Chew On This
I've had a love affair with the language of food for years, often to the consternation of friends and family who reluctantly accept invitations when I make statements like, "We're having steamed haricots verts, colcannon and seckel tart for dinner." (Translation: tiny green beans, an Irish stew and pear tart.) Some of my dinner guests have been known to have a bag meal waiting in their car as a backup in case they leave hungry.
Recently, I've discovered several new words to try out for my holiday party:
Batata: a sweet potato
Boletus: a variety of wild mushroom
Chamming: sipping champagne
Chonkeys: a mincemeat tart
Duddyfunk: a meat pie
Egredouce: sweet and sour sauce
Flummadiddle: New England casserole
Fricandeau: a veal cutlet
Furiant: a quick Bohemian dance in triple time
Ghawazee: Egyptian dancing girls
Groodles: leftover food.
Hogmanay: New Year's Eve party
Kedgeree: a casserole of fish and rice
Kickshaw: tidbit or delicacy
Kinker: circus acrobat
Mandrang: a relish made of cucumbers, wine peppers and lime juice
Pettitoes: pig's feet
Pidan: pickled Chinese duck eggs
Piffero: a cross between an oboe and a bagpipe
Sapsago: a variety of hard green cheese made with skim milk
Shenk: to pour a drink for someone
Stinkibus: bad liquor
Supernaculum: excellent liquor
Tankle: a small, flat sugar-coated cake
Tomalley: boiled lobster livers
Here's my invitation:
Hogmanay at Donna's, 8 p.m.-2 a.m. No stinkibus here! We'll be shenking supernaculum the entire evening and chamming at midnight! Fabulous buffet of kickshaws -- pidan, mandrang, tomalley in egredouce, pettitoes and boletos in sapsago sauce and miniature duddyfunks. A dinner of flummadiddle, kedgeree, fricandeau and batata will be served at 10 p.m. Dessert to include mouth-watering tankles and chonkeys! Spectacular entertainment! Continuous ghawazees and kinkers, the hippest piffero band in town and the ever-popular furiant dance contest!
Sounds like a real shirty, huh? You're all invited. Bring Tupperware in case there are any groodles.
