Culinary Terminology - F

Farce: French for "stuffing". Since Thanksgiving is coming up, here's a great recipe: http://www.foodiesite.com/recipes/2000-12/wmusturk.xml

Filé: a powder made from sassafras leaves, and used for dishes such as gumbo. An in-depth review of filé can be read here: http://www.apinchof.com/filepow1103.htm

Filet: a boneless piece of meat, poultry or fish, or the process of cutting such a piece. A filet knife is a knife designed for this purpose. http://www.cleanafish.com/fillet-knife.html

Flambé: literally "to set in flames", or "flaming". A dish is garnished with liquor, then ignited in order to add the flavor of the liquor to the dish, but not the alcohol. Here's how to do it: http://www.whatscookingamerica.net/flambe.htm
If you absolutely MUST do this at home, try the backyard first, okay?

Florentine: either a dish from the region of Florence in Italy, food made with or served on spinach, or a cookie made with dried fruits or nuts and coated with chocolate on the bottom, also knows as lace cookies.

Fond: French for "stock" or "base". Can also refer to the juices, drippings and bits of food left in the pan after roasting: sauces made directly in the pan will have enhanced flavors.

Fond lié: the stock, base or leftover juices and drippings, now bound or thickened (lié) with starch to make a brown sauce. Here's a recipe for calfs fond lié: http://frenchfood.about.com/od/frenchcuisinebasics/r/brownsauce.htm

Fraises: French for "strawberries". Check out these wonderful recipes: http://www.arts-culinaires.com/recettes_par_produit/fraises.aspx

Framboises: French for "raspberries". See here for Pierre Marcolini's chocolate raspberry hearts: http://www.pierremarcolini.co.uk/cb01-7.php

Fricassée: tends to be a chicken stew, light in color, as the meat is cooked without browning before liquids are added. A great story and a recipe: http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/200-04272005-481923.html

Friturier: the cook responsible for all the fried foods. Brillat-Savarin on the theory of frying: http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/b/brillat/savarin/b85p/part12.html

Fromage: French for "cheese". Click and salivate...... http://www.fromages.com/

Fumet: a stock from fish bones and vegetables, wine, water and spices. If you use fish heads, I've been told, you better remove the eyes. Except, ofcourse, if you're Olivia Wu: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/owu/detail?blogid=30&entry_id=5779