Word Of The Day: Gratin

If you haven't encountered this term before, we seriously question your love of cheese. Gratin, from the French "gratter," or "to scrape" — and pronounced grah-tan — refers to the technique of covering something in a baking dish (also called a gratin dish) with a mixture of butter, breadcrumbs and grated cheese (hence "scrape") and broiling until golden brown (hence, delicious).

Some dishes served au gratin involve a creamy white sauce called béchamel, which adds a good amount of milk and butter to the casserole's interior to keep it all together and prevent it from drying out in a hot oven. Right, that's in addition to the buttery breadcrumbs and liberal cheese topping. We don't pick the word of the day out of nowhere.

Commonly seen in this style: Sliced potatoes, macaroni and cheese, lobster and plenty of other things we love.

Use the Word of the Day: Simple Mac-n-Cheese