Word of the Day for Sunday, December 11, 2011

à la mode \ah luh MOHD\, adjective:
1. In or according to the fashion.
2. Cookery. A.(Of pie or other dessert) Served with a portion of ice cream, often as a topping: apple pie à la mode. B.(Of beef) Larded and braised or stewed with vegetables, herbs, etc., and served with a rich brown gravy.

I do not yet know what is the fashion in England, but naturally if you assure me it is not à la mode, I won't have a lover. Can I have a house in town?
-- Georgette Heyer, The Talisman Ring

However that may be, Wilhelm was undeniably à la mode; the greatest ladies in England would beseech and entreat of him to write but one line in their albums...
-- Hamilton Murray, Falkenburg: A Tale of the Rhine

À la mode literally means “of the fashion” in French. (The sense of a scoop of ice cream on top of pie arose in 1903 in America.)

From Dictionary.com

Food word for the day

aioli \ahy-OH-lee\, noun:

A sauce made of oil and eggs, usually flavored with garlic, from the Provence region of France.

He said he was treating. There was roast artichoke topped with a sort of sly aioli. Mutton stuffed with foie gras, double chocolate rum cake. Seven kinds of cheese.
-- David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest

A beef sirloin is good, too, slightly charred on the outside and reddish pink in the middle, nicely peppered, with mustard aioli.
-- Garrison Keillor, Love Me

Aioli comes from the Provençal word for garlic, ai and the Latin word for oil, oli.

From Dictionary.com

Chow- word for the day

chow \CHOU\, noun:

1. Food, especially hearty dishes or a meal.

verb phrase:
1. "Chow down:" to eat; eat a meal, especially the main meal of the day.

The chow callers were screaming that there was one minute left before morning meal formation.
-- James Webb, A sense of honor

It was almost time for the chow-wagon to show-up.
-- George W. Adams, Under the Southern Cross

Chow originates among Chinese workers in California around the Gold Rush, shortened from the pidgin chow-chow, derived from cha, Chinese for "mixed."

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