A la mode au jus ?

I know. It doesn't mean anything.

Or so you think.

In French "a la mode" means "fashionable".

So I was a little taken aback when I discovered that in the US it has a totally different meaning. Have you ever tasted waffles "a la mode" ?

If you were French, you'd be expecting something shiny and exciting, something with a twist that could reminisce of Haute Couture on a waffle. Maybe a bow or something.

And then you'd find yourself being served a waffle with a scoop of French vanilla ice-cream. That's it. Disappointing isn't it ? So much for John Galliano.

And what about "au jus" : literally it means "with juice".

To tell you the truth I still don't fully grasp what it translates in American cuisine. I know a sauce of some sort should be part of the recipe but frankly apart from that I'm starting to think that "au jus" could apply to just about any dish.

Take this as an example of my incomprehension ; it's a recipe I found on a restaurant menu in NY:

"Crisp Salmon in Rice Paper with Asian Au Jus"

Sounds good doesn't it ? Well, literally it means : crisp salmon with Asian "with juice".

Yep. Puzzling.

So when I decided I was going to start a food and wine blog and I was struggling to find a name a little more elaborate than "the wineblog" or "Pauline's cuisine", "a la mode au jus" came to my mind.

Why ?

Not (only) to make fun of foreigners who don't understand French and think it's cool to insert meaningless French words in the name of their recipes.

Not to celebrate toppings on waffles or gravy sauce.

No.

I just wanted to show the world (or rather my amazing readership which has recently doubled and is now excitedly composed of my sister and my boyfriend... ouch) that speaking about food and wine should not be only left to culinary experts.

I believe wine tasting is not only meant for posh dinner parties and Oxford dictionary employees.

It should be democratized, made easy and enjoyable for simple amateurs like me.

So my purpose with this title is to expose the absurd use of meaningless words such as a la mode, au jus but also bony, loyal, musty, flabby and my personal favorite "gluggable"...

I just want to keep it simple. Show people that you can enjoy a good glass of wine and even have an opinion about it without having to speak in cryptic language.

A waffle with ice cream is just as good when it's not "a la mode".