E is for Effilé and Émincé

Both our terms, from the French, have to do with slicing thinly. Well, one of them has more than one meaning depending upon the food being cut. Isn’t that interesting?

Émince is a misunderstood word by most of us home cooks. Sounds like “mince”, doesn’t it? But émincé means to slice very thinly (think paper thin) rather than pulverize. In French, their word for our “mince” is entirely different. This is an example of words that appear to be cognates that are not.

Émincé is more like julienned, but the food is cut shorter than julienned food. Typically, you émincé meats, but the word can also apply to fruits and veggies.

Effilé, on the other hand, can also mean “thinly slice” when referring to, say, almonds or pistachios. I use almonds like that in some of my dishes calling for almond slices (not slivers--slivers are like wedges). Lots of baked goods call for sliced almonds to add crunch. I buy sliced almonds, rather than effilé them--too hard, too dangerous for a clumsy cook like me. Wish I had better knife skills, but there you go!

However, effilé, in a different food context, changes meaning drastically. When referring to haricots (beans), to effilé them is to remove that fibrous string running its length and to snap off the top--sounds like “stringing beans”, doesn’t it. Yep.

Impress folks at your next dinner party by referring to how you effilé-d and émincé-d your way through the food prep! (Before you comment and complain about my French, I know the past tense isn’t as indicated here. Okay?)

A Month-of-Appetizers: Date Bites for Date Nights

Daughter-in-law, London, shared this recipe with me at Christmas time. They had served it at one of their appetizer parties, so I had to try it, too.

I believe any appetizer party, or even appetizer spread, needs all five tastes if possible: salty, sweet, sour, bitter, and umami (more on umami in another post). Having the range allows for full participation of your taste buds. Today’s appetizer recipe gives you salty and sweet.

Before we go out to dinner, we like to have a small appetizer and some wine. Sort of prime the pump for date night, right? These Date Bites for Date Nights fill the bill because unlike some of the recipes here, you can modify this for the number of servings you want. This recipe serves two.

2 slices of bacon, cut in half

4 dates

4 whole almonds

1 tablespoon cream cheese

Fry the bacon to render some of the fat. Only partially cook it so it is still very flexible. Remove from skillet and drain.

Make a slice in each date. Put a schmear of cream cheese on each almond and stuff it into the date. Wrap each date with one bacon piece, holding together with a toothpick.

Broil 5 minutes (or until bacon is crispy and brown all over). Serve immediately.

DH’s Rating: 3 Tongues Up. “It tastes fine, good, but I don’t like sweet appetizers.” Fair enough. I do! More for me.