Amuse-bouche!

Sea Scallop & Polenta Appetizer - Amuse Bouche
Recipe at whatwereeating.com

By now, it's fairly apparent that I love creative cuisine! For me it's just another stream of expression and hopefully the taste buds will be rewarded. My family poked fun at me when I started watching Top Chef on the Bravo Channel. Typically, I'm not a huge fan of the reality series genre. Even so, I'm fascinated with the inspiration that evolves when chefs are placed under pressure and challenged with the peculiar. I've noticed that I'm not watching Top Chef alone anymore.

An amuse-bouche– little bites of sheer delight before the main course is served– is a familiar insertion on Top Chef. I marvel at what the chefs concoct and I love to hear myself speak the term. It's playful and witty. So, I thought it would be fun to learn a bit more about this appetizer.

From Merriam-Webster Online

amuse-bouche \AH-mooz-BOOSH\ noun : a small complimentary appetizer offered at some restaurants

Example sentence:

"Meals start with a complimentary amuse-bouche and basket of bread with a ramekin of herb butter." (Linda Bladholm, The Miami Herald, November 30, 2006)

Did you know?

In French, "amuse bouche" means literally "it amuses the mouth." The French were using "amuse-bouche" as a word for appetizers when English speakers embraced the culinary term almost a quarter of a century ago. The French are more likely to use their term "amuse-geule" for those tasty tidbits, however; and in English "amuse-bouche" has a special meaning. It's not just any appetizer! Typically, it's a tiny complimentary one that seems to have taxed the creative powers of the chef to the utmost for the amusement of the diners (e.g., a tiny beet-puree-filled taco; a tiny square of halibut-and-salmon cake; fig molasses on a tiny cube of goat cheese).

© 2007 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated