday! More

Tournée (tour-nay): Literally, French for "turned." In culinary terms, this describes a specific method for preparing and presenting vegetables by cutting them into uniform oblong shapes.

If you really want to get fancy this Thanksgiving, you can have a go at "turning" all your vegetables! Just make sure you have a lot of extra time to spare before you start... More

marron glacé (ma-rohn glay-say): n. A chestnut preserved in syrup, usually eaten out of hand like candy or used as a topping for desserts.

Chestnuts are a common ingredient this time of year, so we thought we'd mention their french name, marrons, and take a look at one of the sweeter preparations... More

Unctuous (ung-choo-us) adj.: 1. Having the quality or characteristics of oil, slippery; 2. Containing or composed of oil or fat; 3. Abundant in organic materials, soft and rich.

Nora's post on Forsterkase cheese yesterday reminded us of this favorite food word! What foods say "unctuous" to you? More