VACHERIN (vash-RAN) - A dessert consisting of several crisp Meringue rings stacked on top of each other and placed on a Meringue or pastry base. Alternatively, the rings may be made with almond paste. This "container" may be filled with Ice Cream or Crème Chantilly and/or various fruits. .

VELOUTE (veh-loo-TAY) - One of the 5 'mother sauces'. Veloute is a stock based white sauce made from chicken, fish or veal stock. Enrichments such as egg yolks or cream are sometimes also added. veloute is used as the base for a number of other sauces.

VINAIGRETTE (vihn-uh-GREHT) - One of the five "mother sauces," vinaigrette is a basic oil-and-vinegar combination, generally used to dress salad greens and other cold vegetable, meat or fish dishes. In its simplest form, vinaigrette consists of oil, vinegar (usually 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar), salt and pepper. More elaborate variations can include any of various ingredients such as spices, herbs, shallots, onions, mustard, etc.

VOL-AU-VENT (vawl-oh-VAHN) - Said to have been created by the famous french chef Careme, a vol-au-vent is a puff pastry shell that resembles a pot with a lid. The pastry is classically filled with a cream sauce based mixture, usually of chicken, fish, meat or vegetables. The puff pastry lid is set on top. The name which means "flying in the wind" refers to the pastrys incredible lightness..