adjust seasonings: usually, add salt and pepper to taste, although any other seasonings can be adjusted at the same point
agrodolce: an Italian sweet and sour sauce. ("Agridouce," by the way, is a word of similar meaning that I made up, I think from French usage, before discovering this term, and describes any dish of the European variety of sweet and sour flavor)
aubergine: eggplant
bloom (chocolate): the whitish layer of fat or sugar that forms on chocolate when it has had a hard life -- been poorly stored or improperly handled. While it may affect the texture of the chocolate, bloom does not make the chocolate unsafe to eat. Some don't mind it at all, others considered bloomed chocolate inedible.
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bouguet garni: a little bundle of fresh herb twigs, intended to be removed before the dish it has flavered is served. The bouquet is traditionally tied in a little bundle with string, although the herbs may be placed in a small cloth bag instead (in which case they don't even need to be whole twigs).
BTU: British Thermal Unit, used to measure heat output. One BTU is the amount of heat needed to raise one pound (2 cups) of non-aerated water from 60 to 61 degrees F at normal air pressure. Now you know.
chiffonade: shredded or thinly sliced herbs or vegetables, often used as a garnish
corn flour: corn starch
cornichon: small gherkin (which is a small, young cucumber)
deglaze: remove dried juices from a pan by adding liquid and cooking, scraping the bottom gently to help dissolve the residue; a standard step in making gravy
divided (in ingred. list): not used all at once. This is mostly found in older recipes, and warns you that, for instance, 1/4 cup of that "2 c flour" is going onto the roux (q.v.) and only 1 3/4 cups will be used for the biscuits. The actual amounts to be used will be in the body of the recipe.
fines herbes: chives, chervil, parsley, and tarragon. A traditional mixture is 1 part each tarragon and chives, 2 parts chervil, and 8 parts parsley, but every chef has her/his own formula.
macerate: to soften fruit, especially berries, by marinating or otherwise treating them to make them release their juices. Sprinkling strawberries with sugar is a common example.
non-reactive (pan, bowl, container): one that won't react with acidic ingredients such as vinegar, tomatoes, or some fruit juices. Stainless steel, glass, ceramic, and plastic are all non-reactive; avoid aluminum, copper, and cast iron unless enamelled or lined with steel.
persillade: chopped parsley and garlic, usually added to dishes at the end of cooking
mirepoix: chopped onions, celery, and carrots. These ingredients form the basic flavoring of many foods, especially soups.
roux: a cooked mixture of butter and flour, often used in sauces.
instructions for making a roux
video on how to make a roux
syrup, golden, or light treacle: light molassess, more or less
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syrup, simple: sugar water, basically. It can be light or heavy. In bartending, the ratio of sugar to water is usually between 1:1 to 2:1; 1 C sugar to 3 C water is more common in cooking. The syrup should be cooked 2-3 min to dissolve the sugar.
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temper (chocolate): to subject chocolate to a series of temperature changes that make it less likely to bloom (q.v., above)
article on tempering chocolate
temper (milk, eggs): to warm delicate foods such as milk, cream, or eggs slowly to prevent curdling, by adding a small amount of the hot mixture to the cold ingredient before mixing them together.
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